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Woods we love.
Here are some of woods we use more often and offer regularly. Do let us know if you have in mind something that you don't see here.

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Nyatoh

Palaquium Blanco. Native of south east Asia, this wood sits in the sweet spot between mahogany and ash. The warmth of the former without sounding dark; the snap and clarity of the latter without sounding as harsh. The grain is similar to white ash's. Colour ranges from light to dark brown. Moderately heavy to light. Great for bodies. Availability: good.

 

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White tulip

Pterygota alata. Native of south east Asia, India, PNG. A good replacement for swamp ash, more even sounding. Beautiful grain/texture. Consistently pale yellow from sap to core. Fairly light. Great for bodies.
Availability: good.

Raintree

Samanea Saman. Another wood from south east Asia. Beautiful grain, often with dramatic looking dark patches. Medium to heavy. Mahogany-like warmth, with sweet, musical high mids. Brown to very dark chocolate. Great for bodies, tops.
Availability: good.

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Renghas

Gluta Renghas. Native of south east Asia. Very similar in many ways to padauk both structurally, tonally and colour-wise. Compared to padauk, renghas features a prettier grain, especially in the Tiger renghas variant. Excellent for necks, fretboards, body, tops. Rare.

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Blackwood Ebony.

Diospyros Ebonasea. Together with Macassar, this ebony is one of the most sought after ebony. Native of south east Asia, it produces an even tone, snappy and clear, but warmer, not as glassy sounding as Gabon ebony - which we also offer.
Fretboards, neck stringers, tops.

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White ash.

Fraxinus Americana. Our stock comes from North America. Moderately heavy, dense, beautiful grain. Bright, snappy, slightly compressed sounding, . White to pale cream colour.
Great for bodies and necks.

Maple

Acer Saccharum. We love maple and offer it in any available variety: rock, big leaf, flamed, quilted, roasted. Ideal for necks, boards, tops and occasionally bodies. Medium to heavy. Great clarity and bright, snappy tone. Our stock comes from North America.
Availability: good.


 

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Walnut

Juglans Californica. Beautiful, dark brown coloured wood. Similar in grain patterns and tone to nyato, albeit slightly darker sounding. Heavy.  Bodies, neck laminates, tops. Our stock comes from North America. Availability: fair.

 

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These are but a few of our extensive selection of wood that are ready to go. Others are: mahogany, ironwood, ovangkol, pau ferro, wenge, limba, purpleheart, padauk, zebrawood, sapele, olivewood, myrtlewood, redwood, amboyna and various burl.

      Seemingly different wood species often share similar qualities - structural integrity, weight, tone. Having been based in Asia for over twenty years, I know that local wood ticks all boxes. Plus one: it doesn't require shipping, which is both costly and polluting. What's good for the environment is good for me. Therefore we proudly offer some magnificent Asian woods as standard.

You can certainly choose wood from anywhere on the planet. We'll get it for you. But I promise you: trust me and you'll be happy.

Likewise, we value what some call imperfections: to us they are the individual piece unique character and, so long as structural integrity is ensured, we will happily use them to add personality to your instrument. Thank you.

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