mahogany alternatives

[anonymous278347457]

Ive been trying to get hold of some mahogany for a thunderbird, and the one on ebay which I was bidding was canceled,


so im looking for alternatives,


i know a place that can sell me a big piece of sapele or utili for about £25

also there is a piece of walnut up on ebay which looks good.


can you guys give me some advice on which one of these would sound most like mahogany? i dont really care about looks since im doing a solid finish


thanks

[Giel]

Limba (white & black korina) should sound similair to mahogany.. Personally, I think sounds better and has a very full sound..
Also IMO, I think it gives a higher acoustic volume, which results in a higher aplified volume.. Which is good..
The black korina looks great too!

Good luck!

[tjclem]

the Sapele I have used is more dense than Mahogany. Black limba is nice to work with if you can find it easily....t

[anonymous278347457]

is sapele good?

[HeathW]

sapele is great(built a very heavy TV-video caninet out of it the other day) , it is normaly harder, denser and heavier than mohogany but it's a great wood and the acoustic builders are using it a lot nowdays, got more in common strenght and sound wize to the old growth mohagany that was being used 20 years ago, not the light weight stuff that's being used nowdays. but beware it does have a spiral grain which makes planing abit trickier than some other woods.

[anonymous278347457]

Im choosing between a guitar blank shaped piece of walnut and a long thin piece of sapele which i will have to cut in half to use, which would be better for a thunderbird/fenderbird?

[HeathW]

if your gonna paint it then sapele as it will sound more like mohogany than the walnut. the sapele will give a bit more bass/warmth and the walnut (if it's american) will give sligtly better mids, but to tell the truth the pickups/ electrics will make alot more difference than the wood. the walnut should be easier to work if your going by the hand tools route.

[Geoff St. Germaine]

Dingwall Afterburner 2 basses used to have mahogany bodies, but it became difficult to get quality mahogany so they switched to walnut. IME the basses don't really sound any different and IMO the walnut looks nicer. I would personally use walnut.