Wood choices for custom tenor

Stevelele

Stevelele

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I'm in the process of picking out wood for a nice custom tenor. I'd like it to sound rich, articulate, precise and clear, although I do not mind brightness of sound. Sound is most important, but I do care about the appearance of the uke. Here's what I'm considering--how would you rank them

a) quilted maple back/sides (very beautiful) with curly redwood top
b) brazilian rosewood back/sides (fairly plain) with curly redwood top
c) all dark curly koa
d) all cuban mahagony

What do you think?
 
maple and redwood, it will be nicely balanced and loud!

but they all will sound nice I think
 
All good choices. Both of your redwood options are likely to give you a fuller sound with more bass than the koa or mahogany options will. I find koa brighter than mahogany, but koa and mahogany will probably be closer in tone to each other than either of those to the redwood top.

I'm not sure what price point this custom is at, but I'm assuming you're working with a top premium builder. Brazilian rosewood is no doubt a significant upcharge due to rarity, although it might not be as significant as a percentage of the overall price. While Brazilian is the gold standard on guitars, I doubt it makes much of a difference on a uke, and I don't think I'd pay a big premium for Brazillian that didn't have classic figure.

My Moore Bettah is spruce over milo, and I think it has all of the tonal requirement you've listed. I'm a big fan of spruce and redwood tops (many are not), so my tastes would tend towards the redwood/maple option. For me, I would narrow it down to redwood/maple and the all-koa, although realistically, redwood and any hard tonewood is likely to give you similar tone.
 
What is your luthier recommending? I personally wouldn't go w/ BR as it sounds likes most BR is not that good compared to the stuff they used in the past...I guess you can say that about lots of wood.
 
The luthier is saying everything is good--I believe him, but I guess I still have to make a choice!

nongdam said:
What is your luthier recommending? I personally wouldn't go w/ BR as it sounds likes most BR is not that good compared to the stuff they used in the past...I guess you can say that about lots of wood.
Click to expand...
 
nongdam said:
What is your luthier recommending? I personally wouldn't go w/ BR as it sounds likes most BR is not that good compared to the stuff they used in the past...I guess you can say that about lots of wood.
Click to expand...

While I would trust a luthier to select tonewood, I wouldn't go with BR because you will pay a fortune for a chunk of wood that probably will not make a lot of sonic difference and apparently isn't all that pretty.
 
I previously owned a brazilian rosewood mya moe, which sounded and looked great. I sold it bc I had to at the time, but it was quite an excellent instrument. I have no idea whether it makes a big difference with the sound though -- the mya moes I played all had similar tonal qualities (not a bad thing!)

RichM said:
While I would trust a luthier to select tonewood, I wouldn't go with BR because you will pay a fortune for a chunk of wood that probably will not make a lot of sonic difference and apparently isn't all that pretty.
Click to expand...
 
syfc said:
I'm in the process of picking out wood for a nice custom tenor. I'd like it to sound rich, articulate, precise and clear, although I do not mind brightness of sound. Sound is most important, but I do care about the appearance of the uke. Here's what I'm considering--how would you rank them

a) quilted maple back/sides (very beautiful) with curly redwood top
b) brazilian rosewood back/sides (fairly plain) with curly redwood top
c) all dark curly koa
d) all cuban mahagony

What do you think?
Click to expand...

Hmmm. Of those choices I would pick (a).

Although I'm currently getting a 6-string custom of pheasant wood with a bear claw spruce top.
I really really like my new cedar top Covered Bridge tenor.

Keep us posted. I this going to be DeVine?
 
Rich and I have the same tone wood on our MB's....and it sounds great...MIlo and bearclaw spruce,...while keeping in mind with wood choices...there are other factors too
like the luthier and if they are familiar with that certain wood or certain stock. and just picking names of woods for their beauty or your preference is not a way to guage things..all wood
even if from the same tree from different cuts or parts may react and sound different...even from tree to tree...so you are not just limited on just species selection..
unless the builder is familiar with that wood from the tree and the sets side by side...it's all speculation...like the old saying, looks are just skin deep..good luck...
 
My thought is that the builder and top wood make the biggest difference in the way a uke sounds. I think a good luthier can "color" the sound or make a uke darker or brighter based on customer preference.
Maybe you should pick the wood you like the look of for the back and sides and focus more on the top wood?
I have been all over the map with tonewoods and what I've found is that the builder usually makes the biggest difference no matter what wood you end up going with. Any of those combos would probably sound great when built by the right pair of hands. Just my 2 cents.
 
If it were me, I would go with either the dark figured koa or the Cuban mahogany. Koa is my favorite wood for ukes and Cuban mahogany is rare and beautiful, although I don't know if it would meet you criteria for sound. I don't know it's sound characteristics.

But who is the luthier? That would significantly influence my choice of wood. I would rely on his(or her) suggestions.
 
Dana,

You and I think alike. I would get Cuban Mahogany first if its really curly as you don't see those often and then the dark figured koa...If the luthier has the rare curly white koa, that would trump everything else.
 
OK, thank you all for your input--I really appreciate it. The luthier just called me and we had a good talk. Based on the features that I find most important, he actually recommended that I go with NONE of my choices--we chose a blonde curly koa, which he said is some of the finest he's ever worked with and his favorite overall. I am happy with that choice and can't wait for it to be built. I will send you guys updates when the time comes. Thanks!
 
nongdam said:
Dana,

You and I think alike. I would get Cuban Mahogany first if its really curly as you don't see those often and then the dark figured koa...If the luthier has the rare curly white koa, that would trump everything else.
Click to expand...



Eric Devine can get some real nice master grade White Koa and beautiful Cuban Mahogany(that grows in Hawaii)
 
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Most Brazilian Rosewood instruments are made from old furniture or something like that. I'd be wary about buying koa unless I was assured that it came from downed trees. Mahogany is a very sustainable wood.
 
RichM said:
What is the basis for these claims?
Click to expand...


I would also like to know what this person is talking about..is he a Koa expert?

Btw Honduran Mahogany almost gone now..
 
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Just this afternoon I had the pleasure of seeing the boxed up tenor that Eric Devine is making for me. I went through the agony of choosing the wood a year ago. I chose some marvelous koa for sides and back and the astounding redwood, straight and unbelievably tight grained, that Eric salvaged from an old Maui water tank. I have had great success with koa sides and backs with cedar tops. I expect that the water tank redwood will provide the same warmth and character. Koa sides and back seem to add another element of tonal quality. I posted some pictures of the boxed up uke on my website just a few minutes ago, google griffin ukuleles if you want to take a look. tomorrow I will be posting some closeups of that redwood hoping to show the tightness of the grain. If my camera was good enough.
 
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