Mahogany telecaster

[rookeyhook]

Hello!

Anyone here own a telecaster with mahogany body?? Personal opinion??
I customed my telecaster with the help of local luthier here. I mod the wiring to broadcaster model, so yeah I made it because I need the dark sounding for jazz playing.

[barrymclark]

I do. If it is darker sounding than a stardard tele, it is negligible in my ears. I plan on replacing the saddles with wooden ones but the stacked humbucker in the neck really made a lot of difference. ...that and flatwounds.

I also plan on changing the neck as I am not a fan of the more dramatic radius common to teles.

[kris]

I use mahogeny-chambered body on my Tele style guitar.
Nice sound.

[nosoyninja]

I had a reissue '69 thinline tele. Mahogany body and semihollow chambered body. Pretty twangy compared to a hollowbody, but certainly darker and somewhat less solidbody sounding than a regular plank tele.

K

[KEOKI]

I think it is more about the pup's than the wood. Nice wood will make it pretty. A plank out of the dumpster load with tele pick ups will sound like a tele. (All other things being equal)

[rookeyhook]

Looks we all love our mahogany tele. Hahaha
Thanks for your opinion guys!

[rookeyhook]

I think it is more about the pup's than the wood. Nice wood will make it pretty. A plank out of the dumpster load with tele pick ups will sound like a tele. (All other things being equal)

For some reason I would say that I agree!
But dont forget tele is also more about the bridge..the saddle. Mine use brass ferrule bar and 3 brass saddle so the bridge pu got twangier than before..

[Cobra]

I have a nice doublebound homebuilt mahogany Tele, the Cobracaster...
It has a lightweight 1pc body, good hardware, & a neck by Ian Anderson.
The pix show a Lollar CC pickup, but it didn't match well with the bridge PU.
It's now sporting a Lollar Firebird neck PU, which is a far better match.
Tonally it sounds like a Tele should, not dark or muddy.
I use it for bluesy jump swing pseudo jazz, & it fills that role well.

[Jabberwocky]

Sounds like a great project. Maybe get one made of Ribbon African Mahogany, Khaya ivorensis, not a Swietenia macrophylla like Honduran.

There is some rumour that some of the great Les Pauls of the 50s were of African Mahogany, not Honduran. Not verified so take it as internet myth but African Mahogany is a great sounding and looking wood. Don't discount it. I have 3 Japanese Tokai LP-type guitars made of African Hog. I know one LP replica builder who recommends it over Honduran as it sounds better, in his opinion.

[Cobra]

I'm pretty sure my 1pc Tele body is the African ribbon mahogany. I bought it off eBay many years ago, & the seller didn't specify. I was concerned about the weight, but it came in a smidge under 4lbs. It can twang & rock with the best of them, but it's not icepicky at all. The neck pickup really shines on the swing stuff with the tone rolled off a little.

[Jabberwocky]

The "Mahogany" to avoid is Phillippines Mahogany aka meranti or luan. Porous dead-sounding stuff that looks bland. Unlike African Hog it is nowhere close to real mahogany in density or grain. Confuses the public with its name. An imposter really.

[Wes Fan]

The "Mahogany" to avoid is Phillippines Mahogany aka meranti or luan. Porous dead-sounding stuff that looks bland. Unlike African Hog it is nowhere close to real mahogany in density or grain. Confuses the public with its name. An imposter really.

So what do you think this is?

Classic Vibe Telecaster® Thinline | Telecaster Squier Electric Guitars | Squier by Fender®

[Little Jay]

My Modern Player Thinline Tele Deluxe is made of mahogany, no idea what type but considering the low price and the fact it's made in China I fear it's probably the lowest grade (I don't think it's Meranti, I am familiar with that, the construction and tool shops here sell it as a more decorative kind of wood). But my Tele sounds really good! Nice and dark - dare I say 'brown'? - sounding, but with plenty of life and character to the tone. It's not as deep and sweet sounding as my ES-333, but I like it a lot. The combination of the P90s, Mahogany body and Rosewood neck delivers a true jazz-type of tone, with a hint of Tele-bite.

[Endorphins]

1996 MIJ thinline Telecaster. Seymour Duncan Seth Lover humbucker pickup on the neck and a DiMarzio Virtual Vintage Solo Pro (I think) at the bridge.

It looks and feels like a Tele, but it's not my '52 reissue! The humbucker is dark enough.

[Jabberwocky]

Wes Fan; can't really tell in a photo. The provenance and its price are giveaways. Made in Asia and a low price tag, Phillippines Mahogany for sure. You can easily stain it and pass it off as real mahogany. I wish manufacturers will just straightup tell us what it is. Tokai Gakki and the Deviser Group of Japanese makers do state upfront what they are using.

[Wes Fan]

Wes Fan; can't really tell in a photo. The provenance and its price are giveaways. Made in Asia and a low price tag, Phillippines Mahogany for sure. You can easily stain it and pass it off as real mahogany. I wish manufacturers will just straightup tell us what it is. Tokai Gakki and the Deviser Group of Japanese makers do state upfront what they are using.

It also could be Chinese or Indonesian mahogany (or another kind of mahogany), which apparently can be classified as "true mahogany," but not "genuine mahogany":

While the three Swietenia species are classified officially as "genuine mahogany", other Meliaceae species with timber uses are classified as "true mahogany." (Only the Swietenia species can be called "genuine mahogany.") Some may or may not have the word mahogany in their trade or common name. Some of these true mahoganies include the African genera Khaya and Entandrophragma;[1] New Zealand mahogany or kohekohe (Dysoxylum spectabile);[4] Chinese mahogany, Toona sinensis;[5] Indonesian mahogany, Toona sureni;[6][7] Indian mahogany, Toona ciliata;[8] Chinaberry, Melia azedarach; Pink Mahogany (or Bosse), Guarea; Chittagong (also known as Indian Mahogany), Chukrasia velutina; and Crabwood Carapa guianensis. Some members of the genus Shorea (Meranti, Balau, or Lauan) of the family Dipterocarpaceae are also sometimes sold as Philippine mahogany,[1] although the name is more properly applied to another species of Toona, Toona calantas.[9]

Mahogany - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You're right--very confusing.

[rookeyhook]

Little jay, your tele surely one of the most beautiful I see recently

[Little Jay]

Thanks! Although it's the sound that counts, I am vain enough to care for looks....

[GNAPPI]

I bought my mahogany tele on looks alone figuring you can always make it sound what you want to with a change of pups.

[kris]

Attachment 17188
Me & mahogeny Tele...:-)

[Greentone]

I almost bought a mahogany thinline in '71. It was a great guitar. Remember, Muddy Waters played a mahogany Telecaster. He sounded just fine (understatement) when he played guitar.