Acoustic Guitar Building Course

[blinddrew]

Out of curiosity, are those prices US dollars or Australian ones?

[Zandit75]

Australian

[blinddrew]

Cheers, makes a reasonable difference

[Zandit75]

Aaron is just teasing me now, posting up photos of his builds from Aussie Blackwood!!
This is a concert sized Ukulele. Absolutely stunning!


I love this timber, yet I've had a number of people tell me that it's fine for back and sides, but not for the front. Too many traditionalists around here! Doesn't help that one of them is my wife!

[Simon Barden]

I've no experience with it at all, but what is fine for the sides and back, regardless of how nice it looks, might not resonate well enough to be a good wood for the top. There's normally a reason for these choices. But it shouldn't stop one experimenting (if you can afford to).

[Zandit75]

Aussie Blackwood is quite a common timber for use as a sound board. Both Maton and Cole Clark use it quite often, and the timber is closely related to Hawaiian Koa which has very similar colouring and figure. Both timbers are from the Acacia family.
Taylor is a big user of Koa in their builds, and similarly to Maton and Cole Clark, normally use the timbers for front, back & sides, not normally mixed with other timbers when used for a soundboard.
Here is the Taylor K24CE which I fell in love with at Easter time when I played it in Melbourne.

[Simon Barden]

That's my 'something new' learned today. I had a nice all Koa tenor uke that sounded nice.

[Zandit75]

That's my 'something new' learned today. I had a nice all Koa tenor uke that sounded nice.

Haha, glad to help out!

I love this timber, yet I've had a number of people tell me that it's fine for back and sides, but not for the front. Too many traditionalists around here! Doesn't help that one of them is my wife!

I realised I didn't explain this properly. Aesthetically, there are many traditionalists who believe timbers like this should only be used for back and sides, and that an acoustic "HAS" to have a spruce/softwood top. My wife is one of these, and when I show her pics of blackwood tops, she has said to me "I'll be disappointed if you bring home something like that"
I then turn around and say "It's not about what you like Bub!!!"

[Dedman]

which is the REAL explanation for the bruised heel

[Zandit75]

which is the REAL explanation for the bruised heel

Hahaha!! Perfect response!!