Anybody ever heard of the tone wood "Katalox?" It sounds really good

[mmasters]

First guitar I've heard with this wood. Sounds cool to me!

[llew]

I know nothing about "Katalox" but that is a beautiful sounding OM!

[AcousticDreams]

Thanks for sharing. I also had never heard a Katalox guitar before. But I am slightly familiar with this wood. Very hard and dense. It has been used for people who need outdoor flooring-walkways made of wood. Has a long life due to its oilyness and density.

From the Wood Data Base
Katalox has exceptional strength properties, and is among the very stiffest and strongest woods available worldwide. Its dark color makes it a popular substitute for ebony, and the wood is sometimes called Mexican Royal Ebony, though it is not a true ebony in the Diospyros genus.

Katalox is typically considered difficult to work on account of its high density. The wood has a moderate to high blunting effect on cutters, and if there is interlocked grain present, tearout can occur during planing. Can be troublesome to glue because of its high density and natural oils present.

[dneal]

Sounds good, but that might have more to do with Bashkin than Katalox.

[jaymarsch]

It certainly helps that it is in the expert hands of a builder like Michael Bashkin and a player like Stuart Ryan.

A very nice sounding guitar for sure. I had heard of Katalox before but I don't think that I have heard a guitar made with it before.

Best,
Jayne

[westman]

oops - did'nt notice ths had been posted
it's a Mike Bashkin - say no more.

"Katalox Swartzia cubensis (Mexican Royal Ebony) H=3.8, M=3.5,=4, S=3.8, O=3.9, T=4
An extremely dense legume from Central America, it has been compared to and is consider a replacement for Gabon Ebony. It is even heavier, one of the strongest and stiffest woods known. Reddish-brown heartwood which darkens with time and heads towards black. Sapwood is a creamy gold. I have seen it with more of an eggplant hue and sort of quilted, with a Rorshach test kind of look. Neat looking, that was. Wavy figure is not uncommon. But most often it's straight-grained with good luster and fine even texture. I understand that it will quickly darken to just south of black/purple and if you can get some sapwood mixed in, it should be wildly vibrant. Tonally, it can be compared to Gabon Ebony as well, with deep basses, a tight upper end and strong overtones, a sonorous ring that has been likened to African Blackwood, along with an excellent sustain. Strength qualities in compression parallel to grain are exceptionally high. It is very hard - much harder (and heavier) than White oak or Hard Maple. Its great density makes it considered difficult to work. When it exhibits interlocked grain you need to watch for tear-out. Extremely fine pores and texture. Watch for tear-out. It dulls tools fairly fast. The extra density, combined with its oil content, can lead to difficulties in gluing.

BIG sound, long sustain, glassy, crystaline, absolutely clear. Has been compared to African Blackwood and Ziricote. Lively bass, bright and clear trebles, good overtones - I hear nothing but good about it. On the other hand, you can expect a heavy instrument once delivered.

Janka=3660 Sp. Gravity - 0.94 72lb/ft3"
from
http://tonewooddatasource.weebly.com...tails-h-l.html

[TDavis]

I've heard it called "Mexican Ebony". Really dark, almost purplish in color. I've seen a couple of guitars that use it for fingerboard and bridge material...but I've also seen a couple of Huss & Dalton's and Martin CS D-28's use it as tone wood. I think it's being used because it's a lot more sustainable than Ebony, which is getting harder and harder to get...the "black Ebony" that so many of us love on our favorites anyway.

[Monsoon1]

I'm very familiar with Katalox and have some at home. Nice tight grain and incredibly stiff as well as hard. Would probably make a great neck as well as back and sides, which are actually common to find on ebay..

[westman]

while we're on the subject of how tonewood sounds -
here is a clip the player above, Stuart Ryan playing a Circa 000 with the humble Maple back 'n sides - according to common wisdom maple shouldn't sound like this -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-quC6d3XG2M

[Paddy1951]

Martin has used/is using katalox as fretboard wood on some of the 15 series guitars and maybe others. If memory serves, I think it is actually a bit harder than ebony. I think this is a good wood for componenent use. One day ebony will be close to non-existent and expensive. Going to other woods only makes sense.

I wouldn't be at all reluctant about this wood.

[ripdotcom]

The SWDGT has that wood for the bridge and fretboard.

[nickv6]

Tuning sounds a tone low to me so that will affect the apparent tone won't it?
Nick

[westman]

Originally Posted by nickv6

Tuning sounds a tone low to me so that will affect the apparent tone won't it?
Nick

it WILL affect the pitch but tone ? -what happens when u put a lower gauge string set on - same thing.

[Wade Hampton]

Katalox is a wonderful tonewood when used by a skilled builder. I've played a couple of guitars built from it. They were heavy but magnificent-sounding.

That said, its name sounds like something you'd take to fight the effects of traveler's diarrhea...

"Having tummy trouble? No problem, just swallow a tablespoon of Katalox every four to six hours!"


whm

[Brendan @ Heartbreaker Guitars]

Definitely a "Sleeper" wood. Amazing sounds coming out of the Bourgeois Katalox we have. Full, robust and clear. Fantastic tone wood!