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Hey everyone, A little update on what I've been up to. Just strung up a new Spruce/Padauk (Coral) guitar with no finish on it yet. The Padauk was extremely stiff so I took it nice and thin. It's a very nice tonewood I think. The guitar is really loud, clear and responsive.
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Thanks gounaro, the guitar is an order. But I have more Padauk
You should try it Stephen. My teacher has a set that has a really unbelievable tap-tone. Totally marimba-like and musical. But he wouldn't let me use it
I do like the aged padauk look, I'm not a huge fan when it is fresh crimson red looking. What do you plan on filling those pores with Andy? The colour can bleed pretty badly when hit with alcohol.
Yeah, be carefull when giving the first coat of sealer. It bleaches a lot. Also that orange dust is very sticky and very difficult to get rid of. Padauk gets very dull when exposed to ligt. Kind of greyish brown. But besides that, its a great tonewood. I dont think you can compare it to cypress. Its a lot heavyer.
Padauk is more akin to Brazilian rosewood, at least the pieces I've held are. Very active and bright tap tone. Rang for days. Not at all like cypress. My teacher, Alan Carruth was building a guitar out of it years ago when I was studying with him and I remember it was prone to splitting. His set was very well quartered and definitely a kickass set of wood but it drove him nuts.
It can oxidize down to a nice deep brown eventually, although depending on the finish it might be a bit grey like Anders experienced.
The bright orange is a turn off for me but I've been thinking it might be worth trying for bridges.
I do like the aged padauk look, I'm not a huge fan when it is fresh crimson red looking. What do you plan on filling those pores with Andy? The colour can bleed pretty badly when hit with alcohol.
Normally I fill pores with 30 min epoxy and then scrape back down to bare wood. Then I seal everything with a piece of t-shirt, keeping color off the purflings... it can't bleed that much more than Indian can it??
quote:
Yeah, be carefull when giving the first coat of sealer. It bleaches a lot. Also that orange dust is very sticky and very difficult to get rid of. Padauk gets very dull when exposed to ligt. Kind of greyish brown. But besides that, its a great tonewood. I dont think you can compare it to cypress. Its a lot heavyer.
My friend made a padauk steel string and 4 years later it is a nice deep brown with a reddish glow.. looks really nice to me. Yes Padauk is its own thing, not very closely related to rosewood but the sound is in the same ballpark.
quote:
Padauk is more akin to Brazilian rosewood, at least the pieces I've held are. Very active and bright tap tone. Rang for days. Not at all like cypress. My teacher, Alan Carruth was building a guitar out of it years ago when I was studying with him and I remember it was prone to splitting. His set was very well quartered and definitely a kickass set of wood but it drove him nuts.
It can oxidize down to a nice deep brown eventually, although depending on the finish it might be a bit grey like Anders experienced.
The bright orange is a turn off for me but I've been thinking it might be worth trying for bridges.
It is very splitty. That fact actually contributed to me putting a one inch gash in my thumb with a chisel. Of course being an idiot was also a small factor
the picture isn't as important as the message, which is, "very nice!"
it seems like you get to try using all sorts of different woods nowadays and you always get a very flamenco sound no matter what. have you found a favorite so far?
Yeah my last 4 guitars have been Myrtle, Cypress, Indian Rosewood, and Padauk.
I am really starting to think that "objectively" Indian Rosewood is the best tonewood for guitars, in terms of volume, clarity, balance and overall musicality. BUT I personally ALWAYS like blancas (cypress) the best. It's hard to explain but I think cypress actually has something of a damping effect on the sound which makes those guitars more enjoyable to play and listen to over the long term. Myrtle is in the same camp IMO while Padauk is closer to rosewood.
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