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Does anyone have any opinions on this species?
I have quite a large supply of it, some with a lot of color variance and some with a lot of figure. Enough for 10 to 12 instruments.
I've used it for backs and sides, fingerboards, bridges and tail-pieces,
and find it is fairly easy to bend , carves easliy and is very stable and strong. Glues nice and is moderately hard (janka=2160).
Stock should be ready for resawing this week.
This is typical grain and color : unfinished

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Nehemiah Covey
www.coveysacoustics.com

That's nice looking wood Nehemiah. I've never seen it before, at least that I can recall. It certainly looks like it's worth a try.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Ah...that explains it. I didn't ralize that's what it was.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I looked it up and found many different names , goncalo alves, bosson, bototo, zorrowood. Found in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Guatemala and Mexico.
I recently finished a small bodied 12 string in this (back/sides) and it had wonderful acoustic tone. Brighter than rosewood, crisp and nice sustain.
Also a baritone Uke with similar results.
I have some picked out for a dread that will be my own. (if I ever find the time).

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Nehemiah Covey
www.coveysacoustics.com

I have never seen it called Brazilian koa. It does not resemble the acacias. Brazilian tigerwood is commonly used as the name in the flooring industry, but I never saw it outside the flooring industry. In the lumber trade in the USA, Gonçalo Alves is only name I've seen.

Makes a good back and side wood. I used it for a 12-string. I'd describe it as tonally neutral. Machines to high tolerances and polishes well. IMO not quite dense or oily enough for fingerboards.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

I hadn't ever heard it called brazillian koa either Howard, and I have been using it here and there for a couple years. With pretty good success, I think it is a useful species and some specimens are very oily (I save these for tail-pieces, bridges and fret boards). Overall I would rater it along side black walnut, with a little more difficulty in bending, but then i have had some of it I would rate up there with koa.

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Nehemiah Covey
www.coveysacoustics.com

I agree with the klep,

its a nice wood,
it does oxidise over time to a lovely orengy/red which i love.
It can be a pale when freshly worked.
In fact it is used by furniture restorers as a substitute for old patinad cuban mahogany would you belive.

I dont offer it as a fingerboard or bridge wood as i dont think it dense enough but i have sold it to folks who have asked for it (mine is not to reason why mine in just to supply).
I love it for bindings its hard as nails (the a diference between hard and dense) and can take quite beating but it bends well and looks supurb.
It often has wonderfull figure.
Never heard of it called brazilian koa and i would say thats a misrepresentation if you ask me as its not even slightly related to koa (not even same genus i dont think).

Its quite cheap here in the uk (where we call it tigerwood) but comes up rarely making it a high value item for me.

Nice stuff use it and be merry,

joel.