Wood Choices

Here's the lineup of my usual suspects. A stringed instrument is built both of hard woods and soft woods. I give two choices on soft wood - piranah and western red cedar - for the top. Everything else listed is a hard wood from which we would make the sides, back, and neck. I always make my bridges and fretboards out of rosewood. Now after you've seen this list, keep in mind that there are several wood possibilities that I'm not even going to list here. I see that I have a little bit of purple heart in stock, but not enough to offer as a standard thing. I have two big boards that are flamed and figured poplar. And when those two boards are gone, I'll probably never see anything like that again. I can hold in one hand all of the pink ivory I have. Also, at an additional cost, spruce is a possibility for the top. Concerning piranha, I need to tell you more than I actually know. I have been offering piranha for the tops of my acoustic instruments for 14 years now. However, a couple of years ago, an embargo was placed against the importing of piranha. When powerful and important people do things, I am usually not privileged to know why. All I know is that when my present stock of piranha is gone, there will be no more. For all practical purposes, I am out of piranha for the tops of guitars. At present, there is still enough piranha in my shop for maybe 8 or 10 mandolins. If the woods in my lineup look like something you would like, then that's what we would work with. If you need to see something else that I have in stock but am not advertising, then you can inquire about it.

Piranah & Western Red Cedar

Pecan & Black Walnut

Cherry & Flamed Maple

Oak & Ash

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