Could one of you woodsmiths out there please take a look at this Epi Goth Tbird body. It is supposed to be Mahogany. But I've never seen Mahogany look so yellow. I bought this to strip and turn into a Fenderbird. I have been collecting parts for a while. When I took the neck off tonight I found the unpainted sides of the neck pocket to be yellow. In case there was some sort of primer on it I scraped away some paint in the bottom of the pocket (photo 2). It's even lighter and more yellow to the eye than it looks in the photos. I've never known mahogany not to be reddish and before I go further I'd appreciate some expert opinions. Thanks.

Tough to tell from photos, but it looks like it could be Mahogany. This is Mahogany. It seems to come in many shades. Does the body feel pretty light? When you sand or scrape it does it seem to be .....no other way to describe it "fuzzy"?

Tough to tell from photos, but it looks like it could be Mahogany. This is Mahogany. It seems to come in many shades. Does the body feel pretty light? When you sand or scrape it does it seem to be .....no other way to describe it "fuzzy"?

The body is light. I scraped some more and it does feel soft and kind of fuzzy where it was scraped. But it definitely doesn't have that telltale red tint. I Imagine since it is an Epiphone it's probably a pretty cheap grade of wood. I suppose I'll have to strip the whole thing to be sure. Thanks for your help.

Yeah, I've seen mahogany in all sorts of shades. It does look to be mahogany, just not as red as what you would see in a Gibby. At the same time though, most Gibsons are stained mahogany.
Just be glad the description didn't say 'select hardwood'. Then you wouldn't know what you're dealing with!

http://frets.com/FRETSPages/Musician/Guitar/ToneWoods/tonewoods2.html

Mahogany is a very light color, but it's almost always stained. My dad has a once-cherry-red 335 that was in a fire and had the finish burned off (way before he got it), and the mahogany is that color. I have the same bass and the wood is that color.

http://frets.com/FRETSPages/Musician/Guitar/ToneWoods/tonewoods2.html

Mahogany is a very light color, but it's almost always stained. My dad has a once-cherry-red 335 that was in a fire and had the finish burned off (way before he got it), and the mahogany is that color. I have the same bass and the wood is that color.

Thank you. The third color example in that link is pretty spot on. I've just never seen it light like that. Even the blank unfinished mahogany bodies you see for sale usually have more of a reddish color. I feel better now.

Looks like Basswood or Poplar to me. I've never seen Mahogany so light, or grainless for that matter.

Looks like Basswood or Poplar to me. I've never seen Mahogany so light, or grainless for that matter.

Thats what I thought until I went to the link provided earlier in this thread.
I suppose I'll either go ahead and strip the whole thing or sell it and buy a slab Tbird body that I know for sure is Mahogany. I sure as sh*t don't want a Fenderbird made out of Basswood or Poplar. Thanks for the reply.

Hi.

As You might know, mahogany as any other families of trees, is just a large variety of woods categorized with one or several different characteristics.

I usually look at the grain structure and relative hardness when trying to determine the family, the color is usually just an indication of the soil and water minerals in the growing area. Because different woods (sap) have different chemical properties different color variations occur.

My guess is alder (birch) as I've never bought that the sunburst and the specials, LTDs, whatever are made out of alder and goth and blackbird are made out of mahogany.

I'd buy a warmoth mahogany T-bird body for a positively mahogany looking (sounding ?) body.

Just my 0.02€
Sam

I've worked wit mahogany and red alder that were almost exactly the same colour. For me the wood in the pics looks like it may be mahogany. Weight is not a sure way to find out if it's mahogany or not.
Marko

That does look like Mahogany. As mentioned by others, I too, have worked with Mahogany that had different colors, and Im not talking about different colors between Khaya and Brazilian, just differences in Khaya. My guess is your bass is Khaya Mahogany. Its way cheaper than brazilian, less endangered, and lighter in color, grain, and weight. It might also be Cedro, Spanish Cedar, and its a lot more yellow than Khaya.

I'd say it's African Mahogany. I've worked with Honduran and African, and Honduran looks like you would expect mahogany to, more brown/reddish. African mahogany can be VERY light in color, and it's also a lot lighter as far as weight goes. And it also has that "fuzzy" quality to it.

At Benedetto we've used both Honduran and African, and it's amazing how light colored some of the african is. And I know all about the fuzziness because I'm the sanding guy, and that stuff is impossible to sand out!!!

That is interesting I always thought the African was the heavier stuff..Live and learn I guess..t

I'd say it's African Mahogany. I've worked with Honduran and African, and Honduran looks like you would expect mahogany to, more brown/reddish. African mahogany can be VERY light in color, and it's also a lot lighter as far as weight goes. And it also has that "fuzzy" quality to it.

At Benedetto we've used both Honduran and African, and it's amazing how light colored some of the african is. And I know all about the fuzziness because I'm the sanding guy, and that stuff is impossible to sand out!!!

Thanks Ray. I appreciate the reply. This morning I noticed when looking into the painted pup routes that it does have that texture of a rough piece of Mahogany. I was just so thrown off by the color. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to look and comment.

pretty sure it's philipene mohogany, aka the 'cheap' mohogany, as it's texture and characteristics are nearly the same as honduran, but it doesn't have the 'look' so it's prefect if your painting it, but not if your going natural stain.

I'd say it's African Mahogany. I've worked with Honduran and African, and Honduran looks like you would expect mahogany to, more brown/reddish. African mahogany can be VERY light in color, and it's also a lot lighter as far as weight goes. And it also has that "fuzzy" quality to it.

At Benedetto we've used both Honduran and African, and it's amazing how light colored some of the african is. And I know all about the fuzziness because I'm the sanding guy, and that stuff is impossible to sand out!!!

African is also known as Khaya Mahogany. Indeed it can be very light in color.

"Mahogany" is such a broad term used by big industry. This link has only a few mentioned, http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Mahogany__One_Name_Many_Species.html

but there are over 500 different species in the Meliaceae family, and many could technically be called "Mahogany", so take your pick. It looks like poplar to me though, but the pic is not very clear. Basswood is also possible.

Any body who thinks they can identify a wood species from a poor quality photo of some paint scratch removal is kidding themselves and others. Sorry to bust the bubbles.

True mahogany is in the Genus Swietenia of the family Meliaceae. If it ain't in that Genus it ain't mahogany, boys!!! African mahogany is in the Genus Khaya in the family Meliaceae. There are as many as six species in the Genus Khaya sold as African "mahogany". Some as light and brittle as wood comes and some heavy as rosewood and they are all mixed together. Colors from pink to deep golden red similar to Caribbean mahogany All mahogany is family Meliaceae, but not all Meliaceae is mahogany.

With a little more visible, we could give you a better answer. The grain looks like some pretty boring mahogany to me, but it doesn't mean it's not mahogany.

They use a lot of ugly stuff for lower end, solid color models.

Any body who thinks they can identify a wood species from a poor quality photo of some paint scratch removal is kidding themselves and others. Sorry to bust the bubbles.

True mahogany is in the Genus Swietenia of the family Meliaceae. If it ain't in that Genus it ain't mahogany, boys!!! African mahogany is in the Genus Khaya in the family Meliaceae. There are as many as six species in the Genus Khaya sold as African "mahogany". Some as light and brittle as wood comes and some heavy as rosewood and they are all mixed together. Colors from pink to deep golden red similar to Caribbean mahogany All mahogany is family Meliaceae, but not all Meliaceae is mahogany.


All very true, and when it comes to accuracy with some of these larger guitar companies and music store salesmen, there is no telling what exact kind of wood it is. What it is and what it was sold to be may be two different things. I've had some guys try and convince me a stained piece of basswood is mahogany at one of these local music stores.