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Is mahogany really heavy?

Bright Midnight

Bright Midnight

Oct 5, 2010
1,261
1,230
Belgium, Flanders
#1
I'm looking at buying a bass made from mahogany with a bubinga top. Won't be able to try it before I buy it. Is mahogany 'heavy'? My guitar player decided not to buy the Gibson he so loves because she weighs too much, and she's made from mahogany. The Gibson weighs 11kg's, simply too much, even for me. Guessing the weight of the bass will be lower because of the thinner body.

All in all, is mahogany a heavier wood?
 
#8
I'm guessing it is probably 11lbs and not 11kg. I believe that un-chambered LP's run in the 12-13lb range while the chambered variety can come in under 10. Bib B is right in that it depends on the species and the board as well. And bubinga is heavy as hell, just like wenge.
 
#9
Big B. said:
Depends on what they are calling mahogany. The south american species tend to be lighter while the african varieties are often quite heavy. One thing is for sure, bubinga IS heavy. ;)
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This. Lately I've building identical bodies out of African mahogany aka khaya, it's very heavy compared to Honduran mahogany and Sapele, which are both surprisingly light.
 
#10
rdrr said:
I'm guessing it is probably 11lbs and not 11kg. I believe that un-chambered LP's run in the 12-13lb range while the chambered variety can come in under 10. Bib B is right in that it depends on the species and the board as well. And bubinga is heavy as hell, just like wenge.
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I agree. How many guitars could a company sell if their product weight was anywhere near 24 pounds? The OP is from Europe and they think in kilograms but can't be anywhere near 11 kilos. BTW: One kilogram equals 2.2 pounds for anyone who is not up on metric weights.
 
#13
I would find out which "mahogany" is being used. The range of weights is huge, depending on which it is, as others have posted. I picked up a piece of African at the local WoodCraft store and it was far too heavy to use as the main wood for a body or neck of a guitar or bass. I'm sure it would be very stable and would look great, but holy crap! That 1" x 10" x 4' board must have weighed 20 pounds!
 
#15
Here's the thing with mahogany. Some bits are light, some are lead weights. It all depends. Ibanez, ESP, Jackson mahogany is very lights in my experience, but also dents extremely easily. The mahogany I used for my custom build on the other hand was hard as rock and heavy as all get out. a tell tale sign is if possible, look at the color of the mahogany, lighter it is, the softer it is, the lighter it is. Darker = heavier = harder. Except for the instance of staining. Then look at the grain. The softer mahoganies don't have much character to their grain.
 

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