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#1
09-22-2019, 09:43 PM
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Hickory tonewood
Please tell me more about this wood as a tone wood. After hearing these two videos of a Monkman 00 with hickory back and sides my interest in this wood has gone waaaay up . It's like a mellow rosewood With less ring and more mid range. Do you think a jumbo made from hickory will still have that mellow sustain with a nice range?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJBIve-U--M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcXyN5xmTzc 
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#2
09-22-2019, 10:34 PM
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Mac, I’ve only ever played one musical instrument with hickory back and sides, and it was a mountain dulcimer, not a guitar. In that application, anyway, it sounded and responded more like maple than rosewood, perhaps like a cross between maple and walnut. It was livelier and had a quicker response than rosewood, without as many overtones.
I liked it well enough, and wouldn’t mind owning a hickory instrument. But I don’t see it as a rosewood substitute. I’ve owned dulcimers with rosewood back and sides in the past, both Indian and Brazilian rosewood, and the hickory didn’t remind me of either. Take that for what it’s worth - obviously, it’s not the exact same thing as a guitar with hickory back and sides. But with all the various instruments that I play, I have found that these tonewoods do have certain characteristics that remain the same no matter what instrument gets built out of them. Hope this helps. Wade Hampton Miller PS: I do think a jumbo with hickory back and sides might be a great instrument. I do think it could be a suitable pairing of tonewood with body style. But you might have a difficult time finding a clear set that’s big enough for the purpose.
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#3
09-23-2019, 04:22 AM
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Interesting post....always wondered about Hickory being used, back n sides for a guitar. And black locust for fret board on the linked video. I always wondered about using Black Locust locust being used as fret board. Very hard wood. Both woods are common in N. America. Love to hear others chime in on this thread.
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#4
09-23-2019, 05:04 AM
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Like Wade, I only really ever heard of Hickory being used for dulcimers. Folkcraft offers models with that wood choice for certain, as well as dulcimer luthiers. In my experience with it on the dulcimer, it was okay, but would not be my first choice as a tone wood. But, different strokes for different folks.
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#5
09-23-2019, 05:21 AM
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No reason Hickory cannot be used for a jumbo - it is plenty big enough. It is the hardest common North American hardwood and compares well in that respect with many tropical woods. i have seen photos of hickory guitars but have not seen one in person (see www.tonewooddatasource.weebly.com for examples). I have used it a couple of times for kitchen cabinets and as flooring. The big box stores are carrying it now as a standard flavor of cabinet and indeed they look striking with the dark and lighter wood contrasts, but with enough exposure to sun that contract will lessen. I have yet to see it figured or display chatoyance, but it will make a striking-looking instrument without these displays. I would not, however, expect the sound to imitate Rosewood.
Locust for a fingerboard will be a good choice, but beware that it is a blond wood and will show the dirt UNLESS you darken it. Traditionally a mixture of vinegar and iron filings will do this, but Tim McKnight has discovered that torrifying the wood will also turn it very dark.
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