Dark, stripy appearance. Walnut is beautiful and has nice tonal character on the sides and back though. Thank you! To give some perspective the following is the hardness of the woods discussed here including Rosewood. It grows up to 30–60 feet (9.1–18.3 m) tall, has a single erect trunk, commonly without branches for 10–40 feet (3.0–12.2 m), and a crown that can be wider than the tree is tall. An African tone wood closely related to Mahogany, Sapele is similar in both look and sound. In terms of tone, ebony provides a very responsive bright, snappy and crisp attack coupled with a smooth sustain. Similar in appearance and tone to Genuine Mahogany, Sapele exhibits a powerful midrange, great punch and bright and airy trebles. I was looking for wood textures and came across sapele when looking for mahogany. My cynical mind tends to think sapele has a negative reputation, deserved or undeserved, and now the name of Okoume as a mahogany is exotic enough for people to take a chance on it. As well as looking great on the top of an acoustic, it lends itself very well to plugged-in performances thanks to that quality note definition. Ponderosa Pine. So, in the battle of Sapele vs Mahogany, which is the better tonewood? Glossary of Terms. It has high natural oil content, meaning that it can be left unfinished. As mentioned earlier, there are two types most commonly used: Indian and Brazilian. Sapele: Janka Hardness 1,410 lbf (6,280 N) The hardest of the three options. Thanks! It also wears very well and will hold up to years of playing, even more so than some of the less dense options available like rosewood. FIGURED CLARO WALNUT JUGLANS CALIFRONICA JUGLANS HINDSII Although I’ve been a die -hard Martin guy, I find that Taylor is now producing some very high quality, affordable guitars. Engelmann tends to be marginally lighter and less stiff, which results in slightly less projection, while Adirondack is generally slightly heavier and stiffer resulting in a louder guitar, but they are all relatively loud top woods. That makes it a highly versatile wood for an acoustic guitar, ideal for a number of styles. This was a well presented education on the different qualities of different woods . Also like Mahogany, Sapele is a popular wood for guitar necks. Sapele features interlocking, fine textured grain that frequently changes direction. It has become a perennial favourite and features on the comfortable majority of steel-string acoustics available today. I was also more of a Martin guy before starting this website but over the last couple of years Taylor have become equals for me. When used as a back/side wood to compliment a brighter sounding top wood, Mahogany is good for mellowing out the brightness and adding some warmth and a stronger mid-range plus softening the highs and reducing the overtones. As with maple, this could be a cosmetic issue; acoustic guitars are widely perceived to look better with darker fretboards. It’s closer to Rosewood than Mahogany is but it’s much more similar to Mahogany than it is to Rosewood. When used as a back/side wood to compliment a brighter sounding top wood, Mahogany is good for mellowing out the brightness and adding some warmth and a stronger mid-range plus softening the highs and reducing the overtones. Different types of wood have different types of imperfections and characteristics in their make-up, and it’s this variation that makes them sound different from each other. That said, it is also sometimes mistakenly called Mahogany, which could also lead to less awareness of this wood. And fun to work. It largely depends on how you play it; the midrange and warmth will lend itself nicely to strumming and softer playing, while that added sparkle makes it great for contemporary styles, lead playing and fingerpicking parts alike! Sapele just smells better. The only real way to tell would be b ya visual inspection if you were familiar with the how the woods differed in looks. 2,192 3. Bamboo. Sign up! Imagine two rooms, one small and one large. The Janka scale is used to determine the relative hardness of particular domestic or exotic wood species. In fact some retailers sometimes even just say Mahogany, when it’s actually Sapele, just because less people have heard of Sapele. Required fields are marked *. Hi, I am Cleaton. As discussed earlier, walnut has a striking, rich appearance when used for acoustic guitar backs and sides, and would stand out in a similar fashion if used for the fretboard. Some people prefer the look of Sapele, and others prefer Mahogany. In summary, it provides a punchier and darker tone than rosewood, with a prominent midrange. If you want high-end, look no further. It tends to lose clarity when it’s driven hard, so tends not to be favoured among those who generally play hard with a pick. These include: Honduran Mahogany is generally considered to be a better quality tonewood. This was the first time I came across Sapele Wood, and naturally I had some questions about it. Maple might make a good option for a fingerboard if your body wood offers a darker, warmer tone; the maple will balance it out and deliver a more balanced tone. Mahogany topped acoustic guitars are not especially common but have been around since the ‘20s. I have a distinct fondness for maple bodied guitars. I’ve been playing guitar for several years, and now I’m looking to get myself a Ukelele. Because wood is an organic material, it changes shape and density as it grows; with age, wood develops deeper grains that change almost immeasurably during its lifespan. To better understand the differences between the two, let’s first take a look at each wood individually. Bamboo’s warmth and richness match a wide-range of … Summary: immediate, balanced tone with little complexity. Peruvian Walnut (Juglans Neotropica) Nogal H=3.6, M=3.4, B=4.2, S=2.6, O=1, T=1.2 Peruvian Walnut is a true walnut. Many argue that solid wood also offers a more resonant tone, again due to the uniform grain and thickness. Walnut is a resilient wood similar to rosewood. I'm in the mahogany camp, but only because personally I don't like the "stripey" look of Sapele. Rosewood is popular for fretboards thanks to its smooth feel, but its durability is also crucial. Sapele Wood can also be used in interior and exterior usage and is actually a cost-effective alternative to Spanish Cedar or Western Red Cedar. The brightness and clarity responds brilliantly to instrument microphones or pickup systems, allowing you to sit nicely in any mix. Sitka’s combination of strength and elasticity translates into a broad dynamic range, yielding crisp articulation and allowing for everythi… I recently began a search for a mahogany top guitar like a D15 and learned that Martin uses both tropical mahogany and sapele interchangeably. This is no surprise given that it’s quite a hard wood but is still easy to carve. That said, it is becoming more and more widely used and it will likely be more known as time goes by. Claro walnut is a medium-sized tree of short bulky proportions. What it lacks in dramatic visual appeal and breathless testimonial from wood-sniffers, it more than makes up for in suitability for instrument construction. The two species exist on different ends of the density scale. Sam's desert island gear would be his Mexican Tele, Strymon El Capistan and Teenage Engineering OP-1. You’ll get a consistent sound regardless of your style of playing; some consider this to be lacking in character, but it does mean that spruce could be considered versatile in terms of its sound. Here’s a breakdown of some of the most popular choices for acoustic guitar tops: If there is such a thing as an industry standard top tone wood, then Spruce would have to tick that box. Sapele is offered in many of our wood door styles.When “Solid” is noted, that is the version available. It’s not a particularly common fretboard wood for acoustic guitars, more often seen on electrics. In time, the brightness mellows, resulting in a warm rounded sparkle and rich low end. Walnut offers smooth playability and a bright tone, but with just the right amount of low and mid emphasis to sound balance and relatively transparent. Sapele lumber is often marketed as a type of African Mahogany. Hi, I too feel your article on the comparison of the two Woods is highly educational. Dense and fairly heavy, with sonic characteristics similar to those of mahogany, walnut is occasionally used in electric-guitar bodies. Enough so that you’d likely notice the difference on the top and maybe slightly when used as back and sides in place of Mahogany. Walnut Cutting Boards. <
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