Jeff Mcgoogans Posted April 13, 2010 Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 Would it be possible to make a guitar solely out of rosewood? Would it sound any good ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted April 13, 2010 Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 Yes it would be, Fender did Tele's in rosewood. I think your biggest problem will be finding stock large enough......oh, and it won't be cheap ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dauntless Posted April 13, 2010 Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 ...and heavy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. Aaron Posted April 13, 2010 Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 Quite heavy. It's twice as heavy as Alder. You can buy rosewood bodies from Warmoth. My friend has one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted April 13, 2010 Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 not sure if they did it with all of them but fender layered the bodies on the rosewood teles. This can also allow you to hollow out the inside a bit doing it this way will help with the size and weight problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenspoke Posted April 13, 2010 Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Mcgoogans Posted April 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 Yes it would be, Fender did Tele's in rosewood. I think your biggest problem will be finding stock large enough......oh, and it won't be cheap ! Umm well can u suggest an alternative wood type that sounds nice and is relatively light?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted April 14, 2010 Report Share Posted April 14, 2010 why not have a look around the forum at the sort of things people are using - most of them will be lighter than rosewood. and most of them will sound better too, i personally dont find rosewood guitars that appealing. They sound nice by themselves but there are other woods that work much better in a band mix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted April 14, 2010 Report Share Posted April 14, 2010 Yes it would be, Fender did Tele's in rosewood. I think your biggest problem will be finding stock large enough......oh, and it won't be cheap ! Umm well can u suggest an alternative wood type that sounds nice and is relatively light?? Poplar. It's light, inexpensive, easy to work with, and has a good sound. And don't try and tell me that it always has those nasty green mineral streaks in it. You CAN find clear boards, you just have to look harder. The one on the right is from a 15" wide 2" thick slab of clear, streak-free poplar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgmorg Posted April 14, 2010 Report Share Posted April 14, 2010 Just to be "clear", the green in poplar is not mineral streak, it is the natural color of the heartwood. The guitar in the pic is all sapwood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Mcgoogans Posted April 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2010 Yes it would be, Fender did Tele's in rosewood. I think your biggest problem will be finding stock large enough......oh, and it won't be cheap ! Umm well can u suggest an alternative wood type that sounds nice and is relatively light?? Poplar. It's light, inexpensive, easy to work with, and has a good sound. And don't try and tell me that it always has those nasty green mineral streaks in it. You CAN find clear boards, you just have to look harder. The one on the right is from a 15" wide 2" thick slab of clear, streak-free poplar. well i dunno if poplar is in massive stock in Australia. Which would sound better rosewood?, white cyprus?, or mahogony?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim37 Posted April 14, 2010 Report Share Posted April 14, 2010 well i dunno if poplar is in massive stock in Australia. now thats some very pertinent info there. theres lots of aussies on the site im sure someone can help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted April 15, 2010 Report Share Posted April 15, 2010 Better is very subjective. There is a lot that contributes to a guitars sound. All of the woods each add flavor, some pieces more than others. But you have to decide what you prefer. I like the tone of mahogany with a maple neck, I am not as big on all mahogany though. But there are plenty of Gibson lovers out there who prefer all mahogany. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops1983 Posted April 15, 2010 Report Share Posted April 15, 2010 Tassie Blackwood. For the body and the neck if you want. Ive also used Jarrah, Marri(redgum) Aussie oak and sheoak. Im abit different though! But my recommendation is definately Tassie Blackwood. Where in Oz are ya Jeff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperhead Posted April 15, 2010 Report Share Posted April 15, 2010 rosewood body would be very costly i heard those rosewood teles are very bright sounding . but we need to know what kind of music do you play ,what kind of a guitar you want to build .there is allot of good sounding wood thats pretty cheap. i would try any of the softer hardwoods poplar, alder,basswood ,mahogany ,,,,,,,.....swamp-ash or any local wood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted April 15, 2010 Report Share Posted April 15, 2010 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...;hl=mockingbird I tried to make a body from cypress not too long ago. It didn't work out that well. The thread has more information, but the main problems are tearout of the end grain and extreme density differences from the growth rings to the in-between wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarter Posted April 15, 2010 Report Share Posted April 15, 2010 There are some fantastic Aussie woods for building. If it were me, I'd be hunting down some blackwood, a close cousin to koa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted April 15, 2010 Report Share Posted April 15, 2010 I use anything I can get my mitts on from "mystery" flea market carvings to Pallets to 18th century Church pew gates. The one thing I look for is dry , as knot free or "clear" as possible and I try to do a 'tap' test just to see what type of vibrations the raw wood allows through. If the wood isn't stiff enough for a neck on its own , you can add CF rods or bars to strengthen it. I made a neck out of Poplar from a pallet runner and its holding up fine thusfar. I used 2 CF bars along w/the TR which proved to be sufficient . keep an open mind and an open eye and guitar wood will pop out everywhere. It'll take more work to get a guitar out of wood that wasn't designed for that purpose , but it'll be much , much cheaper than buying blanks 9 times out of 10. I recently came across two more killer pallets at work so I'll be building more "freebies" . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Mcgoogans Posted April 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2010 Tassie Blackwood. For the body and the neck if you want. Ive also used Jarrah, Marri(redgum) Aussie oak and sheoak. Im abit different though! But my recommendation is definately Tassie Blackwood. Where in Oz are ya Jeff? mate i live in central west NSW in a tiny town called Canowindra, im on the otherside of the continent haha. I've heard of yallingup though im pretty sure ther :D es some good surf about, i envy you in that i live in the middle of a place that seems to be a desert in summer, topped about 46 degrees last summer and the beach is about 4-5 hours away.... That kinda sucks. Anyway a bit off topic there i dunno whether tasmanian blackwood will be in huge supply around this place but my uncle lives around the tropical area of NSW he may be able to get me sum seasoned mahogony. Also thankyou to all the help i have gotten the people that have replied with some great suggestions. Thanks and rock on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops1983 Posted April 15, 2010 Report Share Posted April 15, 2010 Mate, NSW has a great timber industry, im always looking at timber yards in NSW. If i can find blackwood here in abundance you will have no probs! We have a company called Austim in the west,but they could be a national thing so hit them up on google. They also import many exotic hardwoods from all over the world so they have alot of the more basic guitar building timbers as in Mahogany,maple, oaks, walnuts, teaks, blackwoods etc. check em out. Yeah we have good surf!Going into chilly season though, so the motivation lacks to go for a surf, still get a wave here and there though. Chad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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