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Has anyone here built a guitar with mango? I saw some mango back and side sets a while back and was wondering how well it might work on a dread or OM.

I have two sets. Haven't used either yet.

viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=16895&hilit=mango

If you got a mango tree you're thinking of cutting down I'd say just pluck the fruit and sell that and use the money to buy more wood.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

So it's not a good wood to use? What are the problems with it?

I have no idea what Tai Fu is talking about That is beautiful wood. Now, if it is sonically impaired, that would be another issue altogether. I guess one point is, you do not hear much in here about folks using fruit tree woods in guitars. So, maybe someone with more knowledge will chime in. And if you do not want it, I would be glad to take a chance on it. Contact the zootman for more advice (RC ToneWoods)

Mike

I know of no reason not to use mango, and no one else has named a good reason, either. So just go for it! I know nothing about the stability of the wood, but I have played a mango B/S guitar and it sounded great. Remember, 90% of the tone comes from the top....

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Wes McMillian
Santo, TX
http://www.wesmcmillian.com

Thanks Mike and Wes. Actually, I don't have a tree to cut down, but was thinking about buying a set. I just wanted to get others thoughts before I made a purchase.

I appreciate the feedback.

Alan

Dave Freeman has built using mango. Heres a pic he sent me a while back.

Cheers Martin

Thanks Martin, that looks nice. I have a couple of builds lined up that I need to do first, but when they are done, I think that I am going to give mango a try.

Drop Dave an email at Timeless Instruments. Hes a great guy to talk with and hes always happy to talk about his instruments.

Cheers Martin

I made a djembe out of mango wood once. It made a pretty nice drum. Not that that has any bearing on what it's like for guitars; I just thought I'd mention it for the heck of it. I made a lot of drums before I got into lutherie. The mango did seem kind of coarse and splintery, somewhat prone to splitting along the grain, but that could have just been that log, I don't know.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

Allied has been selling curly mango for quite some time. They frequently have new sets so someone must be using it. There is a nice photo of a completed guitar on their site.

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It's not the miles ahead, it's the stone in your shoe


In Markham,Virginia

Mango is a popular wood over in Hawaii . I have a few sets and it does feel much like Hog. A very pretty wood . I know the price of this isn't cheap.
john

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I answered a similar question about mango recently, perhaps on another forum. What's with mango suddenly? Anyway, I've built 3-4 guitars with mango (000 and smaller) so I seem to have a little more experience than the other respondents so far. Bob Gleason has a lot more experience than I. You might contact him directly for more info.

The mango I worked with was fairly soft, similar to most sycamore, softer than most mahogany. It bends like butter and has roughly the same tap tone. Well, that's an overstatement. It's more like cardboard. But given that Torres supposedly built with paper mache, that may not matter a lot. Worked easily with SHARP tools -- did I mention that it's soft? Open pores so you'll want to fill. It also soaked up glue like sycamore so don't starve the joints.

Overall, I'd say it's a fine second-tier tonewood, not as good as koa, rosewood, mahogany, maple, cherry ... but not a total washout either. Hope that's useful!

I love mango... I mean the fruit that is. There are tons of mango tree but I am likely to get in trouble cutting them down, the fruit is worth way more money. I think most people would definitely not grow mango for its lumber, they might get cut down if the tree no longer produces anymore fruit, therefore it would probably be expensive. That and also most mango trees I have seen are really small, not sure how I could get a guitar out of it.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Rick, do you recommend using butter for back/sides or do you feel it is more interesting as a top?!
hehehe



But seriously, is it called mango because it is the wood from the mango tree, or rather because of its color/other reason?! I bought a B/S set from Crist Pung (really great guy) last fall over eBay and he sent me a billet along (long story) and they are both really nice, I intend to use them to build me a lespaul type guitar over this summer, hopefully... can,t wait to see the end result

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Olivier Gauthier
Montreal, QC

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"Everyone wants to BE something, but nobody wants to BECOME something" - William Cumpiano

Er.... what's that last post got to do with anything?

Thats Mango from SNL. Come on...I thought it was funny.

Yeah... his catchphrase is "you CANNOT have the mango!"

sorry bout that hehe

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"Everyone wants to BE something, but nobody wants to BECOME something" - William Cumpiano

I've used it on ukuleles. Its pretty good to work with....similar to koa or mahogany for cutting and sanding. It did seem a bit brittle but I didn't have any cracking. The only down side is filling those huge pores in it.
I'm not sure what type of tone it would give a guitar, but I like the sound on ukes