Koa
Hawaiian Koa is easily one of the most sought after tonewoods available, with colors ranging from brown to gold, with rich and varying grain. Koa looks as exotic as the region its from. With an open pore structure like Mahogany, it needs to be filled, but works well in all respects with the usual care taken for curly figure. Curl or flame has been exhibited in Koa trees less than 20 years old and these trees grow fast. For more information on our grading see the Koa guitar backs and sides section of our website.
The dimensions of the Koa sets are:
Tops and Backs: 4 3/8 x 12 1/4 x .140
Sides: 18 x 3 1/4 x .120
Engelmann
Engelmann tops are often more homogeneous looking than Sitka Spruce with the early and late-growth rings being less distinct. Engelmann has a beautiful ivory sheen and occasionally shows some pink streaking. It is relatively uniform in its consistency. It is also similar to German Spruce in workability, although softer than German Spruce, it must be cared for as one cares for Cedar, i.e., keep a clean workbench.
Most of our Engelmann Spruce comes from Canada, and we believe it has some advantages over the Engelmann from the States. Its stiffer than Sitka Spruce perpendicular to the grain.
Redwood
Tonally Redwood can be compared to Cedar but it also possesses some of the qualities associated with Spruce - so expect a bolder, crisper, punchier tone than Cedar, but with all the rich, strong overtones intact. These tops are much stiffer than you might expect for Redwood. In performing his soundboard testing, luthier Brian Burns found that some of the best strength-to weight numbers are found in these tops. Their color is rich and unique. Some tops show minor color inconstancies and streaks, but these disappear rapidly (a few weeks), if you expose the wood to sunlight (presumably through a window!).
All of this stock, by the way, comes from old growth cull logs already down for decades. LMI is located in northern California, surrounded by Redwood Forests, and we want to keep it that way.
