Bubinga wood

[jotape13]

Hi guys, what do you think about the bubinga as a wood for a jazz guitar?

[PTChristopher]

As wood for what?

Fingerboard? OK, but why not Rosewood then?

Solid body? You are giving up lots of opportunity for sonic character with Bubinga. But if nice looking concrete is the idea (as it was with the Les Paul in concept), then have at it.

Carved top? I'd say no - but there are some great sounding carved solid maple tops, so who knows? Get ready to re-sharpen a few tools. Or use a grinder, which lacks old world charm, but does make the wood get all guitar-y.

Back and sides in an archtop or flat top? Sure, but why not rosewood? Unless you love the look of Bubinga, in which case - start bubinging.

But what exactly are you asking? Bubinga being used exactly where on exactly what kind of guitar?

[pantz]

Hopefully Jim S will chime in. I have a bubinga topped Soloway Swan that's a wonderful guitar but don't know much about it other than that it sounds good on mine.

[PTChristopher]

Well there you go. A top with a density similar to rosewood, and sounding fine on a Swan.

Maybe Jim can "compare and contrast" (as they say) with his designs featuring spruce tops?

[jotape13]

i mean the bubinga as the wood for the back, sides and top (laminated) of a jazz guitar. In other words, what do you think about the ibanez artcore ak95.

[docbop]

My Zon 6-string bass has a bubinga body sounds great lots of definition.

[jotape13]

sorry, the bubinga guitar is ibanez artcore AG95, not AK95

[kenbennett]

Ibanez Artcore AG95

[PTChristopher]

Ah, the actual question (always a good, and time-saving, idea,...).

So a bubinga veneer on a laminate hollow archtop. Specifically the AG95

Love the look. The effect of bubinga, as a veneer, in the sound can be expected to be minimal.

The Artcores are remarkable boxes for the $$$. Some would prefer better electrical components, but that is beside the point in the bubinga department.

Have you tried one? They (them there Artcores) do seem very consistent from one guitar to the next, so mail order is fairly likely to succeed as well.

Pay for a great setup; a setup is the ultimate bargain in guitars.

Chris

[jotape13]

thanks Chris. i've tried some ibanez artcore models (AF125, AF105, PM35), but all of them with maple tops, and i think the sound is some bright, i mean, i'm searching something different. I have not tried the bubinga model yet, but i hope take a look soon.
Regards

[PTChristopher]

I do not know how the Artcore laminate materials are built-up. I merely assume that we are only looking at a difference in the top layer - maple in one case and bubinga in another.

Bubinga has a more open grain vs. maple but a significantly higher density.

Still, I would not expect a specific sound difference based on one wood vs. the other if it is only the top layer (which is my assumption, but not at all certain.)

Best of luck with this.

Chris

[Duesenberg]

Bubinga is some outrageous wood - looks & price!

[bohemian46]

Bubinga is still relatively inexpensive. Not my favorite. Many prefer the "bee's wing" which I think is gaudy and over to top.. but just my opinion.

As to tone.. laminate.. no way to differentiate one from another.

[MGI]

+1M.
If it's laminate, who cares, what wood is it? Plywood is a plywood.

[oldane]

If it's laminate, who cares, what wood is it? Plywood is a plywood.

I tend to agree. If a thin top layer should make any significant difference, we should also ruminate about which glue was used to bind the plies together.

[Jim Soloway]

+1M.
If it's laminate, who cares, what wood is it? Plywood is a plywood.

I'm not an expert on laminates but would definitely not agree with this. I'm not sure the specific woods make a difference but I would certainly think that density and rigidity would make a very big difference. Just compare a light weight laminate 175 from the 50's with its much heavier descendent from the 2000's. They're very different sounding guitars and I'm pretty much convinced that the construction of the laminates is the primary reason why.

As for bubinga, we have a long and very happy history with it going back to our fairly early days of building guitars. We've probably built about 12 or 15 guitars with bubinga tops and most of them came out really well. These are not laminates but rather 1/4" solid tops so its a very different application but I've always liked it a lot both visually and tonally. In many ways it's similar to maple but with much more acoustic presence. The only down side from my perspective is that it's quite heavy. As for the appearance, there's actually quite a range in both color and figure (both the type and prominence). Here' a look at one we did when we first started building our larger body along with a clip of what the guitar sounded like in my hands.

http://www.jimsoloway.com/SolowayGui...nga/J287-1.mp3

[MGI]

Plywood will never sound as good as solid wood. Yes, different "laminates" produce different sound, but is it a quality sound? Can you REALLY compare it to the solid wood tops? As for bubinga - as far as it's solid top - it's OK. Not a spruce, but OK.

[Jim Soloway]

Plywood will never sound as good as solid wood. Yes, different "laminates" produce different sound, but is it a quality sound? Can you REALLY compare it to the solid wood tops? As for bubinga - as far as it's solid top - it's OK. Not a spruce, but OK.

We're all entitled to our opinions. Those are yours. Based on my experiences, my opinions are very different.

[PTChristopher]

Hi MGI,

Thanks for your take on solid woods, etc..

>>> As for bubinga - as far as it's solid top - it's OK. Not a spruce, but OK.

On what guitar have you experienced bubinga as a solid top?

As for laminates in general, there seems to be a remarkable variety of sounds possible from them, some of which are held in very high esteem as "quality" sounds.

Specifically on the Artcore:

IF the bulk of the tops are made from a given wood (often of good, consistent quality, but sometimes not so amazing to look at), AND if the difference from one to another was only a maple top layer vs a bubinga top layer, I would expect minimal sound difference.

Bubinga is heavier (denser, really) than maple, but it also has an open grain structure vs. the closed structure of maple. So maybe a slight difference, and if we are lucky a person who has actually experienced the guitars in question can chime in. I'd be surprised if it is significant.

As for broad laminate statements, they seem to often founder under some discussion.

Chris

[PTChristopher]

Jim,

Did you run the same under-bridge block size with bubinga, or did you sneak it down any?

[Jim Soloway]

Jim,

Did you run the same under-bridge block size with bubinga, or did you sneak it down any?

The block is standard sized. I'm a bit nervous about making any smaller. It's not all that much bigger than the bridge and it has wood screws going in from one side and it's routed for a sold string guide from the other. So if it gets too small I get worried about cracking it during assembly.

[PTChristopher]

I was just curious.

Probably no reason to go smaller anyway, if I understand how it's all working in principle.

Thanks,

Chris

[balthazar]

sorry, the bubinga guitar is ibanez artcore AG95, not AK95

Hi jotape13,

Fine choice, it's the guitar I play.


Ibanez AG 95 TRD.


It's difficult to get an idea about the tone even if you try it because original strings (d'Addario .010 - .046 roundwound) are not well suited.
But you can compare between AG 75 and AG 95 if there is a difference due to the wood.

[jotape13]

Hi Balthasar:

It's a gorgeous guitar!!
I agreed with you, strings make a difference, would be great to try it with flatwounds.