Hawaiian Koa

[BassProCamaro97]

I've always been a fan of curly koa but I have never used it before. Do any of you guys have any expirence using it for a neck or finger board?

Also, does anyone have any good resources for finding quality lumber?

Thanks,

[Maricopa]

Marginal for a neck. Koa is fairly reactive and notoriously 'uneven' in it's consistency for lack of a better word.
Fretboard is a big uh-uh, way too soft.
Makes a nice body and even nicer top cap.

[Picton]

It's the uke wood of choice, largely due to its overall lightness and its ease of bending (for the sides of the ukes). It makes a nice tonewood and it looks beautiful, but I'd argue that lightness and bendability mightn't make a good, stable neck.

[drgonzo2]

Too soft for a fingerboard and too flexible for a neck without some major reinforcement. You might be able to use it for a neck if you added a couple of hefty carbon fiber reinforcing bars under the fingerboard, but I'm personally doubtful. The acoustic I tried with a Koa neck suffered a major case of "Townshend-itis", where you could raise/lower the pitch just from putting pressure on the neck, and an acoustic's neck is a whole lot shorter than a tele's...

... G

[BassProCamaro97]

Thanks for the info! I figured it was to soft for a finger board. I've seen quite a few necks around but never knew any owners personally, so I could never get any good info on them. I guess I'll stick to using Koa as caps then.

Anyone know a good koa supplier?

[Nick JD]

I think if you get a heavy piece it'd be fine for a neck. Denser than mahogany and the same weight as maple.

Janka hardness is actually harder than maple ... holds frets in a uke. If it's anything like its cousin, Acacia melanoxylon it's highly variable in density - so picking it in person (and calculating its density) is probably advisable.

There's not much of it left so it's REALLY expensive. I was in Hawaii recently and came back without any - not worth it IMO. Better woods for way cheaper.

[joe desperado]

Well, I will go against the grain and say I have extensive expierence with KOA and with building necks too. My own personal T style guitar has a flamey piece of KOA for the neck with a PAU ferro fingerboard and its the most stable neck out of my 40+ personal guitars. I have at least 5 customer necks on my bench right now that are made of KOA. I have never had a problem with it for neck wood. Like any wood, make sure its stable (and not twisted etc) before you start building with it, and it will be just fine. What I like about it most is that is warm like mahogany but still fairly articulate too. Like so many other woods, curly wood is not a great choice for a neck due to it wanting to twist by nature. But flamey Koa or any other grains seem to be fine.

Not too long ago someone asked about Hickory for a neck wood. Everyone said no way.. well, I have two Hickory one-piece necks in progress just to dis-qualify the myth that it will suck. It will be a while before they are done because I build in batches and its in one of the newer batches. While a bit heavier than some maple necks, they are certainly not the heaviest necks I have made. My guess is that they will be bold sounding with some midrange honk. Time will tell if I am right.

J

[joe desperado]

PS: Where are you in Chicago. I know a place that has quite a bit of KOA right now.

[Colt W. Knight]

http://www.gilmerwood.com/

[ConnorRGX420]

Does James Trussart not use Koa for necks?

[BassProCamaro97]

Joe,

That's good to hear. How long did you let the lumber sit before you cut the neck? do you take any extra precautions with koa that you wouldn't take with other woods?

I've been finding some really nice flame koa in neck blank sizes but I'm hesitant to buy them since I've never used it before. I'd hate to have one twist up on me.

[joe desperado]

No worries. Most of the KOA has been cut and drying for years. Its really quite stable. I do not do anything different with it than I do mahogany or Maple. My process takes several weeks to make a neck which allows for the wood to aclimate to cutting and milling of the wood along the way. I find this is needed regardless of wood type.

Take your time and build a quality neck and you will enjoy it for years.

[drgonzo2]

Thanks for your experience Joe. I guess the Koa acoustic I tried "ju's were'nt right". That neck was flexy as heck, to the extent that I could push barre chords flat by a quarter tone just from thumb pressure. From what you've said, I think the wood was probably just too highly figured to work as a neck. It was a shame, as otherwise that guitar was a beautiful instrument, with good tone andtruly outstanding visuals. Possibly the most outstanding quilty/flamey figuring I've ever seen...

... G

[dennyman]

Originally Posted by ConnorRGX420

Does James Trussart not use Koa for necks?

Yes, I know he used Koa necks on his guitars back in the early 2000s b/c I had one. It sounded great and there were no problems with it. I later ordered a chunky neck from Trussart b/c I just couldn't get comfortable with the original thin profile of the Koa neck.

[Maricopa]

Did somebody Trussart uses Koa necks?

http://www.tdpri.com/phpclassifieds/...?product=25138