Within Taylor’s product line, our all-solid-wood guitar bodies range from the 300 Series and up. See a marvelous Bellucci Bastogne Walnut guitar here →. "Entandrophragma cylindricum" is a tree of the genus Entandrophragma of the family Meliaceae. Sapele is a reddish-brown wood that in many ways is very similar to Mahogany. Guitars featuring layered wood back and sides with a solid wood top include the 100 Series through the 200 Deluxe Series, along with the Baby Taylor, GS Mini, and Academy Series. Wenge is popular for back and sides of instruments. It is also cost effective compared to some of the other high end wood used in guitars. Although many still feel BRW is the ultimate choice for steel string guitars, the soft and porous mahogany turned out to work quite well with steel strings. There are many influences on the sound of the guitar (body shape, bracing, strings, bridge saddle etc), but the type of wood used is one of the most influential. In the twenties, the gut string Martin evolved to steel string. Weight: Medium Wood Properties and Sound . Khaya, another mahogany substitute, is also known for its brightness. The wood that is used to create a guitar makes a huge difference to the sounds that the guitar will produce. Sapele Tonewood goes is a great all-purpose tonewood that works for many different applications. It will also react when put into direct contact with iron, becoming discolored and stained. Wenge Tonewood. The name sapele comes from that of the city of Sapele in Nigeria, where there is a preponderance of the tree.African Timber and Plywood (AT&P), a division of the United Africa Company, had a factory at this location where the wood, along with Triplochiton scleroxylon, Obeche, mahogany, and Khaya was processed into timber which was then exported from the Port of Sapele worldwide. Wenge is a darker wood with black and brown striping. Examples: Martin 000-15M; Guild M-20. Bastogne Walnut is a rare, natural occurring hybrid between California English Walnut and Claro Walnut that is found in typically northern California. Sapele – Entandrophragma cylindricum. To me, the harder and more reflective sapele actually seems more suitable for true gut string guitars. Sapele is a highly sustainable West African tonewood that’s often confused with the West African wood Khaya. An inexpensive option like sapele, for instance, which is sometimes called Africa mahogany, behaves a lot like Honduran, but adds a little treble shimmer. While the rich tones of solid wood remain unmatched, a layered wood construction can yield great sound in a beautiful, durable and affordable instrument. Before WWI the principal demand for this wood came from Germany where it was used for decorative cabinet work. Such is the case with layered sapele, in which we use interior and exterior veneers of sapele with a core layer of poplar between them. 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