With Koa prices escalating rapidly and quality on the decline, we are excited to once again be able to provide limited quantities of beautiful Black Acacia back and side sets - at roughly half the price of Koa. Known as Australian Blackwood to many because of the tree’s bark, this not-to-distant cousin of the koa tree (Koa is itself an acacia) offers many of the features of the popular Hawaiian wood. With many highly flamed sets available, the only difference between Black acacia and koa that you are likely to notice is that the color of the Black acacia is one shade lighter (more of a honey brown or gold brown) and the grain generally runs straighter. An excellent alternative to the rosewoods, it has a luminescence and depth similar to mahogany. The tap tone is roughly the same as Koa, and some say it makes a better sounding guitar. Though the tree grows well in our own region of northern California and many other places such as Africa and India, the best sets are imported from Australia where this wood has been a mainstay for most of the fine builders there. Other adherents include classical and Flamenco guitar builder Kenny Hill and Steel string builders Mike Baranik and McPherson guitars.
