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There are several woods we use in the making of a Gaskell electric guitar. Here is some info about them. Note: I am not a botanist nor an expert on trees, so if there are any errors or mistakes please bear that in mind. Every effort has been made to make these descriptions as accurate and acceptable as possible to the extent of my research, knowledge and personal experience.
BASSWOOD
BASSWOOD. Botanical name: Tilia. Also known as Linden in America and Lime in Europe, basswood is a colourless wood which is very easy to work with. It is native to Europe, Asia and North America. As a tonewood it is used for guitar bodies only. Visually it has no grain so is not used for natural finishes. It is quite soft and can dent more easily than other tone woods. Basswood has excellent mid range tones and has a very warm and pronounced sound with very good sustain. It is very suited for Metal and Rock music. It is the best wood choice for Floyd Rose equipped guitars as the Floyd tends to be very tinny sounding with other woods due to it's minimal contact with the guitar body. All Superstrat guitars are made of basswood for this very reason. Since the beginning of the 21st Century basswood has become the number one tonewood worldwide for mass produced electric guitars. Another reason for it's popularity is the simple fact that other woods such as mahogany have become too expensive or cannot be obtained due to trade restrictions. The price of basswood has risen significantly in response to it's popularity. In the 20th century it was considered a "cheap alternative." Not any more!
MAHOGANY
MAHOGANY. Genuine mahogany is of the genus Swietenia in the Mahogany family which is native to Central and Southern America and the Caribbean. There are three species in this genus, collectively called American Mahogany. Mahogany gives a dark yet warm sound with a lot of bottom end, and not so much top. In combination with a maple cap and/or a maple neck the overall sound will brighten. Unfortunately, due to nearly 100 years of overlogging and abuse, genuine mahogany has all but been used up from it's native locations. It hasn't been possible to replant it either, as the land where it grew was destroyed and an additional problem with pests killing it off has never been solved. Instead the world's supply of American mahogany today comes from plantations in Asia and the Pacific. Commercial trade in native mahogany has been banned since the early 2000's. There are two key terms to describe mahogany: "genuine mahogany" applies only to the Swietenia species, whether grown natively or elsewhere. "True mahogany" applies to any other Mahogany family timber that is not Swietenia. Non-Swietenia mahoganies used as tone woods include African Mahogany (Khaya), Toon (Toona), and Sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum.) Today, if a new guitar is said to be made of mahogany it will have been made from one of the true mahoganies, or from plantation-grown American mahogany. For more information about mahogany please follow the following link to the authoritative article What Is Mahogany?
TOON
TOON. Botanical name: Toona is a Mahogany family timber native to Asia. It has five species, identified individually by where they are mostly grown, ie. Chinese Mahogany (Toona sinsensis), Indonesian Mahogany (Toona sureni), Vietnam Mahogany (Toona febrifuga), Indian Mahogany (Toona ciliata), and Philippine Mahogany or Kalantis (Toona calantis.) Following the demise of original mahogany, Toon is now very commonly used for good quality, factory-made guitars. Sound wise, it is virtually indistinguishable from Swietenia mahogany. Toona has a Latin American botanical equivalent called Cedrela, more commonly known there as Spanish Cedar. Since 2011 however, trade in Cedrela timber is restricted. For a better explanation please follow the following link to the Gaskell Guitars article What Is Mahogany?
ALDER
ALDER. Botanical name: Alnus is grown all over the world and is most commonly associated with Fender® guitars. It is light in weight with soft tight pores like basswood. but with large swirling grain patterns and rings. Alder gives more highs and less of the mids and is relatively deficient in bass in comparison with other tone woods. It has a very warm sound but does not quite have as much "bite" as ash. It was most popular in the 1950's and 1960's. It is now very expensive and this has lead to other similar yet cheaper woods becoming popular replacements.
SWAMP ASH
SWAMP ASH. Botanical name: Fraxinus pennsylvanica is a particular type of ash tree whose root systems are under water, with it's above water equivalents being Northern Ash, Green Ash or Red Ash. It is used as a body wood by many American guitar manufacturers. It is mostly obtained from the Southern parts of the United States. It is very light and attractive and is a popular choice for natural finish instruments. The swamp-ash sound is twangy, airy, and sweet. It gives firm lows, pleasant highs, a slightly scooped midrange, and good sustain.
JAPANESE ASH
JAPANESE ASH. Botanical name: Kalopanax pictus, also called Sen, or Sen Ash is an excellent sounding wood native to Japan and south western China, most recognized on Japanese-made Fenders and Tokai guitars. Although it's trade name includes the word "ash" it is not related to real ash other than by visual resemblance. It's tonal qualities are similar to that of alder hence the commonly used quick description "looks like ash, sounds like alder." It has a bright, and even cutting midrange tone, good bass, and excellent sustain. Like all ash woods, it is a good choice for natural finishes and can be particularly outstanding in appearance. Following it's rise in popularity over the last 10 years it is becoming more and more expensive and less of an option for cheaper-made guitars.
MAPLE
MAPLE. Botanical name: Acer Traditonally used for guitar necks. It is very hard. It has a uniform grain and it's tonal qualities highlight the body wood well. With a maple neck it does not matter whether the neck join to the body is bolt-on or set-in. The guitar will tend to sustain just as well with either neck joint. Maple is found in the northern hemisphere with most species found in Europe and Asia. It can have a highly decorative grain and can produce "quilt", "flamed", "spalted" (pen and ink like patterns caused by certain fungi that thrives in humidity) or "burly" appearances. Laminates of these grains are often glued to the top of a guitar body for a beautiful appearance. Veneers are usually 1mm or 2mm thick or they can be a full 5mm-16mm solid cap. A cheaper option that some guitar manufacturers employ is to use photo finishes instead of a real veneer or cap. Many sub-$1000 quilt or flame top guitars made in factories are merely photo finishes. Gaskell Guitars always uses real veneers and real caps only. We do not use photofinishes, even on our factory-made guitars.
KORINA (US) LIMBA (UK)
KORINA / LIMBA. Botanical name: Terminalia superba. This wood is grown in the tropical regions of western Africa and has a very interesting and appealing grain. It is held in very high regard by guitar builders. It was first introduced to the world as a tone wood in 1958 By Gibson when they first released their Explorer and Flying V guitars which were made of it. It was only briefly used then but it has never been forgotten. It has a very warm, balanced sound with excellent sustain. For a hardwood it is quite light. Some pieces can have dark or light stripes and/or lots of interesting swirls and some can have a mahogany-like appearance. Korina these days is mostly offered as an option in Custom Shop builds.
WENGE
WENGE. Botanical name: Millettia laurentii Is a very exotic, and very expensive hard wood native to western Africa. It is used by some high-end Custom Shops for bodies and for fingerboards, particularly on bass guitars. It it is very dark with lots of brown streaks and is very rich and warm sounding. It is a lot more porous than other woods and is thus much harder to work with. The dust of this wood is also extremely hazardous to one's health and personal protective equipment and other dust removal systems are essential in any workshop that uses this wood. If you have money to spend, consider getting a guitar made of this beautifully exotic wood!
NATO
NATO. Botanical name: Mora excelsa or Mora gonggrijpii is a common cheap mahogany replacement. It sometimes traded under the names Eastern Mahogany or Nato mahogany. Despite the name it is not actually mahogany. It is native to South America and the Caribbean. Tonally it is similar to genuine mahogany and it is for this reason that it is popular. It is usually used for tops, bottoms or sides of acoustic guitars. Some brands that use Nato as a mahogany replacement are Epiphone, Washburn, Fender, Taylor, Takamine, BC Rich, Eastwood, Brian Moore, Yamaha, and Tokai. Unlike real mahogany it is not restricted or illegal to obtain or trade.
PHOENIX
PHOENIX. Botanical name: Firmiana simplex comes from the "Chinese Parasol Tree" which is native to China. It is also called Wutong. It has been used by the Chinese for thousands of years in high quality traditional Asian musical instruments. At the end of the 20th century when China replaced Korea as the leading world manufacturer of musical instruments, many new and interesting timbers not known previously in the Western World were also introduced by the Chinese. Phoenix wood was one of them. It has taken some time for the guitar community to warm to these new and alternative tone woods, partly because of the old and obsolete "Made in China = cheap" stigma. Phoenix is used as a body wood on many sub $1000 Chinese-made guitars, often as a replacement for expensive American alder. Being a cheaper alternative does not mean that it "sounds bad" or the wood is "poor" or "unsuitable." It is true that it plays a significant part in keeping the overall cost of the instrument down, but remember these woods have been used as preferential tonewoods for thousands of years! That's a lot longer than the johnny-come-lately western world electric guitar!
PAULOWNIA
PAULOWNIA. Botanical name: Paulownia tomentosa, also called Empress Wood or Kiri, is a high quality, extremely light-weight hardwood which has only recently started being used in mainstream guitar manufacturing. Rising costs and restrictions on other tradtional tonewoods has intensified the need for good alternatives. Paulownia is native to China and is cultivated extensively in Japan and Korea. It has been used in Asia for hundreds of years to make high-quality traditional musical instruments. Paulownia is the fastest growing hardwood species in the world, taking only 5-7 years from planting to harvesting. Because of it's fast cultivation it is at the top of the list as a solution for world reforestation projects. It is used in guitar manufacturing for electric guitar bodies. Renowned USA guitar brand Dean Guitars uses this wood for some of their guitars, and it is often used in generic DIY guitar kits.
AGATHIS
AGATHIS. Botanical name: Agathis australis is called Kauri in New Zealand and Australia. It only grows in Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, and on the island of Borneo. It's timber has many uses. Some modern guitar manufacturers use it for the bodies of their budget priced guitars, Squier (by Fender) Telecasters and Stratocasters are made from Agathis. Another name for Agathis is (supposedly) Commercial Grade Mahogany. It is a wood that resonates well and in the current world where conventional and traditional tonewoods have been used up, it looks to be going down the popularity path that basswood travelled.
ROSEWOOD
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| Brazillian rosewood |
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Indian rosewood |
ROSEWOOD. Botanical names: Dalbergia nigra (Brazilian) and Dalbergia latifolia (Indian.) Used for fingerboards. It is an oily wood and is perfect for sustained human contact. Up until 1992 guitar manufacturers usually obtained rosewood from Brazil but trade in Brazillian rosewood was banned in that year due to it becoming listed as an endangered species. The rosewood used in guitar manufacturing today is usually sourced from either India or Bangladesh. "Old growth" Brazillian rosewood is still available in small quantities whereby old tree stumps of trees cut down before the ban are permitted to be scavenged for useable rosewood.
EBONY
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| Indian ebony |
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Makassar ebony |
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Madagascar ebony |
EBONY. Botanical name: Diospyros ebenum or Diospyros quaesita is used for fingerboards. Both are native to southern India and Sri Lanka and are commonly called Ceylon Ebony or East Indian Ebony. It is very hard and durable. Mostly it is brown-black in colour but colour depends on the piece. It is popular with lead guitarists due to it's perceived additional hardness over rosewood. Diospyros celebica or Makassar Ebony, from Indonesia, is another highly sought after ebony with attractive streaks and stripes. It is one of the most expensive woods in the world, due to limited supplies. Diospyros perrieri, or Madagascar Ebony is another very prized ebony timber used by high-end boutique guitar builders. Trees from this area are typically 300 years old. Gaskell Custom Shop guitars can be made with any of the choices of ebony listed.
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