Guitars

[JFC]

Today i took the plunge and decided to cut up some of Wenge i bought from Lesley . I wanted to save it for a worthy job and i think a wenge guitar will look amazing .

After book matching the 5mm veneers to make the front and back i spoke to someone in the know who said wenge wouldn't make a very good sound board (front) so any ideas of what else i could use ? I have some figured Ash or does anyone want to swap some wenge for something else ?

 

[Slim]

There are a few ash topped guitars about, but the major manufacturers such as Martin, Taylor and Gibson don't use it. The normal tonewoods for guitar tops are spruce (Sitka & Engleman) and western red ceder. It would be a shame for you to have a stunning looking guitar and for it not to sound good.

 

[Slim]

I've also played a rosewood topped guitar, which sounded amazing.

 

[JFC]

Do you think wenge would sound bad ? I have a £50 out of the local paper crappy guitar that sounds better than all of my others . Is this tone wood talk for the orchestal crowd ? Saying that my semi acoustic has a tiger maple front and it sounds dull compared to the others .

 

[Slim]

I've just had a quick search through mimf and there are conflicting views as to whether wenge is a good tonewood or not. Take a look for yourself.

 

[engineer one]

jason, surely the ability of a wood to make a good soundboard is to do with the sub strata, and the design.

the fact that some cheap guitars and other instruments can sound better to us mere mortals than the expensive ones must frustrate many pro makers,
but surely the only way you are going to be sure is to do it???

presumably you are going to mount the veneers on ply, so that must be the defining factor rather than the look and feel of the front?

go for it, you can always moan at us later if it does not tune up as you want :twisted: :twisted:

anyway doesn't the shape of the inner box, and the hole make a contribution to the sound quality and tone too?? as long as the sound board vibrates properly, and either dampens or doesn't as you want is surely the important thing? :roll:

paul :wink:

 

[Slim]

presumably you are going to mount the veneers on ply

You could veneer over a spruce top. A thin veneer would not make much difference to the tonal qualities of the spruce.

 

[JFC]

No i was going to thin them down to about 3mm ish and make it from wenge .

 

[Supernova9]

I don't think the Wenge has a great strength to weight ratio (which is the key factor in an acoustic top), so at that thickness it's likely to come apart without some pretty heavy bracing (which will in turn make the top and thus the instrument less responsive)

I'd use that stuff for the back of the instrument, but not the soundboard. Spruce'd be a good bet if you can find some.

 

[Philly]

I found Wenge to be very brittle too - at the thickness you are hoping for it may be unworkable.
Philly

 

[JFC]

Hmmmmmmm Ive been pointed towards this site http://www.ellisguitars.com/Wenge.html
Seems it's good for the back and sides .
I never even thought of getting it thinner and veneering a ply base , if it all goes wrong maybe i will do that .
I couldn't find the wenge debate on the mimf site .
It's fun having silly ideas innit

 

[Slim]

I think MIGNAL is a luthier. Might be worth asking him.

 

[JFC]

Well i started on the neck untill i find out more about the body

I had the great idea of using a bit of wenge with the sap and heartwood on it but i'm a little worried that might have been a mistake even if it does look nice .

 

[JFC]

Bit of an update , i've bought some plans and a book aswell as some spruce for the soundboard and strutting ( The price hurt ) Anyway i've got on the best i can but the plans are not that detailed so any help would be appreciated .

 

[Slim]

Looking good. That back is stunning.

Don't forget to leave room for the kerfed lining when gluing the bracing. How do you plan to bend the sides?

 

[DomValente]

Looking good jason,

Dom

 

[Anonymous]

Hmmmm, let's have a little think, first tune played......stairway to heaven ... 8)

 

[andys wood shed]

Hmmmm, let's have a little think, first tune played......stairway to heaven ... 8)

I think Jason is more a Roger Whitaker or Burt Weedon fan :lol: :lol: :lol:
Andy

 

[engineer one]

nah, he's too young to have even read about either of them :lol: :twisted:

more john williams i think :roll:

paul :wink:

 

[andys wood shed]

Thanks Paul,
You have made me feel old now :wink:

Andy