What does "NATO" mean in regards to a guitar neck
 

I've saw some cheaper guitars with NATO necks, backs sides?

thanks
Daryl

From the internets:

Nato - Nato wood, also known as Eastern Mahogany, is a reliable, strong wood used on guitar necks. It is a value-priced wood used more for beginner instruments. However, it still embodies all of the properties of more commonly used mahogany

Now like Daryl I'm curious what this means. Is it more prone to warping, does have a less rich sound than mahogony? Are there some fairly common guitars that use this wood?

I have a thirty-four year old guitar with a NATO neck that is absolutely stable. It's not as pretty as mahogany, but it is plenty stable. The coloration reminds me of Spanish cedar.

Bob

The old Yamaha Nylon I just reconditioned has the NATO neck
 

And I tell you, it plays great. This is a cheap Yamaha built between 1960 something and 1970 something. It looks to have an aged spruce top, and by records agithis sides/back(I may have spelled that wrong). It plays nice, stays in tune, is fun. It spent the past 12 years in a barn loft in its case. Needless to say it was dirty and had an ugly smell, but its come out of it shiny and neat. I'll post some pictures soon.

Thanks for the info Bob
Daryl

Exactly the kind of comment that is starting to make this forum such a drag...why else do you think it is here??

are you talking about the search mode or the forum itself ?????????????

The forum itself...that type of elite rudeness is getting out of hand.

Keep in mind that fora are not static...different people contribute/visit at different times...so things said in the past are not always the best information.

So true. Why even bother taking the time to post if all you're gonna do is give a long winded refusal to help someone..

Well, I'd normally tell you, but . . .




:wink: :D

I just bought a beginner uke made out of all nato wood...seems pretty stable to me thus far. I once read that it was quite similar to mahogany.

Hello all.

There is a wood called Nyatoh. When I lived in Indonesia I remembered something about this type of wood. Though not spelled "NATO," perhaps it is close enough.

Here is a link to a site about this type of wood in the furniture building context: http://www.teak-outdoor.com/about_nyatoh_wood.htm

I hope that this little bit might shed some light. I didn't wan't to contribute unless I can "add" to the discussion.

Respectfully submitted.

Takamine uses Nato Wood in some of their line of guitars....

Just when I start thinking I know about all the woods i find a thread like this... I love this forum! :D:D:D

I know, but it's not hard to find out what nato is using a search engine, and then ask what people's opinions are on its properties, but you didn't seem to take the first step. I'm not normally someone who says people should make a bit more of an effort, and I don't think my original post was rude at all, but there it is.

Richard

Speaking of NATO, let's all make like Peacekeepers, eh? ;)

I stumbled across this. Hope it helps everyone!

Some woods used in the making of acoustic guitars.
Listed in alphabetical order not in the order of popularity.

BASSWOOD - Sometimes used for inside linings.

EBONY - Preferred wood for bridges & fretboards on steel string guitars,
ROSEWOOD is also good and sometimes preferred for bridges on nylon
string guitars.

CEDAR - A wood softer than spruce used for tops on steel string and classical
guitars. Some guitarists prefer this wood for its new guitar tone but
some luthiers don't like to work with it on repair jobs because of its
soft nature.

CHERRY - Sometimes used for backs and sides.

COCOBOLO - Rosewood from Central America and Mexico.

CYPRESS - Used on the backs and sides of flamenco guitars only.

KOA - Midrange sounding wood from Hawaii used on some guitars for back,
sides, and tops.

MAHOGANY - Preferred for necks. Also good for backs, sides, inside bracings
and sometimes tops.

MAPLE - Sometimes used for backs and sides on larger guitars. Wood of choice
for f-hole guitar bodies. Sometimes used for bridge plates.

NATO - Used as a substitute for MAHOGANY on necks and sometimes bodies of less
expensive guitars. It is less stable than MAHOGANY.

OVANKOL - A ROSEWOOD substitute with qualities somewhere between ROSEWOOD and
MAHOGANY.

PEAR - Used for bindings. Treated PEAR is sometimes used as a substitute for
EBONY fingerboards on less expensive guitars.

PINE - Unfortunately sometimes is used on less expensive guitars for inside
linings, end blocks, and heel blocks.

REDWOOD - Somewhat similar to cedar, used more on classical guitars.

ROSEWOOD - Usually the most desirable wood used for backs and sides on classical
and steel string flattop guitars although MAHOGANY and MAPLE are also
very good on the latter. Also used for bridgeplates, bridges and
fretboards.

SPRUCE - There are a lot of different kinds of SPRUCE that are used in the making
of acoustic guitars and SPRUCE is usually the wood of choice for the
front (or top, sound board) of the guitar. Sometimes, it's also used for
the bracing under the soundboard. Unless it's an expensive guitar, the
manufacturer probably won't even mention the type of SPRUCE it is.
German (or European) SPRUCE can be from various countries in Europe and
this is sometimes reguarded as the best.
Engelmann (or Englemann) SPRUCE from the US is usually used on expensive
models along with Sitka, and Adirondack SPRUCE also grown in the US maybe
Canada. When picking out a guitar, look at the top. If the guitar has
a natural finish, the wood should be a light color. There shouldn't be
a large difference in shade between the wood and grain, and the grain
should be from 12-15 per inch minimum.

WALNUT - Used for bindings. Treated WALNUT is sometimes used as a substitute for
EBONY fingerboards on less expensive guitars. Also sometimes used for
bridges.

darylcrisp,thx for asking the question to the forum, if you looked it up yourself I would not have learned something

Feeling the way you do, the polite thing would have been not to post anything.



What does "NATO" mean in regards to a guitar neck?
The problem with common names for wood is that they often apply to unrelated species making it difficult to find out exactly to which species one is referring. I found three species commonly called nato but haven't determined which is used for guitars.


Species Identity

Taxonomy
Current Name: Chrysophyllum spp.
Authority: L.
Family/Genus: Sapotaceae - Chrysophyllum

Synonym(s)

Common Names
nyatoh, v[us] s[uwx]a, masang, white nato, nato, pepulut, nyatuh, chrysophyllum, padang,


---------

Species Identity

Taxonomy
Current Name: Diploknema sp.
Authority: Pierre
Family/Genus: Sapotaceae - Diploknema

Synonym(s)

Common Names
nyatoh, nato, red nato, masang, padang, nyatuh,

---------

Species Identity

Taxonomy
Current Name: Palaquium luzoniense
Authority: (Fernandez-Villar) S. Vidal
Family/Genus: Sapotaceae - Palaquium

Synonym(s)
Croixia luzoniensis (Fern.-Vill.) Baehni
Palaquium ahernianum Merr.

Common Names
dolitan, gasatan, nato,

Again, Herb has given us the answers. And that is foremost to be kind, then he gives all the info on that type of wood including the latin names. I'm not joking or trying to be a wise ***, this guy knows his stuff, so listen up! If you've ever watched the Seinfeld show then all i gotta say is "You gotta love the Herb"!:D

I deleted my rudeness

Sorry

talk about rude !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You are right

Sorry

Friends listen, words like "rude" or "your not helping" is understandable but bringing it this far down the thread is also not understandable. re17 probably and I'm assuming didn't mean it in a bad way or maybe he's going through something we don't know. I think the benefit of the doubt is in order here, plus it's not such a big deal considering there are many worse things going on in the world. I don't see it as some here that it's bringing the forum down. I see it as freedom to ask a question and to get many answers whether it's good or bad, and that's democracy. It's a FORUM, keep it up!

i've got a yamaha with laminated nato back and sides. it's a good guitar for the money, a very powerful strummer

When I was younger, I had a Vantage acoustic with a solid spruce top and nato back and sides. Man, that guitar was killer!!!!! It was rated that year as one of the best acoustic under $800. Now I think they only make lower entry level stuff.

So does Wechter
 

I've got a Pathmaker from Paw Paw. It's mahogany.
But NV 5413 Nashville (made in 2011) is Nato.
Seems fine to me. Why guzzle up prime tone wood on a neck anyway?
Not like it grows on trees. Bad Joke. Sorry

LOL! Beer came out my nose on that one.

The Wikipedia definition: Nato Wood

I've had Yamaha guitars in the past that had Nato necks. It might be a more economical and/or industrial substitute for mahogany, but I never saw any issues with the guitars, like warping, twisting, etc. I think they've been using it a long time, as the first Yamaha I had that incorporated Nato in the build was around 1972.

... JT

I ask for Mahogany and they send me NATO............"Not As Tom Ordered".:)
Tom

The Yamaha FG700S is an all solid wood guitar, top Sitka Spruce, back, sides, and neck, Solid Nato.