 MANCHE
ET CORPS / NECK AND BODY |
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 ALDER
- California The "tastes like chicken" of wood. It has a nice
even response all the way around the tone spectrum! Mostly known for its
great Blues and Rock tones. It's the one body wood you can go play a Death
Metal Gig one night, country the next night, Blues the next night and it's
sounds fine for all of them. It is normally lightweight and has a closed
grain. We carry hand selected Alder that is suitable for solid colors. Alder
is used extensively for bodies because of its lighter weight (about four
pounds for a Strat body) and its full sound. Its closed grain makes this
wood easy to finish. Alder's natural color is a light tan, with little or
no distinct grain lines. Alder has been the mainstay for Fender bodies for
many years. It looks good with a sunburst and in solid colors |
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 MAHOGANY
- Honduras We carry only hand selected Honduran Mahogany for tonal reasons
(although there are prettier fu-fu breeds of it out there). Our favorite
wood for different varieties of Rock and Jazz! Normally pretty non-back
friendly in a solid body, especially after years of gigging! Mahogany tends
to filter out some of the shrill highs, has nice mids, and a fat bottom
end (reminds us of a old Queen song). Can't be beaten for chunky rock in
a solid body, and can't be beaten for chunky Jazz in a hollow body. Sometimes
we recommend using 1/4" Maple tops on them to get back some articulation
if used with a Mahogany neck. We carry hand selected Manhogany that is suitable
for clean, transparent, bursts and solid colors. |
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 BASSWOOD
- California A nice resonant wood. Normally associated with Rock, Fusion,
Metal and Hard Rock guitars. Has a fat bottom and can sometimes (depending
on pickups) have a mushy bottom end. But overall sounds pretty darn good.
But if you look at it to hard it may dent because it is quite soft! We carry
hand selected Basswood that is suitable for clean, transparent, bursts and
solid colors. |
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KORINA -True name is White Limba, from Africa. Used in Gibson's Explorer and V's. A medium weight wood similar to mahogany. |
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| SITKA SPRUCE - The most common spruce these days is Sitka, which comes from the west coast of the United states and Canada. Because it is still plentiful and the trees are huge, it is still possible to get wonderful Sitka spruce. It makes a very strong, loud guitar which has a balanced resonant sound with good sustain. Sitka shows a very strong tendency to improve with age. | |
 RED
CEDAR - It makes a very rich warm guitar with good definition,
and a very immediate sound. It is generally not well suited for vigorous
attack and wide dynamic range. |
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| KOA- Hawaii This very beautiful wood comes exclusively from Hawaii and has been in short supply. Weight varies somewhat from medium to heavy, a good wood for basses. Koa has a warm sound similar to mahogany, but with a little more brightness. Like walnut, this wood may be oiled, but generally will look its best sprayed clear. Koa is sometimes available in flame figure. | |
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FINGERBOARD |
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ROSEWOOD - Brazilian We don't recommend bodies out of it, unless
you are going to make a T style body like George Harrison's (which was Indian
Rosewood). It comes in an array of colors (dark brown, burgundy, tan) and
can be plain or very figured. It's oily and porous so it dampens some of
the high end out of the Maple, creating a smoother tone. Awesome for Blues,
Jazz and some breeds of Rock. |
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 EBONY
- Madagascar, Gabon Very hard and dense wood, comes in jet black
and when available, in the Striped Macassar version. Great on Maple for
players who really like to cut through the mix and get super twang. Or for
rock and metal players that like high end and that forever sustaining note.
It also works well to add articulation to Mahogany bodies and hollow bodies
that need to be brightened up because they are a little muddy in the bottom
end. |
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PAU FERRO - California For players who like the tone of Maple but like a darker fingerboard! It always has nice grain, and can range from chocolate to tan in color. Great for fretless, because of its hardness, and it's not as bright sounding as Ebony.
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ASH
- California - There are two very different types of Ash, Northern Hard
Ash and Southern Soft, or Swamp Ash. With its density, the tone is very
bright with a long sustain. Swamp Ash is a prized wood for many reasons.
This is the wood many 50's Fenders were made of. It is easily distinguishable
from Northern Ash by weight. A Strat body will be under 5 lbs. This is
a very musical wood offering a very nice balance of brightness and warmth.
Has a tight bottom end (which we alllike), scooped mids and a bright top
end. It has a very quick attack when striking the strings - which is great
for some players and bad for others. It has very open grain. It is a very
resonant wood, so it sounds phenomenal played clean. Great for Funk, Surf
Music, Blues with a bite, Country twang, vintage Rock, and clean smooth
Jazz. We carry hand selected Swamp Ash that is suitable for clean, transparent,
bursts.
SOFT
MAPLE - California We can build bodies out of it for that 80's
shrill screaming Metal tone. We carry hand selected Soft Maple that is
also suitable for clean finish like HR Maple.
WALNUT
- Like Koa, this wood
may be oiled, but generally will look its best sprayed clear. 
HARD
ROCK MAPLE - California This is what we make 90% of our necks
out of. Durable and bright and articulate. We of course carry all of the
varieties for neck woods (Quarter sawn, Birdseye, and Flame). We can also
build bodies out of it for that 80's shrill screaming Metal tone. We carry
hand selected HR Maple that is suitable for clean finish.
FRANCAIS
