The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > General Acoustic Guitar Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #1  
Old 12-15-2007, 11:54 AM
rjw rjw is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 7
Default Tone Quality of Ovangkol v. Mahogany

Can anyone give me your opinion of the tone and sound differences between Ovangkol and Mahogany sides and back. Looking at Taylor 355 v. 455 acoustic 12 string. Any thoughts are welcome
Thanks
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 12-15-2007, 12:02 PM
beachbum205 beachbum205 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: New Jersey, near Philly
Posts: 1,401
Cool

Both of these are awesome guitars. I love my 455.

I'm not great at characterizing sound quality with words, but I would say that the ovangkol has more richness, more overtones than mahagony. Some have equated it to rosewood, but I don't hear the strong bass that rosewood usually produces. Ovangkol is pretty balanced, and probably offers a little more projection then the hog does, at leat to my ears.

You can't go wrong with either of these two guitars IMHO.
__________________
Martin D35
Taylor 510e
Taylor 150e
Martin DX1ae
Fender CD 60SCE-12
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 12-15-2007, 12:07 PM
ljguitar's Avatar
ljguitar ljguitar is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: wyoming
Posts: 42,556
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by rjw View Post
Can anyone give me your opinion of the tone and sound differences between Ovangkol and Mahogany sides and back. Looking at Taylor 355 v. 455 acoustic 12 string. Any thoughts are welcome
Thanks
Hi rjw...
Two of my students have Ovangkol Taylors and they are more articulate with more ring to them than the Mahogany. I'd put them somewhere between Rosewood and Mahogany, with the ring of Rosewood without the boom.

I've played an Ovangkol Taylor that sounded like cardboard. I'd want to play whatever guitar I'd be buying rather than order one unplayed.
__________________

Baby #1.1
Baby #1.2
Baby #02
Baby #03
Baby #04
Baby #05

Larry's songs...

…Just because you've argued someone into silence doesn't mean you have convinced them…
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 12-15-2007, 02:33 PM
beachbum205 beachbum205 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: New Jersey, near Philly
Posts: 1,401
Cool

Quote:
Originally Posted by ljguitar View Post
I've played an Ovangkol Taylor that sounded like cardboard. I'd want to play whatever guitar I'd be buying rather than order one unplayed.
Not to discount Larry's experience, but I have found Taylor to be the most consistant of guitar makers. I have played a bunch of 4xx's and haven't heard a bad one yet. That's not to say they don't make bad ones, but the odds of you getting a bad sounding 455 are pretty slight IMHO.

I ordered mine from Taylor without having ever played it, and I was not disappointed in any way.
__________________
Martin D35
Taylor 510e
Taylor 150e
Martin DX1ae
Fender CD 60SCE-12
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 12-15-2007, 03:05 PM
ljguitar's Avatar
ljguitar ljguitar is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: wyoming
Posts: 42,556
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by beachbum205 View Post
Not to discount Larry's experience, but I have found Taylor to be the most consistant of guitar makers. I have played a bunch of 4xx's and haven't heard a bad one yet. That's not to say they don't make bad ones, but the odds of you getting a bad sounding 455 are pretty slight IMHO.

I ordered mine from Taylor without having ever played it, and I was not disappointed in any way.
Hi bb...
Took a friend to a Taylor dealer, and we played 5 of the X14 with Ovankol for over an hour, and one was really bad, one was not too bad, two were nice and one spectacular. Of the two best, one was cosmetically a mess. The bottom half of the heel of the neck was a totally different color than the top half of the join.

All 5 of the Ovangkol made the same week.

I'm sorry, but I find Taylor not as consistent as they ought to be. This is not the first time we have played every version of the same model in the store to find and select the best, and found a lot of difference in them in terms of responsiveness and tone.
__________________

Baby #1.1
Baby #1.2
Baby #02
Baby #03
Baby #04
Baby #05

Larry's songs...

…Just because you've argued someone into silence doesn't mean you have convinced them…
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 12-15-2007, 03:06 PM
Singing Fool Singing Fool is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Sparta, NC
Posts: 257
Default

I might add that I've found ovangkol to be the most consistent wood of all the woods Taylor offers. Although I have a personal preference for mahogany (a very "honest", straight forward, sweet ,woody sound), I've played some mediocre Taylors with mahogany, maple, rosewood (both EI and Braz), koa, walnut, etc. I've yet to play a bad ovangkol Taylor. (Maybe I should buy one!) If I had to order a Taylor, I'd probably feel most comfortable ordering ovangkol, which has a rich, brilliant sound, similar to rosewood, only nicer to my ears.
__________________
Singing Fool

1997 Taylor Cujo 14 (RED cedar/BLACK walnut)
1999 Larrivee OM 10K (sitka spruce/reserve koa)
2001 Taylor 514e (engelmann spruce/mahogany)
2003 Taylor Pelican-LTD (sitka spruce/myrtlewood)
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 12-15-2007, 03:54 PM
Jeff M Jeff M is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Not where I thought I was going, but probably where I need to be.
Posts: 18,603
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ljguitar View Post
.....

I've played an Ovangkol Taylor that sounded like cardboard. I'd want to play whatever guitar I'd be buying rather than order one unplayed.
Sage advice.
I'd feel safer ordering a Taylor than most other large builders if buying sight unseen, but every builder turns out some duds.
__________________

"Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best."
Henry Van Dyke


"It is in the world of slow time that truth and art are found as one"
Norman Maclean,
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 12-15-2007, 06:44 PM
Randal_S's Avatar
Randal_S Randal_S is offline
Guest
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Far from the Dime
Posts: 2,399
Default

"Mahogany" on a 300-Series guitar is a bit of misnomer (whether intentional or otherwise). A 300-Series Taylor will likely either have Sapele (sorta like Mahogany) or "African Mahogany" (Khaya, another "Sorta Mahogany" wood). 500-Series Taylors will have S. American Mahogany (usually Honduran).
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 12-15-2007, 08:16 PM
Jeff M Jeff M is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Not where I thought I was going, but probably where I need to be.
Posts: 18,603
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Randal_S View Post
"Mahogany" on a 300-Series guitar is a bit of misnomer (whether intentional or otherwise). A 300-Series Taylor will likely either have Sapele (sorta like Mahogany) or "African Mahogany" (Khaya, another "Sorta Mahogany" wood). 500-Series Taylors will have S. American Mahogany (usually Honduran).
True, true.
Same..., taxonomic "Family", I believe, as true "Mahogany", but not really mahogany.
(Sounds close, but I understand things like Brussel Sprouts and Alfalfa are in the same family as each other. ) (BTW, just used these as an example becuase I can't remember what the actual plants are...but it was something similar).
__________________

"Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best."
Henry Van Dyke


"It is in the world of slow time that truth and art are found as one"
Norman Maclean,
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 12-15-2007, 11:18 PM
dreamwarrior dreamwarrior is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 655
Default

Thought I might chime in with my humble opinions, since I have a 355 sepele.

I happen to prefer the 355 to the 455, although I much prefer the 414 ovangkol to the 314 with sepele. For a 6 string, Ovangkol is hands down my favorite tonewood except for koa, which I also love.

I like strumming a 12 string, and to me the 355 is as smooth and silky sounding as a guitar can be for strumming, and is my favorite 12 string that I've played. However, the 455's I've played had better string separation, and would probably sound better for flat picking or fingerstyle than a 355.

As for consistency, I haven't played a bad Taylor yet. I've played some I liked better than others, but I've yet to find a dud. I've played Collings, McPhereson, R. Taylor, Martin, Gibson, Breedlove, etc. and to my ears Taylor is as good as any of them. Gibson is probably the most inconsistent, but a good one is awesome. And I'll probably be banned from these boards for saying this but, to me rosewood is the most inconsistent tonewood of them all. Most rosewood guitars don't do a lot for me, except the occasional one I hear every few months or so. There was a 2006 714ce ltd that sounded incredible, and a GA7 that I heard that was equally impressive. All the other 714's and GA7's I care for at all. I've yet to find an 814 that I like, although I love the way they look.

Oh well, didn't mean to ramble on.
__________________
Dreamwarrior
www.markspencermusic.com
'07 Taylor 424ce SL
'06 Taylor 414ce
'03 Taylor 355
'05 Gibson 185 EC Special jumbo
'91 Gibson Les Paul Studio Lite
'96 Gibson Les Paul Studio
'04 Fender Highway One Strat
'06 Fender American Precision Bass
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 12-15-2007, 11:45 PM
MattJohnPaul MattJohnPaul is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 2,222
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by rjw View Post
Can anyone give me your opinion of the tone and sound differences between Ovangkol and Mahogany sides and back. Looking at Taylor 355 v. 455 acoustic 12 string. Any thoughts are welcome
Thanks
Well first off a 355 is not mahogany... it is sapele or khaya (that might not be how you spell it )

For a Jumbo 12 string I would go 455... Ovankol is a nice wood but does not have the best bass response... Great highs though! The jumbo shape will help with this problem and should make for a very refined sound for a relatively inexpensive guitar...
__________________
Guitars
Taylor Classic SB SC LTD Burled Walnut (2008)

Commissioned
Doerr Legacy Select African Blackwood/ Swiss (2011)
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 12-16-2007, 06:36 AM
RP's Avatar
RP RP is online now
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Charlottesville, VA
Posts: 21,241
Default

I had a 455 with an amazingly bright tone. I recently played a 410 in a local shop whose tone would rival my 810. Tone is ultimately subjective but I love that of ovangkol and feel that it's a really underappreciated wood for guitars.
__________________
Emerald X20
Emerald X20-12
Martin D18
Martin 000-15sm
Reply With Quote
Reply

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > General Acoustic Guitar Discussion

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:21 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=