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PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2018 1:53 pm 
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How do they compare tonally for acoustic necks?
Or how does the tap tones compare generally?

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2018 4:48 pm 
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I don't think you'll notice much if any difference tonally if using it for necks. Mahogany seems to be a bit more consistent in terms of grain and density, but a lot of khaya is pretty dang close to mahogany.

You might notice more difference if using it for back and sides, but it would depend on the piece, as some khaya is nearly indistinguishable from mahogany.

I've been mostly using khaya for quite some time now as it's pretty hard to find neck worthy mahogany in Canada...



These users thanked the author meddlingfool for the post: Colin North (Sun Oct 07, 2018 3:49 am)
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2018 4:55 pm 
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+1 to what Ed said:)



These users thanked the author Ken Lewis for the post: Colin North (Sun Oct 07, 2018 3:49 am)
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2018 5:00 pm 
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The preference for mahoganies was based on milling and carvability (and somewhat weight) rather than acoustics. Cuban, Honduran and African khaya are all pretty close, but the Cuban and Honduran mill and carve a little nicer than African generally (but not always). As close as they are in - average - weight and hardness you may find some overlap in the real world.



These users thanked the author Clay S. for the post: Colin North (Sun Oct 07, 2018 3:49 am)
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2018 1:45 pm 
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meddlingfool wrote:
I don't think you'll notice much if any difference tonally if using it for necks. Mahogany seems to be a bit more consistent in terms of grain and density, but a lot of khaya is pretty dang close to mahogany.

You might notice more difference if using it for back and sides, but it would depend on the piece, as some khaya is nearly indistinguishable from mahogany.

I've been mostly using khaya for quite some time now as it's pretty hard to find neck worthy mahogany in Canada...



Where do you source Khaya neck blanks?


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PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2018 4:11 pm 
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LMI...


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PostPosted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 7:25 am 
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I/ve made a few uke necks from khaya . With the interlocked grain. and using edge tools . it tears. I wind up using , rasps , files . scrapers and sanders, I like the look of khaya over hog , as IMHO it has a more interesting grain patterns.



These users thanked the author ernie for the post: Colin North (Sun Oct 07, 2018 3:48 am)
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 7:52 am 
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I don't have much experience building with Khaya. My understanding is that there's so much overlap in properties with Honduras as to be pretty much interchangeable. Under the circumstances I'd expect two Khaya guitars from of the same design and from the same maker to be as different from each other as would be a Khaya and and Honduras one. There's too much emphasis IMO on 'Magic Wood' on these groups.



These users thanked the author Alan Carruth for the post: Bryan Bear (Sat Oct 06, 2018 8:26 am)
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 9:27 am 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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I used Khaya pretty much interchangeably with Honduras for necks. At some point, Honduras became unavailable at Youngblood lumber in Minneapolis, so I switched to Khaya exclusively. Sonically, it made about as much difference as the difference between slothead and paddlehead necks (undetectable), and the major influence of tone on a neck (mahoganies) is the truss rod anyway.
Never used any mahogany except Honduras or Sapele for 12 string boxes and always preferred white oak instead for 6 strings. My guess might be that Khaya might sound like a softer Honduras.



These users thanked the author Haans for the post: Colin North (Sun Oct 07, 2018 3:47 am)
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