Lychee(Litchi chinensis) classical guitar

[HNLim]

Several days ago, I saw an article that shows a Chinese guitar manufacturer producing guitars from Lychee wood (Litchi chinensis). I just returned from a visit to my ancestral home in Hainan Island, China. That piece of land was once own by my grandfather and later passed on to my father before the communist came to power. Today that piece of land has been handed over to 3 of my distant cousins. All three of them are currently planting lychee and it has made the 3 brothers very rich as a result. Only my ancestral house a typical Chinese courtyard house remains in my possession which was the reason for my visit. As a side issue, the lychee produced on my ancestral land is one of the best tasting lychee from China. I have not tasted it before but my siblings love them very much.

Before returning home, I ask my cousin to cut a small lychee branch as a token from my ancestral land. After cleaning that piece of wood, I discover that it is very heavy and dense. The density is about 880kg/m3. When I put that piece of wood into water, it immediately sinks to the bottom of the container. I was also told that the wood gets darker as it ages.

I learned that this wood is used for making Chinese musical instruments and furniture. When I showed that piece of wood to my good friend luthier Sen Goh, he told me that the wood has potential for building a good classical guitar. As usual, I started to day dream about building a guitar from the lychee wood taken from my ancestral land.

Has any one have any idea regarding this wood? How practical is it?

The lychee season from that land is around May approximately a month before the Chinese mainland season. My cousin has been pestering me to return in May for the tasty lychee. If I do return in may, it will not be for the lychee alone but also for the wood to build my next guitar.

[fnesnor]

Don’t know about its use as a tone wood but have you heard about “Eye Of The Dragon”? It is a martini made of 1 ½ ounces of Bulldog Gin, 2 ¼ ounces lychee liqueur and a dash of lychee juice.

[the.ronin]

How is the tone and the grain pattern? Would be curious to see and more so to hear what these guitars sound like.

[HNLim]

I cut out a small section of the wood to make 2 guitar picks for my son. He played it for a while and complained that he finds it too chunky as compared to those plastic picks he is using. He refused to play with the lychee picks anymore because he said that he is keeping it as a souvenir.

I then took out a bigger piece of the wood leftover from the pick and drop it into water. It now floats slightly below the water surface. The grain is also not straight but wavy.

I am thinking of making tuning buttons out of the wood for my tuner.

[the.ronin]

... or a cejilla.

[HNLim]

Originally Posted by the.ronin

... or a cejilla.

Yes! this is a good idea. Unfortunately as a classical guitar player, I think I am not inclined to use it any time soon.

This is the section of the branch my cousin Ann cut for me.

[HNLim]

The 2 picks on the left are the ones I made from the lychee wood from my ancestral land.

[saxonblue]

Originally Posted by HNLim

The density is about 880kg/m3. When I put that piece of wood into water, it immediately sinks to the bottom of the container.

That density figure would have to be > 1000kg/m3 in order for it to sink in water.