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..but should be soon! (put down deposit in March of '10)
Anyway, I was intrigued by this amazing set of Malaysian Blackwood at Allied Luthier and asked Stephen to make a spruce/Malaysian negra with it.
Does anyone have experience with this wood? How do you think it compares to other negra woods? What should I expect? I'm giddy with anticipation and very curious to hear what it's going to sound like.
Posts: 797
Joined: Jun. 1 2010
From: Halifax, Nova Scotia
RE: my new Stephen Faulk negra.. (in reply to turnermoran)
Congrats on the coming guitar - I've never played any guitar with Malaysian Blackwood, but I have seen quite a few steel string acoustics made with it. I think it's cool that you're going outside the box with this wood choice - I've personally never seen a negra with this wood. I've owned quite a few SS guitars with different wood combos over the years, and all I can say is IMO there are no set rules. Stephen is far and away the most important factor to how your guitar will sound.
What type of spruce are you using?
Can we see the wood set, or are you saving the "unveiling" for when the guitar is finished?
Interesting quote from Gerald Sheppard (steel string luthier):
Malaysian Blackwood is a nickname. This back and side wood is actually a Malaysian Ebony. Its tonal characteristics are very similar to Macassar Ebony. Ebony is a dense wood, therefore it is a little heavier than many tone woods but this only serves to enhance it's rich tone. For the fingerstylist, this wood, combined with a European spruce top manifests a rich balanced tone. Ebony imparts full bass notes that decay more quickly than rosewood.
RE: my new Stephen Faulk negra.. (in reply to turnermoran)
I'm putting the glue blocks in this one today and after that slipping the back on. I've made this guitars sides really thin to cut down on weight. I'm pleased because I went quite thin and the wood is very stable and shows no ripples. Very clean. I expect this one to be responsive and on the light weight side for how heavy this wood is compared to Spanish Cypress.
RE: my new Stephen Faulk negra.. (in reply to ralexander)
@ralexander - thanks. And I understand a congrats are in order for you too on your blanca purchase. Stephen's blancas are monsters. Crazy power and crispy crunchy dry awesomeness. You'll love it it I'm sure.
As for the Blackwood in question, I don't have access to the pic of the particular set of wood I bought, but here is link, and mid way down there is a photo of a finished Ben Tortorici guitar, and that's more or less what the wood looks like: http://www.alliedlutherie.com/malaysianblackwd.htm
I think I went with a European Spruce top.
Thanks for that description by Sheppard. "Rich balanced bass notes that decay more quickly than rosewood" - that sounds like what I'm going for!
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