# Different mahogany types???



## Breakdown (Jan 1, 2009)

I was looking up body woods and I found some people talking about the different types of mahogany. So I was wondering what do companies like schecter,ltd ibanez or even gibson use for mahogany on their lower end models (like gibby's SG special faded,ltd's 400 and 500 models,schecter's cheaper models like the gryphon). is it that phillipine mahogany luana or do they use african mahogany or some other type. I know that not even gibson uses honduras mahogany (unless im wrong) due to the species being protected. and is there a big difference in tonal characteristics between the different mahogany woods? 
sry if there is already a thread on this BTW


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## Andrew_B (Jan 1, 2009)

google it...

as far as i know, and care (i dont care at all lol) the companies use the same line.. 

"we use the best woods available, with minimul damage to the environment"

something like that... 

although... in my mind... i would say that they have a "stash" of better woods for their custom shops and artists guitars...

but yea... as i said.. i dont care lol.. i dont buy from them..
google will bring up all your answers


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## cosmicamnesia (Jan 1, 2009)

not that this answers your question at all....but i know for sure that washburn's custom shop uses african mahogany...i has one


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## Elysian (Jan 1, 2009)

honduran is kind of boring to look at... i find african to just sound better as well as looks a helluvalot better, its my mahogany of choice when i'm building.


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## Yoshi (Jan 2, 2009)

Elysian said:


> honduran is kind of boring to look at... i find african to just sound better as well as looks a helluvalot better, its my mahogany of choice when i'm building.



If you're unfortunate enough to get a piece from the bottom of the African Mahogany tree I'd spit chips. I had a heavy "African Mahogany" guitar, was shit house.


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## hufschmid (Jan 2, 2009)

I'm in love with either the Sapeli or the sipo specie, which are not the cheaper ones but the most gorgeous ones...

Here is my all time favourite Sapeli specie...

















I love to also stain it...


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## drenzium (Jan 2, 2009)

hufschmid said:


>



amazing guitar right here


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## hufschmid (Jan 2, 2009)

thanks


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## wezv (Jan 2, 2009)

yeah, i like sapelli (spellings vary!!) although to me its not the most mahogany like of the alternative mahoganies. I think i prefer sapelli as it doesnt quite have the muddiness that mahogany can have (not all mahogany) and i think sapellie necks are a bit stiffer

Khaya is another of tht alternative mahoganies, not one i have had much to do with yet but thats the one usually sold as african mahogany

Luan/phillipine mahogany is pretty shoddy stuff - i am sure some companies will have used it but dont really know who

i think a lot of the bigger companies go for south american mahoganies.

but what really matters is how suitable a particular piece of wood is for a particular guitar. not soemthing you can do much about on production stuff other than try as many examples of a guitar as you can

as an extreme example i had two identical mahogany through neck blanks here. Both the same species from the same supplier. Both exactly the same dimensions, very similar colours, similar grain... basically nothing between them.... that is untill you picked them up. 1 of them was literally twice the weight, i actually weighed them to make sure i wasnt imagining it. They both rung nice and clear when tapped so i knew they would both make nice sounding guitar.... but they would definatly not sound the same!!


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## Breakdown (Jan 3, 2009)

yeah i heard not so good things about luan and want to stay aay from it. Never really seen a posotive review of it and i dont think anyone would reccomend it


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## jacksonplayer (Jan 3, 2009)

Gibson does indeed use Honduran mahogany, though primarily in their custom shop. What's called "Honduran" mahogany actually comes from all over Central and South America, I believe. It's a different species than African mahogany, with a different sound. Obviously individual pieces of lumber vary, but the species of wood used *does* make a difference. My Heritage H-157 Les Paul is Honduran mahogany, I'm quite sure.


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## Breakdown (Jan 3, 2009)

jacksonplayer said:


> Gibson does indeed use Honduran mahogany, though primarily in their custom shop. What's called "Honduran" mahogany actually comes from all over Central and South America, I believe. It's a different species than African mahogany, with a different sound. Obviously individual pieces of lumber vary, but the species of wood used *does* make a difference. My Heritage H-157 Les Paul is Honduran mahogany, I'm quite sure.


Yeah im pretty sure gibson uses Honduran mahogany on their custom and higher end models but im also pretty sure they dont use it on their lower end models such as the sg special and les paul studio models (which im guessing are african mahogany). They gutiars ive recently been looking at are most definately not custom or high end lol. Ive been looking mostly at import gutiars such as the ltd 400/1000's or schecter's gryphon or american made sg specials or lp studio models. rahter inexpensive guitars (well used at least). Im just trying to stay away from that cheapo luan crap not really looking for the most high end mahogany. just something that sounds good.
lol


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## Elysian (Jan 3, 2009)

Breakdown said:


> Yeah im pretty sure gibson uses Honduran mahogany on their custom and higher end models but im also pretty sure they dont use it on their lower end models such as the sg special and les paul studio models (which im guessing are african mahogany). They gutiars ive recently been looking at are most definately not custom or high end lol. Ive been looking mostly at import gutiars such as the ltd 400/1000's or schecter's gryphon or american made sg specials or lp studio models. rahter inexpensive guitars (well used at least). Im just trying to stay away from that cheapo luan crap not really looking for the most high end mahogany. just something that sounds good.
> lol


african mahogany is not any worse than honduran, i wouldn't go assuming its used on cheap guitars, cause usually it isn't. i know that mr. sherman was the main reason i started using african mahogany, and he was absolutely right, to my ears, it sounds better than honduran, looks better, and just plain owns.


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## Breakdown (Jan 3, 2009)

Elysian said:


> african mahogany is not any worse than honduran, i wouldn't go assuming its used on cheap guitars, cause usually it isn't. i know that mr. sherman was the main reason i started using african mahogany, and he was absolutely right, to my ears, it sounds better than honduran, looks better, and just plain owns.


naw I have nothing against african mahogany Seems like a good wood thats what im hoping the guitars im considering are made of actually
the one i wanna stay away from is luan (phillipine "mahogany") . I hear its not good used on instruments but rather on furniture. I dont think I said cheap gutiars man just the cheaper models like the sg or LP studio (at over 1k new i wouldn't exactly call it a cheap gutiar)


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## wezv (Jan 3, 2009)

jacksonplayer said:


> Obviously individual pieces of lumber vary, but the species of wood used *does* make a difference.


 

Of course it makes a difference but to me its mainly in generalisations, like i could say good honduras is generally a bit more vibrant and acousticy (vintagey??) wheras african is generally sharper in the attack and clearer (modern??)

Dont get me wrong, generalisations are good to a point but they also end up being the basis of voodoo and marketing crap if taken literally all the time. The fact is that there is a lot of cross over between the different species (especially when just talking about mahogany types) and it does come down to individual guitars/pieces of wood - try before you buy!!!

also the south american mahoganies have more variety than ever before, the stock is just not as conistent as it was when gibson started making Les pauls


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## func (Jul 1, 2009)

Hi on this topic I was just wondering if anyone knows the type of mahogany used in Ibanez prestige guitars? They arent that expensive but I'm still hoping they use at least the african variety and not the asian type?

It would also be interesting to know the type PRS uses on its production custom 24s...It seems that Honduras mahogany is mainly used in custom shop models nowadays?


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## Yoshi (Jul 1, 2009)

It's African on the prestiges I believe...Think it was said to be AAA grade.

Also, African Mahogany AAAAA is used as a substitute for Honduran at times. If I'm not mistaken Gibby use it on their higher end too.


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## func (Jul 2, 2009)

Hey Yoshi, do you have a link or source from where you heard that from? Would be good to know at least they use african mahogany in prestiges and not the asian variety from Phillippines or something..


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## hufschmid (Jul 2, 2009)

Sorry to say this but I thought I would comment...

I like A grade and not AAAAAAA

Simply because it has more natural grains and true wood caracteristics in the grain which makes it look much more gorgeous to me...

I prefer an ebony A grade because it will have some stripes in the colour as oposite to an AAAAAAA grade which would be perfectly black...

This will not change in any ways the seasoning and the quality of the wood...

As a matter of a fact, most violins which where built hundereds of years ago and by the greatest in most cases where always built with very low grade woods which would be considered bad and thrown away of our days...

FROM LMI


> *Our Premium grade (West African Ebony only) are the very darkest available in this species. No quantity discounts are given and backorders are sometimes necessary.
> 
> 
> *Our 1st grade ranges from basically black with thin, faint streaks and/or gray mottling, to evenly colored ultra-dark brown (which will appear black once a fingerboard oil is applied). This is the grade we are shipping to high-end guitar manufactures. Additional quantity discounts are available for purchases of 25 or more units. Please inquire.
> ...


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## Yoshi (Jul 3, 2009)

func said:


> Hey Yoshi, do you have a link or source from where you heard that from? Would be good to know at least they use african mahogany in prestiges and not the asian variety from Phillippines or something..



Was said in passing by a mate of mine. He said that the dude who sold him his prestige RGT was african mahogany. I don't think they use Nato (Eastern Mahogany) on their prestiges. I do however, know that the J.Custom line is african mahogany, as Digimart.net has several that state they are African mahogany bodied.


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