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8th August 2010, 01:21 AM #1Intermediate Member
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Australian Tonewood: Choices, Choices, Choices
Hey guys, I am trying to figure out which timber to use in my builds, and realised that there isn't really much information about Australian Tonewoods out there, outside of the Department of Primary Industries pages, and they don't have much about tone :P
So, I pose a question: Which timber should I use?
Traditionally, Mahogany is the go-to for classic rock and (Progressive Death and Black) metal, but I rather want to be uniquely Aussie.
At the moment, I am looking at Queensland Maple, Bloodwood, Ironblood, blackbutt, Tasmanian Blackwood and Red Cedar.
From this, I hope to figure out what woods are good for which applications, and what different tonewoods sound like, their weights, density, strength, colour, grain, so on. Some of this I can source from the DPI sites, some I cannot.
After I decide on the woods for my project, I will edit this into a thread listing details about the woods, to help anyone else with these inane questions
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8th August 2010 01:21 AM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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8th August 2010, 01:24 AM #2Intermediate Member
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Actually, include them for uses like Speaker and amp cabs, stands, all sorts of stuff! The more information the more people we help.
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8th August 2010, 09:04 AM #3At the moment, I am looking at Queensland Maple, Bloodwood, Ironblood, blackbutt, Tasmanian Blackwood and Red Cedar.
Im not an electric maker but have seen some wonderful instruments from Qld Maple. The highly figured stuff can be astonishingly pretty. I have used several grades of Tassie Blackwood and it is a very useable and popular tonewood. Once again it can be really pretty as well. Ive not seen Bloodwood, Ironblood, Blackbutt or Red Cedar used. I suspect the Red Cedar would be too soft. I know that others are prone to cracking.
A couple of other timbers to consider are WA Sheoak and Cooktown Ironwood (somtimes called Australian Red Ebony). Kauri Pine, King William Pine and Bunyah Pine are used in acoustics.
Search the archives here. You will find heaps of information and inspiration. There was also a paper here http://www.gottsteintrust.org/media/AMorrow.pdf
I assume this is an assignment?"We must never become callous. When we experience the conflicts ever more deeply we are living in truth. The quiet conscience is an invention of the devil." - Albert Schweizer
My blog. http://theupanddownblog.blogspot.com
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8th August 2010, 10:25 AM #4Mandolin, mandola and guitar maker
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Hey guys, I am trying to figure out which timber to use in my builds, and realised that there isn't really much information about Australian Tonewoods out there, outside of the Department of Primary Industries pages, and they don't have much about tone.
Mandolins by Peter Coombe - Publications
Peter
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8th August 2010, 04:51 PM #5Intermediate Member
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Thanks, both were interesting reads.
Nah, this is my own thing - I am a uni student, but this is a semester off, and I love guitars, so, build a guitar!
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8th August 2010, 07:17 PM #6SENIOR MEMBER
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i reckon some of the western acacias,like yarran or dead finish would be spot on for certain aplications, even better than the traditional tonewoods such as african blackwood
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8th August 2010, 09:38 PM #7Member
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I Reckon you can't go past a good quality chunk of Sassafras. For information and good wood, talk to Bob at Tasmanian Tonewoods, he will set you straight! He's the main sponsor of this part of the forum I believe, and is known here as "woodturner777", His weblink is also at the top of the page!
OxIf it can't be fixed with Gaffa, It can't be fixed!
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8th August 2010, 10:11 PM #8Member
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Are you building an electric or an acoustic?...if you are building an acoustic, look for a good 'tone" wood, if you are building an electric, don't waste too much time being concerned with the "tone" of the wood.....it'll make next to no audible difference by the time you install pickups and run through an amp using an effect or two.
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8th August 2010, 10:26 PM #9Intermediate Member
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I know that in most cases the tonewood in an electric won't matter, but a lot of the stuff I do is through a clean tone... Progressive rock isn't just about overdrive, wah and phasers :P
Also, as this will be a baritone (Big hands, so I will be using light strings for tunings ranging from B standard (on the 7th string) to F# standard), it needs to be strong, and I like a darker, denser wood (heavy as a really heavy thing :P)
Eventually I do intend to make Semi-hollow and spanish acoustic guitars as well, so that will make a difference.
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8th August 2010, 10:30 PM #10Member
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Even with a clean tone....pickups and an amp......it's pretty much all down to that..!!
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9th August 2010, 05:27 PM #11GOLD MEMBER
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9th August 2010, 08:30 PM #12
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9th August 2010, 09:26 PM #13Retired
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I beg to differ Chris, Queensland maple has no peers, yes it is nice that I agree.
Still waiting for photos, but as for has no peers, you have not seen some of my woods up close, high figured blackwood, fiddleback blackwood, birdseye blackwood, figured and quilted myrtle. marbled mountain ash burl,
blackhearted sassafras it is each for his own they all have there place.
Cheers, Bob
Last edited by woodturner777; 9th August 2010 at 09:27 PM. Reason: correction
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9th August 2010, 09:54 PM #14Member
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I can honestly say some of the woods I have seen and held in my hands at Bob's place and here at mine would be the most spectacular I have ever seen, without a doubt. If there were such a thing as a competition between woodies as to who can get their hands on the most amazing woods, Bob would win hands down.....quite simply, there is no competition, or at least if there is, they are keeping it a secret and never showing it.
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10th August 2010, 12:00 AM #15Intermediate Member
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Okay. I am leaning towards Queensland Maple and Tasmanian Blackwood I guess. Most of the other woods I listed are either not very dense or won't paint :P
Well, I have a new version of the design, and I haven't figured out whether I am painting it or staining it, but does anyone have photos of them in very dark stains? blackish... that or I will paint, and then it comes down to density - which will make the stronger, heavier guitar? I am a pretty big, burly lad, so I want a guitar that is heavy so it doesn't feel like a twig - I want it to feel like it could take a really hard kick :P
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