Granadillo?

[MCCFAN]

Anyone have a guitar with granadillo back and sides? Interested in your opinions on this tonewood.

Luthiers -- your thoughts?

Thanks much and Happy Thanksgiving to all !!

[Tim McKnight]

It is a great tonewood! I have built several with it and I would compare its tone to the RW family. Not as dark and bass heavy as Indian RW but more towards the brighter RWs like Honduran & SE Asian. The smell is to die for. It smells like a cross between cotton candy and roses with just a hint of cinamon. Ummmm, um.

[ricks]

Tim, I have never heard of this wood before, nor have I seen a guitar built with it. But I think you just made me hungry !

[MCCFAN]

Thanks much Tim

Do you have any photos of ones you've built?

I've read that granadillo deepens in color with age -- if true, what might one expect if the wood is a lighter color now (koa/acacia-like)?

Also, is there anything that differentiates deisable/not desirable in terms of grain/looks?

[Tim McKnight]

Actually I am building a Granadillio MacNaught (dred) now. I will try to get some pics for you this weekend. I have had this wood from a pale rose-like brown-ish color to a very golden brown. All of it has been very straight to wavy grain and well quartered. This would tell me that the trees are fairly large in diameter to yield wide billets from. I have sets with and without sapwood. I don't know anything about the wood fading or changing color over time.

Here are the only pics of Granadillio "in process" wood that I could find. I will take some pics later today.

[aaronmarkson]

I actually found out about Granadillo as a tonewood because I have some Wooden Plugs (earings) made out of Granadillo. This is the description of the wood:

Granadillo

Botanical Name:Platymiscum yucatanum

Local Names: Kira, Trebol, Granadillo, Ormigia

Habitat: Mexico & Central America

This gorgeous wood runs the color spectrum from violet to dark red to brown with frequent streaking and pronounced figure. Very hard, heavy, and dense with a tight grain and a fine texture. Weight 56 to 75 lbs. per cu. ft. Occasional light blonde sapwood contrasts beautifully with the heartwood.

A medium-sized to large canopy tree, up to 100 feet in height in the natural rain forest, with trunk diameters of up to 3 feet, with a clear, straight, cylindrical bole to 60 feet above a buttress.

Takes a high natural polish works easily, finishes smoothly, and responds well to hand tools. It glues, nails and screws well, and is rated highly durable. Frequently used for fine furniture and cabinetry, decorative veneers, flooring, musical instruments, turnery, joinery and specialty items such as violin bows and billiard cues Granadillo is an excellent substitute for Rosewood or Cocobolo.
It smells like rosewood also.

I would love to play a guitar made form this wood....and I would love to smell some that hasn't been in my ears I had to take them out quite a while back because I went wakeboarding with them and they soaked up water and infected my earlobes. so, now....my lobes are back to their natural state (with a small hole in them)

[MCCFAN]

Thank you for posting pictures -- it's nice to have a visual index.

The guitar is just beautiful!

[sirflyguy2000]

Very nice, Tim. That is a very beautiful wood, IMO.

[Kabalan]

hi
in mexico, luthiers use a lot this wood for freetboards and heads.
my 3 classicals have granadillo in the head, i dont know why they dont use it
for back and sides? i will ask someone, is a mexican wood, so easy to get here.
eblen