How does koa body sound?

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veji
veji
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I know reb beach uses this and I think warren de martini uses a koa body guitar...how does koa sound.


Basswood..evh (brown! neutral)

Alder..vai ( lots of mids..good for solos)

Swamp ash... Country ( clean and bright)

Maple...lynch ( bright and sizzling

Mahogany...Sykes, Aldrich ( warm and thick)


Koa?
 
Funny thing is that maple is supposed to bright and sizzling but some guys say it sounds sweet with tons of sustain. Koa is supposed to sound like Mahagoney, warm and fat but I had a guitar that was Koa body and Pau Ferro neck and it was bright as hell. If Koa is warm 9 out of 10 times I got the one that wasn't.

And THE brightest guitar I ever owned was a Les Paul, Mahagoney. It was an early 80's standard. A friend of mine also owns a 1980 Custom that's as bright as the sun. But then again, most LP's aren't bright.
 
ok.. everybody is calling Koa Bright..
well how bright are we talking about...

as far as tonewood

here is what i think going from brightest to darkest

Maple-swamp ash-alder-korina-koa-mahogany


can anybody correct me on that?
also

which wood has the most low mids and lows?
 
theres a debate on whether wood does make or doesn't make a difference in tone.. but generally tone from wood are solely based on how dense hard or soft it is... but both sides of the debate did.came out.with.concrete ed
evidence... on whether a guitar would be based on wood materials or types of pickups generally... imo i believe both sides of the debate... but to hear out the difference between ebony to a maple wood is still beyond graps.
 
I have a Koa Charvel and I think it's on par with a Mahogany stat I had.
 
breedlove_tone.jpg


original
 
Just think of it as bridging the gap between Mahogany and Korina.
 
So what would a koa body with a maple neck and board sound like? Balanced ? Good clean and high gain?
 
Ok Bright is good. but would it be brighter than all maple?

if its like a bright mahogany thats cool with me. Bright/thick/big sounding
 
No, IMO maple with koa is less bright than full maple. It's a great balance of edge and 'power' for wont of a better description..
 
Crap that reb beach sounds boner-riffic !!!

Had to revive this thread... :lol: :LOL:

I need KOA HELP !!! :lol: :LOL:

I want to buy a charvel with koa body and maple neck/board? How would it stack up to Alder and Maple neck/board?
 
I have a Splawn SS2 Koa body/maple neck with rosewood board, KILLER axe. Oiled body, no finish. I think the guitars finish impacts tone more than anything...Lynch's original maple Mighty Mite tiger was painted with laquer, not modern poly based finishes...and I think oiled Taylor guitars sound better than their clear coated ones...just a thought.
 
Moshaholic":103yvrj4 said:
Crap that reb beach sounds boner-riffic !!!

Had to revive this thread... :lol: :LOL:

I need KOA HELP !!! :lol: :LOL:

I want to buy a charvel with koa body and maple neck/board? How would it stack up to Alder and Maple neck/board?
Click to expand...

its a charvel man so you know it will sound killer regardless ... get it ... NOW :rock: :lol: :LOL:
 
veji":2vjly4ps said:
ok.. everybody is calling Koa Bright..
well how bright are we talking about...

as far as tonewood

here is what i think going from brightest to darkest

Maple-swamp ash-alder-korina-koa-mahogany


can anybody correct me on that?
also

which wood has the most low mids and lows?
Click to expand...

I have found Koa to be slightly brighter than Mahogany and with a little luck also more bottom end than

Mahogany, very full sounding unplugged which comes through the Pickups.

I have not seen the bright, thin Koa .

Koa is very thick sounding but not muddy.

It can also be very thick sounding and resonant even if a heavy piece.

Generally about half a pound to a pound heavier than Mahogany.

Koa is much warmer than Alder, Ash, Korina.( because of much more low mids , not that it's dull).

You hear it unplugged. Wide Bandwidth.

My BC Rich neck thru ( 80s ) was fatter/warmer than an SG ,

My Carvin LS 175 ( 25.5 " neck thru ) was much warmer deeper than a Jackson Soloist.

The Carvin Koa Bolt is similar to the Koa in this Video and very loud unplugged, still Stratlike in single coil modes but sounds like heavier strings and more low mids, full like a semi hollow .

Here's a Video of two Matching Suhrs, the Koa one is even deeper than the Mahogany.Typical .

Suhr Standard Koa vs Mahogany: https://youtu.be/TStPNmI3RIk

Remember if you put a floating trem on a Guitar you may lose the bottom end.

The Bolt I have now is much thicker sounding after Blocking the Trem and it is a heavy Guitar ( over 10 pounds).
 
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