Mahogany vs. Korina wood - discuss...

[Korina& Mahogany]

I just got back from Lax, went to Dave's to see his store.
I handled his 59 Korina Explorer & V.
The Explorer was much heavier than I expected. The Historic Custom Shop he had next to it was so much lighter.
The 59v was heavier than his other Historic Custom Shop Korina V, again next to it. The V's were much closer in weight than the Ex's. He also had a Historic Korina V with a Futura Headstock for $6500; super light too.

 

[loner22]

I have been repairing musical instruments for 19 years and have repaired quite a few butchered 50's Gibsons from which I kept samples of wood.

:bug poor owners... =(

"hey mister repairman, i thought my guitar was significantly thicker before that refin :wtf" :lol2

 

[rockandroller]

In view of the non-availabilty of old growth Honduras and Cuban mahogany, does there currently exist Sapele and Khaya that is of the same tonal quality as the stuff available 50 years ago?

I would say YES. We recently acquired a large stash of Khaya thats not too old (I would say less than ten years old) and its MAGNIFICENT. Every guitar we have made of it almost vibrates right out of your hands. Its very light, but very hard too... you pick up a guitar made of it and it just feels SO RIGHT, just the heft of it.

2003 is going to be a 'vintage year' for our shop

 

[GoldenBuff96]

Rockandroller checking in all the way from Moscow!

Are you a guitar builder?

Edit: Brand name? Website? Prices?

 

[exhaust_49]

I was thinking of building a paul from white korina but it would'nt have the piss and vinegar that mahogany has!

 

[exhaust_49]

bump

 

[exhaust_49]

double bump

 

[GrasshopperRick]

My guitar has a mahogany neck and a korina body.
The color mismatch looks a little odd, but there's no lack of piss or vinegar.

 

[exhaust_49]

Im thinking of doing an all korina body with maple cap, brazillian rosewood fretboard. Do you think that wood combo would have less punch. Really how much can the neck wood affect your tone?

 

[GoldenBuff96]

Really how much can the neck wood affect your tone?

Alot, according to PRS. Take it for what it's worth! I guess the thicker and wider neck has more effect to the overall sound than the thinner and slimmer neck. Make sense to me, but you probably already know that.

 

[exhaust_49]

would a pearly gates humbucker have enough bottom end for a korina lp?

 

[GrasshopperRick]

How much does the neck wood affect the tone?!?
A shitload!
Think about how an LP with a maple neck (like some customs... right?) sounds in comparison to a regular one. That added brightness isn't just due to the ebony fretboard, although that contributes.
I haven't ever had any lack of low end with mine, which is chambered (which typically reduces some low lows for more lower mids). Then again... the neck on this thing is so big that most people wouldn't be able to play it.
It was too bright with fralins, but that's probably largely due to the bigass maple top. When it was too bright, it didn't lack lows, it just had too shrill a top end.

 

[GoldenBuff96]

would a pearly gates humbucker have enough bottom end for a korina lp?

I'm not sure how the Pearly Gates will sound with Korina. In my LP, the neck is great.
1) it doesn't have as much highs as a Paf-type pup, but the lack of highs is compensated for a healthy dose of upper mids, therefore it is not a "dark" or "tame" sounding pup at all.
2) it has a lof of mids which resulted in bigger/thicker overall sound - good for jazz/blues/classic rock.
3) it has a great amount of bass also - for added warmness
Overall, I found the neck pup to be on the warm side. I doesn't have the "glassiness" highs (which I love) of a A5 Magnet pup, a la the SD '59.

The PG bridge pup did nothing for me. I thought it was thin and bright. However, the combine position sounds incredible!

Korina and mahogany are very similar. In general, I think you might get more resonance (vibrattion -> more tonal, 3D complexity) with Korina. Unfortunately, with the extra resonance, you might loose some sustain, raunchiness and attitude of the darker/heavier mahogany. The guitar might sound "too nice," for lack of a better description. In addition, I anticipate that the bolt-on neck of your guitar will make it a bit brighter than the LP. From these premises, the PG sounds perfect. Hope this help.

 

[exhaust_49]

let me get this straight, what kind of mahogany are lp made out of (now) and which would be the best out of the to two make a paul out of, honduran mahogany of african mahogany?

 

[exhaust_49]

bump:smokin

 

[Bluburst135]

You guys are great....now a really stupid question: If its a matter of density and wood weight,why not use Walnut or Oak,as these are very heavy and dense?And more readily available,too.

 

[GrasshopperRick]

It's actually my understanding that walnut sounds quite good for basses and guitars... pretty too.
I'm not planning on trying oak anytime soon.
There's a lot more to it than density, though.

 

[GoldenBuff96]

let me get this straight, what kind of mahogany are lp made out of (now) and which would be the best out of the to two make a paul out of, honduran mahogany of african mahogany?

I'm not sure, but it seems like a lot of high-end makers advertise Honduran mahogany. Just from reading various threads and articles, I gathered that Honduran mahogany is more expensive in price, consistent in quality, and lighter in weight.

Playing devil advocate here, maybe Honduran is more expensive than African mahogany because of its rarity and not because of its superior tonal quality. Who knows!!!

However, I know that my LP is made from Honduran mahogany and it sounds fantastic. Unfortunately, I don't have an african mahogany to compare it to. But I'm sure, that guitar would also sound great. Personally, I don't really care about the wood origin, as long as it sounds good. Hope this help.

 

[GoldenBuff96]

You guys are great....now a really stupid question: If its a matter of density and wood weight,why not use Walnut or Oak,as these are very heavy and dense?And more readily available,too.

Walnut, from what I gathered, is similar to mahogany tone-wise. However, it has a bit more highs, more weight and MORE expensive.

Don't know much about oak, but I've heard that it's not a good tonal wood, therefore, not good for building guitar.

 

[el84ster]

I don't think Brian May'd agree that oak isn't a good tone wood.