Official Luthiers Forum!

I'm new to guitarmaking and I was curious about what would I should use. I play a lot of Jack Johnson so as a tribute to him I was thinking of making a dreadnaught with a curly mango soundboard/neck and Koa sides and back. Would these two woods go well together? If not, what other wood would work well with mango?

_________________
My guitar: Taylor 110
Style of playing: chill, acoustic, basically Jack Johnson type music

Hey Paul,

someone please correct me if I'm wrong here, still fairly new at this, but I don't think Mango would be the best wood for a top. Back and sides sure, but I don't know how effectively it could be used as a soundboard. I can't attest to the sound of mango, but I have played a few koa guitars and while they sounded great, they were pretty tight tone wise. From what I've listened to, Jack Johnson he seems to have have a more mellow, fundamental sound. Just my two cents.

I just received 2 back and sides set of both of koa and mango. I personnaly never saw mango as a tone wood (for top), but I know it's done on ukuleles. But, I know also that mango and koa are 2 species from the same "familly" and grow in the same area (hawaii). So, after seen and taptoned my sets I received, I can give you my 2 cents on your question...

From an aesthetic perspective, If you could find a mango top and koa back & sides (or the inverse, don't you thought about it? I'd reconsider it maybe, could be awesome too, like a mirror guitar of the johnson's one) who show similar figures, i'm sure colors will fit awesomely. And on the side of sound, I taptoned both of them, And if koa is used frequently as top wood, I don't see why mango could not... it sounds as good as koa, and morover, have a bit more sustain (for the sets I have).

I never saw this combo, but I'd like to! If you go with this project, let us know!
And If you plan to buy both koa and mango, I suggest you to take a look at http://www.volcanoguitarsworks.com. They are specialized in koa and mango. And you can see every single set before to buy it so you could match your sets. I know also they are milling new sets so... take a look!

Good luck!
Francis

_________________
Francis Richer, Montréal
Les Guitares F&M Guitars

Paul-
Welcome to the OLF - you will find lots of help here!

Will this be your first guitar build?

I've never worked with mango, but have built one koa back/sides guitar. Curly woods are not the easiest to work with (and not the cheapest either, usually) so might add to the challenge of a first project.

Though you may not think it now, it's rare for 'one of us' to make just one guitar , so you might consider doing your 'first' with a very standard and easy-to-work wood combo. Once you have the molds/jigs/tools/mistakes made, your 2nd guitar of more exotic woods will be easier.

Cheers
John

Thanks for the advice guys. Where should I go for starting wood? Should I get a kit?

_________________
My guitar: Taylor 110
Style of playing: chill, acoustic, basically Jack Johnson type music

Mango , I have seen about 4 of these and not one was a good sounding guitar. I think it is a bit too soft. I have a few sets and won't sell it for that reason. It is pretty but the dampening effect of it is not a good choice for a top. Koa is a great tone wood. An all koa would be a good choice .
Avoid the Mango and for tops you need something with a good weight to strength ratio. Koa and lutz would be a good combo here for the blues fingerstyle.

_________________
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

Paul, check out the LMI kit wizard. you can a serviced or unserviced kit and pick your woods and some of the services if you don't want to try to do everything the 1st time around.

Paul-
The answer really depends on how much of the 'work' you are equipped (and prepared) to do on your first build.

Basic 'guitar kits' are essentially boxes of rough wood with a few pre-shaped components- you get a break on the price because you are buying everything at once from the same place. A 'serviced' kit has more of the basic work done on the wood.
It is certainly not 'cheating' to buy a 'serviced' kit with pre-bent sides, and pre-slotted fingerboard, etc. There is still a lot of work to to to get from a 'kit' like this to a finished guitar- plenty of challenges.

If you don't have a lot of space, tools, money, and time a 'serviced' kit might be the best choice. If you have the drive to 'do everything' yourself, then a basic kit will be a good idea.

Several of the sponsors here at the OLF can put together kits for you, and have excellent reputations for value and service. John Hall at Bluescreek and Shane Neifer at HighMountainTonewoods spring to mind; there may be others as well.
Bigger operations like Stewmac, LMII, and Martin are also possibilities.

Checking out the 'instructions' for building a kit will give you an idea of what is involved
http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/i-5295/i-5295.pdf


Cheers
John

Eventually I'll want to do it all on my own, but I think it'll probaby be best to build one out of a service kit. How much do you think it would cost? Will it include the tools to build? I'd like to support small business so I'll probaby go with John hall, if I decide to do it.

_________________
My guitar: Taylor 110
Style of playing: chill, acoustic, basically Jack Johnson type music

John Hall have few different kits, StewMac and Lmii have also, good stuff. Kits are not including tools but you can get them easily at the same place (for specific tools) or at every woodworking store (for general tools). John Hall have molds, jigs and bending machines. You may think it's expensive but if you want to continue in lutherie, these tools will serv you for several babies! Good luck! and give us news!

_________________
Francis Richer, Montréal
Les Guitares F&M Guitars

Paul, A kit is a good idea for sure. If you want something similar to Jack Johnson's sound I would stay away from the rosewoods as they produce too much sustain. His guitar is built from Australian woods. I am not familiar with them but the sound is very close to koa or mahogany with a spruce top. You couldn't lose with those choices. Good luck!

Go with a kit from John Hall.......you won't be disappointed. He can make a custom kit to your specifications......or he can sell you a Martin kit if you prefer. It's very valuable to have someone you can call and ask questions when you get stuck or make a mistake and John will help you out.

_________________
Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Koa and Mango aren't even close to the same species... Koa is an Acacia, while Mango is Mangifera indica -- and is actually in the same family as Poison ivy, Pistachio, and Cashew trees. Some people are very allergic to Mango sap and even mango fruit... If you are highly allergic to Poision Ivy... Stay clear of the stuff!

Anyway.. Mango wood isn't quite as interesting when fresh cut -- much of the "Cool" mango out there is spalted one way or another.. This makes it spectacular, but it also tends to be very soft, mushy stuff.... You may have to make the top thicker than you really want to get it to hold up...

If you are after something in the Hawaiian vein... how about something classic like an All-Mahogany or All-Koa 000?

Thanks

John

+1 on truckjohn's species ID - Mango and Koa do hang out together on the islands, but they're not really related. Mango is a transplant from Asia wheras Koa is one of our endemic Hawaii species. My sister got a Mango uke recently and it was nice - but I think ukes are way more forgiving that way. I've heard 1 or 2 Mango top guitars and was unimpressed. If Koa wasn't so pretty I don't think it would get used so much for tops either. However, since it does get used succesfully, it's more a known quantity for tops. Hence, I would lean towards a Mango body/Koa top for that combo. Does JJ play a Mango top?

Peace,
Sanaka

_________________
...imagine there were no hypothetical situations...

Just a correction, our address is:

http://www.volcanoguitarworks.com

Also, the new sets are now up; we now have over 80 koa guitar sets posted on our website.

_________________
Alan Degenhart
Volcano Guitar Works
http://www.volcanoguitarworks.com