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  #31  
Old 04-16-2012, 10:31 AM
jbslive jbslive is offline
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Originally Posted by mashup View Post
This is all very encouraging to hear seeing as im very tempted by a used Martin 00-15 (All Sapele) but have been holding fire as im concerned that it wont sound as nice as my all hog 000-15M, which i adore. If it's a case of it being more of the same then im very, very tempted. Just wondering whether due to the 00 being smaller in size than the 000 & the fact that many have stated that Sapele has slightly more shimmery/Sparkly qualities & less bass response to it than Mahogany, whether the 00 would be too bright & too different in comparison to my 000-15M? I do love the sound of my all hog 000-15M though & would love another 15 series. Can i expect more of the same?

I have a full hogger as well as a sapele and I just comparred them.. here is how it sounds to me... The Hogger has +10 on bass settings, The Sapele has it on +6.5/7. The Hogger has + 7 on the Mids, The Sapele is on +8.5. The Hogger has +6.5 on the highs and the Sapele is on +8. Thats how my ears hear them.
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  #32  
Old 04-16-2012, 10:35 AM
Herb Hunter Herb Hunter is offline
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Originally Posted by jbslive View Post
I have a full hogger as well as a sapele and I just comparred them.. here is how it sounds to me... The Hogger has +10 on bass settings, The Sapele has it on +6.5/7. The Hogger has + 7 on the Mids, The Sapele is on +8.5. The Hogger has +6.5 on the highs and the Sapele is on +8. Thats how my ears hear them.
However, if you were to compare n mahogany guitar with another mahogany guitar, you might end up with the same scoring as above.
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  #33  
Old 04-16-2012, 10:37 AM
jbslive jbslive is offline
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Originally Posted by Herb Hunter View Post
However, if you were to compare n mahogany guitar with another mahogany guitar, you might end up with the same scoring as above.
I agree.. it really is true that EVERY guitar is different.
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  #34  
Old 04-16-2012, 10:42 AM
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Harmonist34 Harmonist34 is offline
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I like mahogany and sapele. You can't usually find mahogany that looks like this:



but then again, you can't find the sapele that looks like that anymore.
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  #35  
Old 04-16-2012, 03:13 PM
andyi5 andyi5 is offline
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Wow the back on that is like a wild animal!

Sapele has a fantastic tone, though I have mixed feelings on it's appearance on the lower end models. On my GSmini for instance I love the wood on the sides of the guitar and the neck, and it has a deep rich colour, but I'm less keen on the uniform stripes on the back. Most sapele backs seem to come looking like this, though some of Taylor's 3 series are a bit more individual.
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  #36  
Old 04-16-2012, 05:13 PM
BUDSTER BUDSTER is offline
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Here is my Sapele story. I went into Best Buy looking for a gig guitar, I did not care how it looked only how it sounded unplugged and plugged in. I know BestyBuy sounds like a weird place to get a guitar but my local best buy has an incredible guitar room and selection. I played everything from the Taylor 914's down to the 214 and all the high end Martins and Gibsons as well. Based on sound alone, I walked out with the Taylor 314ce. I know sound is subjective but this guitar has a very crisp and balanced sound that I was looking for. I actually even prefer the look of the Sapele to the Mahagony because of the more distinguished grain patterns.

That at least was my experience.
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  #37  
Old 04-16-2012, 11:57 PM
Cazon Cazon is offline
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Then there is Khaya Mahoganny - a tonewood that Jean Larrivee has used with great results.


Latin name: Khaya ivorensis
Other names: African mahogany (english); Khaya (USA); Acajou afrique (french); Mogano africano (italian), acajou, akuk, bandoro, bisselon, eri kiree, ogwango, undianunu, n’gollon, zaminguila.


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Last edited by Cazon; 04-17-2012 at 08:48 AM.
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  #38  
Old 04-17-2012, 08:31 AM
bohemian bohemian is offline
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Khaya is the only African wood said to be a mahogany

Acajou... is the French word for anything that looks like mahogany and yes it is used for mahogany.. but as in the US ..Acajou "implies" mahogany, just as mahogany "implies" mahogany

The word Acajou has an interesting history.. again derived from wood and tree hunters from Europe to foreign lands....

origin of the word? a renaming of a native Brazilain tree
later transported to India.... not rosewood

Last edited by bohemian; 04-17-2012 at 06:16 PM.
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  #39  
Old 04-17-2012, 09:09 AM
CET CET is offline
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I suspect part of why folks tend to like the appearance of mahogany better than sapele is that sapele is used mostly on less expensive guitars on which less effort and expense is devoted to making them look nice.
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  #40  
Old 04-17-2012, 09:20 AM
vicov vicov is offline
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Sapele is neither cheap or inferior when the Greenfield logo is on the headstock (believe me)!

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  #41  
Old 04-17-2012, 07:21 PM
alnico5 alnico5 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cazon View Post
Then there is Khaya Mahoganny - a tonewood that Jean Larrivee has used with great results.


Latin name: Khaya ivorensis
Other names: African mahogany (english); Khaya (USA); Acajou afrique (french); Mogano africano (italian), acajou, akuk, bandoro, bisselon, eri kiree, ogwango, undianunu, n’gollon, zaminguila.


I have a 1996 412 made from "African mahogany" -khaya. It is a great sounding great looking little guitar with a Sitka top and satin finish. Everyone who plays it loves it.
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  #42  
Old 04-17-2012, 09:17 PM
bohemian bohemian is offline
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Is your 412 specifically Khaya or african mahogany ?
Nowhere in the literature did it say "kahya" it said "mahogany" not american mahognay of african mahogany but mahogany...

And according to sources before the 4 series was changed to the railroad tie wood ovangkol) it was sapele.. not mahogany.

Last edited by bohemian; 04-17-2012 at 09:24 PM.
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  #43  
Old 04-18-2012, 06:24 PM
alnico5 alnico5 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bohemian View Post
Is your 412 specifically Khaya or african mahogany ?
Nowhere in the literature did it say "kahya" it said "mahogany" not american mahognay of african mahogany but mahogany...

And according to sources before the 4 series was changed to the railroad tie wood ovangkol) it was sapele.. not mahogany.
The 1996 catalog lists my guitar as African mahogany. I e-mailed Taylor and asked them if my guitar was in fact African mahogany or sapele. They replied that my 1996 412 was in fact African mahogany not sapele. Khaya is called African mahogany so that is what I'm going with. What ever it is, it looks pretty and sounds nice.
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  #44  
Old 04-18-2012, 06:47 PM
bohemian bohemian is offline
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Taylor is hedging. They did not specifically say "khaya" they said African mahogany.

Which says nothing about the quality of the guitar. Glad you enjoy it.

Last edited by bohemian; 04-18-2012 at 07:19 PM.
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  #45  
Old 04-18-2012, 09:41 PM
John Arnold John Arnold is offline
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I consider all three woods (Honduran, khaya, sapele) as roughly equivalent as far as sound goes.

There are lots of reasons that Honduran mahogany is a favorite, and many of them have nothing to do with sound. Mahogany is very workable, finishes beautifully, and is one of the most stable woods there is.

Although sapele is denser than Honduran on average, khaya is not. Khaya is less workable than the other two, mainly because it tends to 'fuzz up' from machining or coarse sanding. However, this 'fuzzing' usually is eliminated by the time the finest sanding is done prior to finishing.

The main distinction I make is because of the deep interlocked grain of sapele and khaya. This is the source of the ribbon stripe on quartered surfaces. Honduran mahogany can also have a ribbon stripe, but it is generally less severe, and it is usually the least prominent in the wood sourced from Central America....as opposed to wood from closer to the equator (Amazon, primarily).
Severe ribbon stripe can also have an adverse effect on stability. That is one reason that khaya is considered a less stable wood than Honduran.

In the good old days, Martin preferred mahogany with a minimum of ribbon stripe, because it had less manufacturing problems like warping of the bent sides and complications from carving necks.
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