Thread: I'm a newbie! What are thoughts on Sapele?

Originally Posted by itsbobuk

Hello all

I'm new to the forum & I've got to say its one of the best I've seen!
I come from central England & over the past few months I've been planning a guitar build.
A replica Les Paul (or single cutaway for legal purposes).
One of my biggest problems has been sourcing the timber. South American Mahogany is very scarce & extremely expensive - GBP £475 or AUS $1040 is the best quote I have received & with a mrs at Uni & 2 children to support its way to expensive for me.

A local timber merchant sugested Sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum) for the main body & neck. I don't know if you guys over there see much of it over there, but it is cheap & readily availiable here.

Just wondering what you thoughts were on Sapele?

I know taylor have been making acoustics using it & they also make a solid body electric in Sapele (with a hefty price tag to boot)

Thanks all
Rob

i used it on the thinlines in the post below this
pretty heavy and very dense
LP outa the board i bought would be a killer to carry
btw dont get too hung up on using trad timbers - a lot of what is said about tonewoods is voodoo

Thanks Old Picker.
I actually read your thread just after I posted mine .
Very nice work, I've never really been a big fan of the Telecaster, but seeing your two may have converted me!

Originally Posted by old_picker

btw dont get too hung up on using trad timbers - a lot of what is said about tonewoods is voodoo

I've been thinking about this, I have a big chunk of qaurtersawn Sapele at home which I can still probaly make a couple of necks from & the Maple Top is sourced too. I'm just still trying to find a 'bargain' for the body. Its still all new to me & I'm learning slowly lol

i'd use sapele for the neck, and something like fijian mahogany or similar for the body. sapele is stiff enough for the neck, and other mahogany types will be lighter for the body. if you decided on sapele for the body, it would be simple enough to hollow out some sections for weight savings, or even an f hole or similar to a thinline tele

Sapele is good for necks...easy to work. I used it for neck on my first build acoustic (OM flat top).