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Most of the woods you get are good, however I have found that heavy woods or really dense woods don't please me s much for negras. So the really glassy sounding when you tap them or dense species I stay away from now if I can help it. I prefer the darker woods which have less density. Macassar Ebony, Maylasian black wood, stuff like that does not interest me as much anymore. Bubinga, Walnut, Black Acacia, Caviuna and other that feel like those, are all woods I prefer if not using Indian Rosewood. Granted that is spread of qualities and species, each piece will be different. I've just found I personally don't like working with the really heavy stuff.
looking to build my first negra and i want something different than rose wood, is Monkey pod good thanks for the help
Stephan is right. Stay away from heavy, dense woods. Madagascar Rosewood is a nice choice if you don't want to use East Indian RW. I always try to talk customers into East Indian RW because of it's stability and weight.
Also consider Padauk/Coral. It's not a rosewood and it's in a league of its own as a fantastic tonewood IMO. Generally stiffer than EIR and can be worked really thin and it has a really musical taptone and extremely responsive sound. I have made one guitar with it that turned out fantastic and I have orders for 2 more. If those turn out just as good I will have to start using it as my go-to back and side wood, no joke.
The list for Negras would be huge, considering anything other then maple or cypress is a Negra. Monkey pod won't sound like a typical Negra considering its been successfully used as a soundboard on steel string guitars. I personally prefer Blancas over Negras so anything that fits somewhere in between isn't such a bad thing. There are lots of candidates out there but they don't all share the same workability.
I always try to talk customers into East Indian RW because of it's stability and weight.
And to this I´ll add tone... Indian RW is a VERY good tonewood.
But most find it to be boring. I agree on Madagascar and Padauk, and if you can get a nice piece of Palo Escrito and live with the little knots, its a very nice sounding Negra wood. Its slightly lighter than the rest. I think Mahogany should make for a nice negra but I´ve never tried it myself, nor have I seen others use it.
I'm finishing a negra in Pau Ferro (my first in that wood) right now. Workability of the wood is very nice. I have not yet made any sound assessments, although it has been used for negras before. Paco DL plays one, that much I know.
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palo escrito is good wood then? compare to rosewood which you think has better tone
Palo Escrito is a true rosewood. (Dalberhia)
I´ve made just one guitar with the wood and soundwise I like it a lot. It can be pretty as well, but it can also be knotty or with mushy pale stripes. I would use it a lot more if I had a decent reliable supplier.
Another good choice would be Panama rosewood if you can get some decent material. It makes for a very nice contrast with Indian rosewood bindings and it has a deep golden brown color. I´m going to start one very soon and made another 2 years ago which I liked a lot. Here´s a picture before French Polish.
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RE: good woods to build a negra ? (in reply to TANúñez)
quote:
ORIGINAL: TANúñez
Bamboo go bars! genius. Never thought of that.
Brief distraction from negra woods...yeah, bamboo works well, and we have plenty of it growing around Portland. It costs nothing (for me) and works fine, especially for stronger pressure. I don't use a go bar deck, and prop the bars directly against the ceiling. I also use various thicknesses of wood ripped on the table saw. If more oomph is needed, rip a slightly beefier strip of wood. Otherwise, go thin. Works like a charm. Okay, my apology for a pause, let's go back to discussing negra tonewoods...
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I have often wondered about walnut for backs and sides. Anyone have generalizations about the tones offered by American compared to Peruvian? Or if walnut is worth a darn over all?
I like palo escrito a lot if its good wood and worked correctly. Palo escrito is what I ordered when I got my negra. I could have chose anything, but went with it and I'm not disappointed.
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