With a rich dark reddish-brown colour, mahogany is very easy to spot. Sapele Lumber Angela Raimato 2020-07-23T11:29:33-04:00 SAPELE EXOTIC WOOD Once considered a more refined member of the mahogany family, Sapele is now being used as the industry standard for doors, windows and moldings due to the restrictions on South American Mahogany. It also wears very well and will hold up to years of playing, even more so than some of the less dense options available like rosewood. Peruvian Walnut (Juglans Neotropica) Nogal H=3.6, M=3.4, B=4.2, S=2.6, O=1, T=1.2 Peruvian Walnut is a true walnut. Darker woods are generally considered more attractive, aesthetically at least, for acoustic guitar fretboards. Great post and very helpful….Now if I could only find out if my 2007 Martin 000-15 was hog or Sapele…that would be great…lol. Summary: similar tone to mahogany but with a little extra high-end definition, with stripy red colouration. In my opinion both are great tonewoods anyway and if you like the tone of your 000-15, that’s the main thing! Can you notice the difference? Usually, when someone asks what Sapele is, the answer is invariably – “it’s like Mahogany”. Denser sets of mahogany can start to take on some of the sonic characteristics of the rosewood, but generally, it’s a tone wood that will provide a punchy and balanced tone with a relatively emphasized midrange, certainly compared to the enhanced highs and lows that rosewood will generate. Yeah it’s hard to know if yours is Sapele or Hog. Sapele would then be a 2 or 3. Honduran Mahogany is a species of wood known scientifically as Swietenia macrophylla. Sapele is definitely a real wood! ‘Transparent’ is a word commonly used to describe the inherent tone of maple, and it will frequently provide considerably more treble than the rosewood or mahogany alternatives mentioned earlier. Summary: extremely bright tone that mellows over time, resulting in a well-rounded high and low emphasis. The fretboard is where you tend to get a broader variety, as this is one of the main parts that you’re in contact with when playing your instrument. Although maple is frequently employed as the back and sides tone wood for violins, it’s not quite as common in acoustic guitar building. This, of course, as always, depends on your particular tastes – mostly. I recently got a Martin Backpacker 25th edition. Walnut is a resilient wood similar to rosewood. May have awesome figure. Similar in appearance and tone to Genuine Mahogany, Sapele exhibits a powerful midrange, great punch and bright and airy trebles. Sitka Spruce is used more than any other species for guitar soundboards. 2,192 3. Bamboo. In some cases (particularly for guitar tops), the solid piece of wood is divided into two and mirrored – you’ll often notice a distinct divide in the middle of a guitar top when this is the case. Here’s a breakdown of some of the most popular choices for acoustic guitar tops: If there is such a thing as an industry standard top tone wood, then Spruce would have to tick that box. Allergies/Toxicity: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Sapele has been reported as a skin and respiratory irritant. Does it mean one is thicker and/or harder than the other? A lot of guitarists, especially new guitarists might not have even heard of it. Some people prefer the look of Sapele, and others prefer Mahogany. Thank you so much for the information btw! An African tone wood closely related to Mahogany, Sapele is similar in both look and sound. Summary: bright, immediate tone with excellent projection. These include: Honduran Mahogany is generally considered to be a better quality tonewood. Our Timber Durability Chart & Database has all of the information you're looking for! Sapele is offered in many of our wood door styles.When “Solid” is noted, that is the version available. And fun to work. Thanks for that! 5 out of 5 stars (5) 5 reviews. If you strum a guitar in the small room, there’s less space for the sound to move around in, so the sound dies down quicker but is clear. That’s because they’re easy to work with and respond well to tension. It has a relatively high velocity of sound, and the highest strength to weight ratio than any other wood. Glad the article could help. A very well done article. FIGURED CLARO WALNUT JUGLANS CALIFRONICA JUGLANS HINDSII Cedar tends to produce slightly richer overtones, and this results in a tone with less sparkle but more character. All else being equal, Sapele will be a lot like Mahogany, to be fair, but with some subtle differences. It’s harder than both Honduran and African Mahogany. 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