Official Luthiers Forum!

I have a friend who has serious issues with Macassar Ebony - watch out for that one..!

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

Very nice Woody. How does the tone of this wood compare to the other rosewoods? Who carrys nice looking sets?

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

I give a vote for Honduras also.
But take a look at Hormigo.
The Zoot man has some.
I just put together a guitar with it and it looks great and is dense like rosewoods.
Mike

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Mike Collins

Hey Mike where's the pic's? I've been waiting for a hormigo guitar.

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Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

I've been wondering about the Hormigo and was hoping someone would give some feedback on it soon. I tried looking up the density on the internet and it doesn't appear to be as dense as rosewoods. Anyone have feedback on the density of what you have on-hand? I did find one site that listed the density much closer to rosewood than the other sites so not sure what to believe.

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Darryl
Collings guitars is building with Hormigo. I am amazed at the glass like tap tone of this wood. It may not be as dense but the sustain is every bit as good.

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Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

I've got two sets of Hormigo, and it's stunning the way it taps. Unfortunately, it won't make an old timey looking guitar, and I wouldn't stain it. Definitely a modern guitar wood.
I did get some EIR cheap, and I'll probably try to stain it brown. HRW is kinda expensive, isn't it?

Depends. Someone was selling Honduran rosewood quite reasonably at the recent swap meet, the same person I got some sets from him a couple of years back, but I can't remember his name. I'm building an OM with it now. Its not too flashy, and I'm not sure if it qualifies as old timey, but it looks good to me. I'm sure BobC can set you up too

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

How about Pau Ferro. Looks pretty much like a rosewood and no pores to fill.

Ken

Bob;
pics soon !
The sides bent as easy as it gets.
They were not 1/4 but that did not matter.
Hormigo works great with hand or power tools.
The set you sent for this guitar for Rick is just stunning !!
It has so many color changes and grain patterns.

Buy Hormigo !
Mike

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Mike Collins

I read somewhere Pau Ferro/Bolivian RW was kinda nasty stuff too.

Pau Ferro (Iron Wood) is a very good B & Sides wood.
No pores to fill -bends easily -but buy it ready to use-it can be unstable as all heck if you get it not dry.
It does not have that dark rosewood look though!
I've not experienced any allergy problems with it at all.

Mike

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Mike Collins

Thanks Mike, I may look into Pau Ferro. I don't have a problem dyeing light woods, do it all the time with mahogany.
It's skin rash and breathing problems I'm looking to avoid.

Mike maybe you are lucky, from what i read so far pao ferro is the worst of them all

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Build log

Aww, he!!. Scratch that one (literally). Ugly as it is, EIR is looking better'n better, 'cept for the purple...
Guess I'll take some scrap and see if I can dye it brown. Honduran looks like another choice, but from the looks of Woody's lovely instrument, I'd have to dye it too. Of course, I'm going to have to dye the Coco as it's too red and orange for me. My latest is too modern looking...

Haans, not all EIR is that purplish looking, I have some sets that are quite brown and stripey. Actually I think the darker, more purple stuff is regarded as better grade, whatever that means, and stripey stuff is lower grade. I like EIR, it is a pleasure to bend, doesn't split or crack easily, sounds fine (to me), and inexpensive. What's not to like?

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

I've seen some brown EIR, and have thought of trying to order it. Guess some phone calls would do it. I tried some medium brown dye, red mahogany and my "Loar" dye and it just turns almost black. As I have some purple EIR, my next step is to try to bleach it first.

C'mon...bleach and stain Indian rosewood?!? Just work it and it will look great under finish. A lot of that purple goes away when the guitar is completed, plus that it turns brown anyway by itself after a few years.

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Build log

EIR comes in lots of different colors and shades. I've got some that are very light brown, some with a little purple, and some really dark brown with no purple at all...just shades of brown. With a little searching, I'll bet tht you can find a set that would work for you.

Haans,

If you call one of our sponsors that sell it (a couple specifically come to mind), I'll bet they'd be more than happy to hand select a set(s?) for you based upon your requirements. I don't want to say publicly who I'm thinking of for the sake of not favoring one over another in here since there are a few and they're all good. If you wish to know my suggestions on who, PM me.

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Bill Hodge


One does not simply, own enough guitars!

Thanks guys, I think I know who yer talkin' about Bill. Problem is I've got 5 purple sets and I'd like to figure out a way to use them.

Hi Hans,

I don't think I have ever seen a purple E I Rosewood guitar. I know, the raw wood in the sets often look purplish, but I think UV and oxidization is very quick to remove the purple color. Some colors in nature are just 'phantom' and I believe you would have a very difficult time keeping even a very purple set to remain purple on the guitar. Years ago, I chased after a solution to prevent Chake Kok (aka Redheart) from losing that deep, red delicious apple shade of red. Nothing could stop the transformation, at least not the best UV inhibitors I could find.

Prove it to yourself with an EIRW scrap, freshly sanded, with or without finish applied, and with a stripe of opaque tape (like electrician's tape) across the sample piece. Set it on a windowsill for 3 days, pull the tape, and I'll bet even under the tape is not as purple and the rest will be shades of browns without a hint of purple. Might take slightly longer than 3 days, but I think it will be very quick. 3 days on a windowsill probably represents a month of ambient UV to a guitar.

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

By Gawd, Dennis, I'll do it!