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I have a nice set of black walnut back and sides, spruce top and black walnut neck. I plan to use rosewood fretboard, bridge and headstock veneer. What would be a good suggestion for binding. My first thought was ebony or black ABS for the body with some BWBW purfing on the top.

This is only my second build, so I am looking for some other thoughts on the binding.

Thanks for the help.
Dave

+1 on the curly maple. Looks great with almost any combination of woods.

African blackwood .. the new ebony for me ....

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Tony Karol
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What did you do for the rosette? If wood, then you could match that.

Also, you could go with walnut to match the b/s with a single maple side perfling between them, that's always a classy look.

I also like curly maple.....decisions, decisions......

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Lacewood is also a good option. Not as light as Maple, but a good contrast with some character. Get a couple of extra pieces. It likes to break when bending.

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I think "stealth" binding can be a nice look, using offcuts from your side wood for binding. I did this on a granadillo body and it looked quite nice and subtle. (Sadly, had to disassemble that box due to humidity issues). You could add side purfling to make it less stealthy.

Maple would probably look great if you like a dramatic contrast. Something like koa or mahogany might provide a little less of a stark contrast, depending on your tastes. I've always thought koa on dark rosewood was a classy look, might be similar on your walnut.

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

Another vote for curly maple. I just finished a Black Walnut/Engleman that has Curly Maple binding and I'm very happy with it.

Acacia is nice too.

Neil

Another vote for koa. Curly, to make it more eye-catching without such overwhelming contrast as maple. Could glue on a strip of maple for side purfling to make it more striking, and matching maple purfling around the back and fingerboard. Maybe add a strip of rosewood as well on the fingerboard, so you have koa binding, rosewood, maple, then rosewood of the fingerboard. Top purfling... probably black-maple-black, or maybe rosewood instead of the black. Or koa binding, rosewood, maple, black, then spruce of the top? Unnoticeable from a distance, but a "softer" look up close, while retaining the sharp contrast of black to the top wood.

If you're doing a center strip inlay in the back, I'd say rosewood with maple strips up the sides, or maybe maple-black-maple strips to make it more fancy. Always fine to do a backstrip matching the binding too though.

End wedge, I see 2 best options. Curly koa, or rosewood. If there is side purfling, rosewood would be easier, as you could just glue some maple strips to the sides of it and let it be fully bordered by maple. Koa would look beter if it's in contact with the binding, and side purfling miters around it. I'd most likely do the rosewood if I was doing a rosewood backstrip, koa otherwise.

How about snakewood? I intend to use this on my next build although the b/s are English marbled walnut... should look interesting.

Bill S.

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