How similar is Koa to Mahogany?

[Rosewood99]

How would you describe the differences and similarities?

[ohYew812]

Everyone hears different, but to me, Koa sounds closer to maple than mahogany.

[Rosewood99]

Also I'm more thinking about the top wood.

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by ohYew812

Everyone hears different, but to me, Koa sounds closer to maple than mahogany.

I agree. Koa tends to have a brighter or crisper tone than warmer mahogany, and is usually much closer to maple. When I bought my maple Taylor guitar, I took the koa Taylor guitar along as the closest comparison to A/B. Both have spruce tops, so I was focused more on body woods. My all-koa guitar is a little subdued in bass (but is opening up with age and play) compared to spruce tops, and is not as warm as mahogany topped guitars.

[edit] I'm not sure that I have ever heard a maple topped guitar of any real quality...... maybe some cheapo Harmony. But those may have been birch tops.

[tippy5]

I have had an all koa Taylor and two sitka / koa Grand Concert Goodall's.
On the Goodall's what I love is the trebles. They are bright as a Hawaiian beach day. They ring out in the cutaway like no other guitar that I have ever had.
Fat and beautiful with good overtones too. My Macassar Goodall also has amazing highs and less overtones.
If you ever want to play beautiful melodic lead lines, partial chords (with a balanced bass line) you might love spruce/koa?

I kind of miss my 2006 all koa Taylor. It was warm sounding but I just have 6 acoustics so something had to go. The buyer was very happy with it, as I knew he would be after playing so many Taylors off the rack in my life. It did not have the FAT Goodall trebles though.

If you can budget for a high end guitar I would go with a modern, hand made Koa masterpiece. It doesn't have to be AAAAA grade either in the right hands.

[musicman1951]

Koa is brighter with more sustain in my experience. Ringing overtones.

Mahogany has that thump, with more of the fundamental tone.

[ahorsewithnonam]

Originally Posted by ohYew812

Everyone hears different, but to me, Koa sounds closer to maple than mahogany.

This for me as well.

[dadio917]

I tend to think that koa is between mahogany and rosewood in sound. a little more distinct than rosewood but a little more ringy with overtones than mahogany. I like them all!

[merlin666]

I think that Koa may also be a bit softer, that's why we see more ukuleles with Mahogany necks than Koa necks?

[rmyAddison]

I've owned Koa (Sitka top)and Tasmanian Blackwood (Koa's Australian cousin), Engelmann top, never seen a guitar with just a Koa top, although all Koa/Tasmanian Blackwood is done.

To me Koa/Tasmanian Blackwood are "tweener" woods, not as fundamental as mahogany, not as lush as rosewood, and very good clarity, I love my Tasmanian Blackwood OM-45.

Honestly just a Koa top seems a bit strange to me, but I've been wrong before......once

[ukejon]

Originally Posted by musicman1951

Koa is brighter with more sustain in my experience. Ringing overtones.

Mahogany has that thump, with more of the fundamental tone.

Having owned a fair number of koa instruments, my experience is that it can indeed be bright and take a heck of a long time to open up tonally. Sustain can be very much stifled if you don't have relatively light bracing.

Regarding the latter point, not all mahogany is the same. It can, in fact, ring like a bell and have long sustain as well as beautifully complex but balanced overtones.

Hatcher all mahogany Josie:



Pono all koa:

[Hurricane Ramon]

There is only one major commercially logged Koa forest in the entire group of the Hawaiian islands . The Big Island's Kau district is where the last one is .

I lived on The Big Island Hawaii 7 years and traveled many years to it before and after I moved back to the mainland .

It's a mysterious wood , it's praises come from fine furniture/finish carpenters and luthiers alike . To the ancient Hawaiian ruler(s) it was the armada's strength in war



- in peace it was the semi/tractor trailer that transported whole societies across the pacific ocean in huge canoe's that transported as any as 200 people and supplies 1000's of miles across vast seas ,


it was the fisherman's means to keeping a society healthy with the fish ( big @$$ tuna/swordfish/marlin/ono ) they caught in their outriggers . It's dense but lightweight nature aided in weaponry .

It was a fun toy to the surfer

But - - To us it's about tone .

The darker the the wood's hue means it's not been long since it was felled .

Living on the Big Island I mean all manner of koa end uses except those who made war clubs with it .

The [ Blonde ] koa make's it's distinction by the time it's spent since being felled . I have been told by some learn'd ones that the really blonde one's are over 100 years old .

A tree can have a huge section on it that's been dead wood a long while and then when felled shows darker sections in it that cover the majority of the whole log .

I listened to koa big time next to Philippine & other Asian Pacific/Honduran/African mahogany guitars ( sometimes all in the same night ) next to koa guitars . Walnut & cherry also with rose have a similar clear ring like maple and koa somehow blends into the all the above term i it's ability to ring so clean and clear in the whole sound spectrum .

These were my observations while living on Hawaii's Big Island in the Puna District where koa abounds big time everywhere .

I wasn't playing guitar then - believe it or not I was blowing harp mostly in a CW/RNR/R&B/Blues acts in the local bar/party scene and then Standards in the hotels on the opposite [Tourist ] side .

Drives me nut's now with 18 years of guitar under my belt and I didn't get a koa back then - oh well ..... I do have a old blonde koa soprano ukulele

I got her neglected and in need of TLC , I fixed her up and playing , she's a sweet little thing .

Behold - - KOA COUNTRY Big Island Hawaii - take a spin .

https://www.google.com/maps/@19.2774...7i13312!8i6656

EZ :

HR

[Ed-in-Ohio]

In general, I'd say Taylor's analysis is pretty accurate. Koa has a flatter (not mid-heavy) and wider frequency response. Notice how similar Koa is to Walnut. I'd say that Cherry also has a similar profile...(Walnut & Cherry, two grossly underrated domestic tonewoods!)

[robj144]

Aren't you selling an all Koa Taylor in the classifieds right now? Are you asking to get a gauge on Mahogany?

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

Originally Posted by paulzoom

How would you describe the differences and similarities?

In that case, you are really asking about an all Koa vs all Mahogany guitar, which are two very different instruments. Depending on the builder, the Koa will be darker, with more overtones, and a more complex tone. Also, the all Koa will have less projection initially. There is more to it than that of course, but you might have to play a few side by side to really understand.