Well I've just recently been bitten by the mahogany bug... and now I think it's the most under-rated wood in guitar construction. While cruisin' the web, looking at various pictures of mahogany guitars, I couldn't help but notice that there is a lot of variation in the grain of mahogany.... especially in Larrivee's.
Now I know that Larrivee does not stain their guitars, so the variation in color can be expected... but how about the grain figuring? I've heard that the more "streaky" or "wavey" mahogany is sapele. Is Larrivee using sapele due to the shortage of Honduran mahogany? or can genuine Honduran mahogany also have streaky figuring?
Thanks in advance,
-dan
Streaky Mahogany are not necessarily Sapele, they are actually quatersawn wood in Larrivee's case.
However, if the streaks are not wide apart and very very distinct, and closer together like say 20 stripes on the back of your guitar, then it's likely it's Sapele. African mahogany sits somewhere in between Honduran AKA BigLeaf/Genuine/S American Mahogany and the sapele in appearance and tone.
If you look closely, genuine mahogany grain patters look like a stalk of rice grains (V-shaped) in the field.
So all of Larrivee's Mahogany is Honduran, correct? (well besides the 02 models)
-dan
Quote from: dark paniel on January 12, 2006, 04:47:09 PM
So all of Larrivee's Mahogany is Honduran, correct? (well besides the 02 models)
-dan
Thats my understanding.
While I dont know if they are Honduran in particular, they are from the South america, and are of the same species, Swetenia macropylla (big leaf mahogany).
I prefer mahogany - always have. I know many others that do too. I don't think its underrated - just depends on who you talk to.
Quote from: rpg51 on January 14, 2006, 01:35:54 PM
I prefer mahogany - always have. I know many others that do too. I don't think its underrated - just depends on who you talk to.
Conventional wisdom says that rosewood is better. When you learn to ignore conventional wisdom and try different things, you discover mahogany.
Jim
I like rosewood and mahogany. I don't ever think of it as rosewood vs. mahogany.
There's some really beautiful stuff out there as well - take a look at this one:
(http://www.pantheonguitars.com/images_3/Mahogany-2_big.jpg)
Or this....
(http://zeppmusic.com/tbsmhreso.jpg)
Cheers
Mike
Hey dark paniel- I agree with you. Mahogany is a very underrated tone wood, especially in light of of the exotic choices available today. It is certainly evident in the degree of bling that luthiers large and small tend to use for mahogany. If they believed that people treasured it as much as rosewood (purportedly the holy grail of acoustic guitars), they would dress it up a bit more.
When I ordered my Taylor 514, I requested Engelmann spruce to go with the mahogany - it's a killer combination! The top is finished in honey sunburst, and I've added rosewood tuning buttons to go with the headstock facing, buffalo horn bridge pins, and a custom truss rod cover. That's how much I love mahogany! Through all the tone woods I've owned (rosewood, maple, koa, walnut, myrtle, etc.) mahogany has remained my all-around favorite. Enjoy!
all I gotta say is look at my sig line..... :GRN>
Well get it while you can. It's quickly disappearing. The "honduran" is likely from Peru and doubtful that will last long.
For some reason the Brits get great mahog..............my bari from England in flamed, crotch-cut Cuban. Can't get that in the states for obvious reasons.................
I think Larrivee has about the nicest mahog. going. And its treatment of it is tasteful. Better than Martin.
So get it while you can folks.
But I don't understand where this "mahogany is under-rated" view comes from. Every forum I have seen has many people who praise mahogany (it certainly has as many supporters as rosewood, more than koa or maple, and many more than walnut, sycamore etc). I certainly haven't seen mahogany underated on the internet forums.
So those of you saying mahogany is underated - what has given you that impression?
Cheers
Mike
Quote from: UK Mike on January 15, 2006, 03:30:42 PM
But I don't understand where this "mahogany is under-rated" view comes from. Every forum I have seen has many people who praise mahogany (it certainly has as many supporters as rosewood, more than koa or maple, and many more than walnut, sycamore etc). I certainly haven't seen mahogany underated on the internet forums.
So those of you saying mahogany is underated - what has given you that impression?
Cheers
Mike
In my experience, I find that the rosewood 'superiority' comes from folks with their musical roots in the 60's and early 70's and earlier. Back then all the 'best' acoustics were Brazilian rosewood and mahogany was reserved for the 'lower grades'. I have to admit that I was brainwashed into thinking that way until I stumbled across a Lowden mahogany O series.....What a revelation that was!
I will admit, however, that the best acoustic guitars I was exposed to in the 60's were all rosewood bodies.
Dan
Quote from: UK Mike on January 15, 2006, 03:30:42 PM
But I don't understand where this "mahogany is under-rated" view comes from.
Like someone mentioned above, all the fanciest models from Martin (40 series), Taylor (900 series) and even Larrivee (10 series), the ones with all the inlays and ab tops, all of them are rosewood. Did you ever see a Martin 40 series in mahogany or a Larrivee 10 series in mahogany? Nope. If you want that, you have to custom order, which seems to say that mahogany is not considered worthy of such appointments. How else can you explain it? It gets no respect, I tell ya ^_^
A very popular and forum-discussed guitar right now in the Martin camp is their D-18A (Authentic), about $5k street-price. It is, as is the 18 line, mahogany b/s.
I too grew up in the 60-70's with rosewood as the "preferred" b/s. It still sounds fine with me but these days I'm more attached to the sound my SD-50 and MT guitars are putting out.
The big improvement since the 70's is the availability and price of really great guitars. These are good days for us guitar players.