African Rosewood, also known as Bubinga, comes from the Ivory Coast, Gabon and Cameroon. Bubinga is bright and rich, which vary greatly in color from pink oranges, reds and dark browns. The heartwood can be pink-red with darker purple veins and purple stripes. African Rosewood timber has interlocking grain, is harder and heavier than Brazilian Rosewood, and has a medium-fine texture. Distribution of mauve pink Bubinga is oxidized to a brownish-red over time. Africa Rosewood can be plain or mottled. There are photos of a classic Rosewood African steel strings on the website ellisguitars.com. Many species of African mahogany. Used in the acoustic guitar-making is known as Khaya mahogany. Khaya Mahogany is found in tropical Africa and Madagascar. Khaya Mahogany is light pink to medium red brown color brown. Khaya Mahogany is superior in strength to Sapelli mahogany, another African mahogany used in the construction of the acoustic guitar. It has a moderately coarse texture that sometimes intertwined, sometimes straight. Interlocked grain produces a striped figure on quartersawn surfaces (the best for guitars). Like most Mahogany species Khaya Mahogany guitars are warm and clear with good balance. The other luthiers is Sapele mahogany mahogany family. Sapele is found in West Africa, Central and East African tropical forests Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Uganda, Zaire and Tanzania. Sapele Mahogany timber has salmon pink heartwood and sapwood pale yellow. The heartwood Rose can change to reddish brown with age. Sapele Mahogany wood has a close texture with interlocked grain direction changes and can be regularly striped. Also can have large irregular pores, interspersed with bands of small pores. Wavy grain produces very intense or figures fiddleback takes very 3D mottled appearance. Tonewood Sapele Mahogany is heavier than other African mahogany, but not so strong. Ovangkol is relatively new to the construction of the acoustic guitar. Guibourtia ehie, also known as Mozambique, shedua, amazoue Amazakoue and is in West Africa, Ivory Coast, Ghana, southern Nigeria and Gabon. Ovangkol of heartwood is yellow to chocolate brown dark brown-gray with black stripes. Wood grain enclosure Ovangkol and the texture is moderately coarse. Hue, Ovangkol back and sides is between strong rosewood and the top of Maple. Padouk is a deep-colored wood also known as Pterocarpus soyauxii, MBE, Mbila, Mututi, angles and Bosulu. Padauk or is Padouk in Central and tropical West Africa, stretching from south-western Nigeria to Zaire. The wood is bright orange or almost crimson and a guitar has Tonewood good straight grain, slightly harder and heavier than Indian Rosewood, with fine to medium term. Padouk timber oxidizes to a dark, rich purple-brown over time. Padauk guitars have a strong tone. Wenge is a deep dark chocolate brown wood in Zaire, Cameroon and Gabon in Africa. Millettia Tonewood Laurentii is brown, with regular intervals, fine black veins and dark and light brown. Wenge acoustic guitar back and sides of the wood has a tight straight grain, the whole width and a coarse texture. Tonewood Wenge guitar is heavier than East Indian and Brazilian rosewood and like most African Timber Wenge on a guitar has a loud tone of Nice. Zebrawood is named for its intense rays. Brazzavillensis Microberlinia are in Africa, Gabon and Cameroon. Wood Zebrawood has brightly colored stripes uniformly global gold-tan, yellow and dark brown. The wood is coarse-grained texture of very thick, and is similar in density Rosewood India. Zebrawood resonates tonally the same as Indian Rosewood. The cream of African timber for the construction of the acoustic guitar is black African which is actually a rosewood. Dalbergia melanoxylon is purplish black to dark brown with black stripes. Blackwood African Wood has a fine grain and polishes well and is said by some as the best of Brazilian rosewood. African Blackwood Tonewood an excellent response was obtained, and the Tapton is fantastic.

About the Author:

Andrew Ellis is the Head Luthier at Ellis Guitars, Perth, Western Australia. Ellis Guitars make fine handcrafted acoustic guitars and the Ellis Acoustic Stompbox. Website – www.ellisguitars.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – African Timbers – an Exotic Touch at Ellis Guitars

David Sylvian – Red Guitar