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There are several woods we use in the making of a Gaskell electric guitar. Here is some info about them. Note: I am not a botanist nor an expert on trees, so if there are any errors or mistakes please bear that in mind. Every effort has been made to make these descriptions as accurate and acceptable as possible to the extent of my research, knowledge and personal experience.
BASSWOOD. Tilia. Also known as Linden in America and Lime in Europe, basswood is a colourless wood which is very easy to work with. It is native to Europe, Asia and North America. As a tonewood it is used for guitar bodies only. Because of it's unappealing lack of grain it does not look good in natural finish. Due to its softness it can dent more easily than other woods. Basswood has excellent mid range tones and has a very warm, pronounced sound. It is very suited for Metal and Rock music. It is the best wood to use with Floyd Rose equipped guitars as the Floyd tends to be very tinny sounding on other woods due to the minimal contact with the guitar body. All "superstrat" guitars are made of basswood for this reason. Basswood is the best wood to use for an all-round sound. It's a "one size fits all" and has very good sustain. In the last decade it has become the most popular tonewood for making of electric guitars, especially in Asia where most of the world's electric guitars are made today. Another reason for it's popularity is the simple fact that other more traditional tonewoods such as American mahogany have become too expensive or impossible to get due to becoming restricted or banned from commercial use. The price of basswood has risen significantly in response to it's popularity. In the beginning it was considered a "cheap alternative." This is no longer true.
ALDER Alnus grown all over the world is most commonly used in Fender guitars. It is light in weight with soft tight pores like basswood. but with large swirling grain patterns and rings. Alder retains more of the highs that basswood tends to soften but has less of the mids. It has a very warm sound but does not quite have as much "bite" as ash. It was most popular in the 1950's and 1960's. It is now very expensive outside of the USA and several other cheaper woods are becoming popular replacements, outside of Custom Shop options.
SWAMP ASH. Fraxinus pennsylvanica is a particular type of ash more commonly known as Green Ash or Red Ash in other uses. It is used as a body wood by many American guitar manufacturers. It is mostly obtained from the Southern parts of America, from trees whose root systems are under water. It is very light and attractive and is a popular choice for natural finish instruments. The swamp-ash sound is twangy, airy, and sweet. It gives firm lows, pleasant highs, a slightly scooped midrange, and good sustain.
JAPANESE ASH. Kalopanax or Sen Ash is an excellent sounding wood from Asia, most recognized on Japanese-made Fenders and Tokai guitars. Although it's trade name includes the word "ash" it is not related to actual ash other than by visual appearance. It's tonal qualities are similar to that of alder hence the commonly used quick description "looks like ash, sounds like alder." It has a bright, and even cutting midrange tone, good bass, and excellent sustain. Like all ash woods, it is the best looking wood to use for a natural finish.
MAHOGANY. Genuine mahogany is of the species Swietenia of the Meliaceae family, native to Central and Southern America and the Caribbean. Two kinds have been used as tonewoods: Swietenia mahagani (known as American Mahogany, Cuban Mahogany, or West Indian Mahogany); and Swietenia macrophylla (called Honduras Mahogany, or Brazilian Mahogany.) Since the 1990's both have been listed and protected as endangered species under CITES. Unfortunately after 85 years of abuse the damage was already done and today both species are commercially unavailable from their native locations. In an international effort to restore the resource, both Swietenia mahoganies were introduced into a number of Asian countries mostly in the late 1990's and early 2000's in controlled plantation environments. Problems with barren soil, aggressive pests, and erosion made it too difficult to repopulate it in it's native locations on any scale hence other solutions had to be found. These Asian countries are now successfully growing sustainable Swietenia and are the source of the world's supply of new American and Brazilian mahogany today. The term "genuine mahogany" applies only to the Swietenia mahoganies, whether grown in America or elsewhere. "True mahogany" is the official term describing any botanically related timber that is also from the Meliaceae family but not specifically Swietenia. Such include African Mahogany (Khaya), Chinese Mahogany (Toona sinsensis), Indonesian Mahogany (Toona sureni), Indian Mahogany (Toona ciliata), East Indian Mahogany (Chukrasia), and Sipo Mahogany (aka Sapele) (Entandrophragma cylindricum.) There are some other woods which contain the word "mahogany" in their trade name that have no botanical relation to the Mahogany family at all, but may share some visual similarities to genuine or true mahogany.
NATO. Mora excelsa and Mora gonggrijpii also called Eastern Mahogany or Nato mahogany is a common mahogany replacement. It is native to South America and the Caribbean. Tonally it is almost indistinguishable from genuine mahogany and it is for this reason that it is popular. It is usually used for tops, bottoms or sides of acoustic guitars. Some brands that use Nato in place of real mahogany are Epiphone, Washburn, Fender, Taylor, Takamine, BC Rich, Eastwood, Brian Moore, Yamaha, and Tokai. Unlike real mahogany it is not restricted or illegal to obtain or trade.
MAPLE. Acer Used for guitar necks. It is very hard. It has a uniform grain and it's reflective tonal qualities highlight the body wood well. With a maple neck it does not matter whether the neck join to the body is bolt-on or set-in. The guitar will sustain just as well with either neck joint. Maple is found in the northern hemisphere with most species found in Europe and Asia. It can have a highly decorative grain and can produce "quilt", "flamed", "spalted" (pen and ink like patterns caused by humidity-thriving fungus) or "burly" appearances. Laminates of these grains are often glued to the top of a guitar body for a beautiful appearance. Veneers are usually 1mm or 2mm thick or they can be a full 5mm-16mm solid cap, usually in Custom Shop instruments. Genuine maple veneers and caps are expensive. A cheaper option that some guitar manufacturers employ is to use photo finishes instead of a real veneer or cap. Many sub-$1000 quilted or flamed top guitars are really photo finishes. Gaskell Guitars uses real veneers and real caps only. We do not use photofinishes, even on our factory made guitars.
WENGE. Millettia laurentii Is a very exotic, and very expensive hard wood native to western Africa. It is used by some high-end Custom Shops for bodies and for fingerboards, particularly on bass guitars. It it is very dark with lots of brown streaks and is very rich and warm sounding. It is a lot more porous than other woods and is thus much harder to work with. The dust of this wood is also extremely hazardous to one's health and personal protective equipment and other dust removal systems are essential in any workshop that uses this wood. If you have money to spend, consider getting a guitar made of this beautifully exotic wood!
PHOENIX or WUTONG Firmiana simplex comes from the "Chinese Parasol Tree" which is native to China. It has been used by the Chinese for thousands of years in high quality traditional Asian musical instruments. At the end of the 20th century when China replaced Korea as the leading manufacturer of musical instruments in the world, many new and interesting timbers not known or common in the Western World were also introduced by the Chinese, this Phoenix wood being one of them. It has taken some time for the guitar building community to warm to these new and alternative tone woods. Phoenix is used as a body wood on many sub $1000 Chinese-made guitars, often as a replacement for expensive American alder. Being a cheaper alternative does not mean that it "sounds bad" or the wood is "poor" or "unsuitable." It is true that it plays a significant part in keeping the overall cost of the instrument down, but remember these woods have been used as preferential tonewoods for a lot longer than the johnny-come-lately electric guitar!
EMPRESS WOOD Paulownia Tomentosa is a high quality, extremely light-weight hardwood which has only very recently started being used in mainstream guitar manufacturing. Rising costs and restrictions on other tradtional tonewoods has intensified the need for good alternatives. Paulownia is native to China and is cultivated extensively in Japan and Korea. It has been used for hundreds of years by the Japanese and Koreans to make high-quality traditional musical instruments. It was introduced into Australia at the end of the 20th Century and has since become extremely popular in the Australian timber trade. It is relatively cheap. Paulownia is the fastest growing hardwood species in the world, taking only 5-7 years from planting to harvesting. Because of it's fast cultivation it is at the top of the list as a solution for world reforestation projects. As a tonewood it is commonly used as a mahogany replacement, but shares the softness and colourless appearance of basswood. Renowned guitar brand Dean Guitars uses this wood for some of their guitars, and it is often used in generic DIY guitar kits. Gaskell Guitars has never used this wood for any production or custom guitars but it is readily available in Australia, should someone ever want a custom guitar made of this wood.
AGATHIS Agathis is more commonly called KAURI in New Zealand and Australia, with the New Zealand species being the most famous. It is grown only in the southern hemisphere and has many uses. Some guitar manufacturers use agathis for the bodies of their budget priced guitars, Squier Telecasters and Stratocasters are made from agathis. Other names for agathis are Commercial Grade Mahogany or Poor Man's Mahogany. As a tonewood, there currently doesn't seem to be much agreement amongst professionals as to whether it is "good" or "bad." At this time, some are praising it, and some are decrying it. Whatever side one takes, it is factual to say that it is a wood that resonates well and can be legitimately used as a tonewood for guitar building. That cannot be argued. High-end NZ guitar brand Langcaster ( http://www.langcaster.com) make top quality custom guitars from ancient Kauri, and these guitars are no way at all "cheap."
ROSEWOOD Dalbergia nigra (Brazilian) and Dalbergia latifolia (Indian.) Used for fingerboards. It is an oily wood and is perfect for sustained human contact. Up until 1992 guitar manufacturers usually obtained rosewood from Brazil but trade in Brazillian rosewood was banned in that year due to it becoming listed as an endangered species. New Brazilian rosewood is no longer attainable. The rosewood used in guitar manufacturing today is sourced from either India or Bangladesh with Indian rosewood being the most in use. In 2009 controversy arose surrounding illegal logging and trade of rosewood obtained from Madagascar. The Gibson Guitar Company in the USA was one of two USA companies that came under investigation for possible involvement. Since March 2010, trade in illegal rosewood from Madagascar has been fully halted.
EBONY Diospyros ebenum or Ceylon Ebony is used for fingerboards. It is native to southern India and Sri Lanka. It is very hard and durable. Mostly it is black in colour but it can appear dark brown, depending on the piece. It is popular with lead guitarists due to it's perceived additional hardness over rosewood. Diospyros quaesita known as Indian Ebony or Macassar is another type of ebony which is striped and very beautiful. Diospyros perrieri, or Madagascar ebony is a very prized ebony timber used by high-end boutique guitar builders. Gaskell Custom Shop guitars can be made with any of the choices of ebony listed.
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