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what wood is "carolina"?????


Lump

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It looks like it could be southern yellow pine, but that's not a common wood used by guitar makers.

 

A more common wood, swamp ash, looks similar. The grain seems a bit softer than what SA usually looks like.

 

Ask the seller to be more specific, Carolina is not a type of wood.

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That thing looks like pine and that is the most common in the Carolinas. I never heard of it being used in guitars though, can't imagine that it would be ideal. Probably has a real warm sound with no sustain. Could be wrong, just my impressions.

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Originally posted by GRANKOR

Warwick Rockbasses are made from it.


I think I read somewhere it's related to spruce, so it could very well be a type of pine.

 

 

Other than that website, I can't seem to find any source that refers to a wood type named "Carolena or Carolina". It looks like southern yellow pine, which is heavily grown in the Carolinas.

 

Southern yellow pine is what is used to make the stair treads you'd see at the Home Depot. It's used for tons of stuff and is also used for treated lumber.

 

I'm not sure how well it would work for guitars, it might be a bit dull or dead.

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Are you sure he was not talking about the pickguard and pickup covers? They have a wood look, to me, and if you look at the second picture in the "better views", it certainly looks like a wood pickguard by the appearance of the edge which is closest to the body.

 

I hope it's so, because I think that's cool and will be ordering the guitar solely because of that. I can make it a good playing and sounding guitar, with a good setup and pup change (if necessary).

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Here is the exact quote, "750 and 999 are solid carolina"

 

750 refers to the clear model, 999 refers to the one that looks like it has a wood faceplate.

 

I wouldn't rule it out if it was pine, but he couldn't confirm if it was or not.

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that definitely looks just like southern yellow pine.

 

SYP is a very hard, very dense type of pine, but it is prone to having pockets of pitch (sap) in the wood, which makes it a pain in the ass to work with.

 

The photo you have is exactly what it looks like with no stain at all. I've worked quite a bit of it myself, never for a guitar though.

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Something doesn't make sense to me. that is the least expensive model on the site. Would it really be cheaper to have wood shipped from carolina, to korea, to be machined, and then shipped to china to be assembled, especially if it has a high defect rate due to pockets of sap.

 

I just keep thinking it has to be some cheap would that's closer to korea than carolina.

 

Am I wrong in my logic, or is shipping wood like that cheaper than I think.

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Originally posted by Lump

Something doesn't make sense to me. that is the least expensive model on the site. Would it really be cheaper to have wood shipped from carolina, to korea, to be machined, and then shipped to china to be assembled, especially if it has a high defect rate due to pockets of sap.


I just keep thinking it has to be some cheap would that's closer to korea than carolina.


Am I wrong in my logic, or is shipping wood like that cheaper than I think.

 

 

well, it's cheaper to ship steel to japan and make cars and ship them back - or at least it was in the 80's. SYP is pretty cheap wood.

 

As for tone, I've never listened to it, but as dense and heavy as it is it might not be so bad. Certainly white pine, fir, etc. is much to light and soft.

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I'm very tempted to take a leap and order one. Heck I've made plywood guitars sound passible before, why not pine. But with three young daughters and not o lot of spending cash I gotta be pretty methodic in gear acquistions. Hopefully some young guns around here with free cash will decide to take the plunge and let us know.

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geez what a difference a day makes. after getting an email saying that the nut widths are accurate and he doesn't know what kind of wood carolina is, the website's now updated showing the tele nut widths as 1 11/16ths(which is a good thing) and a description saying that carolina is a variety of poplar. That makes a bit more sense, and I have no problem with a poplar guitar if that is a true statement.

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I seriously doubt that is pine. Typical tonewood used for clear finishes in China and the Far East is something called Phoenix Tree (also known as Japanese Varnish Tree or Umbrella Tree).

 

Very much like basswood, very light with nice grain--compare this shot of the strats we sell with Phoenix Tree to the original:

 

http://members.cox.net/stillwaterguitars/nast01.jpg

 

It's very unlikely thay are importing Carolina Pine (a horrible tone wood) and exporting budget guitars.

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Originally posted by matt_t

I seriously doubt that is pine. Typical tonewood used for clear finishes in China and the Far East is something called Phoenix Tree (also known as Japanese Varnish Tree or Umbrella Tree).


Very much like basswood, very light with nice grain--compare this shot of the strats we sell with Phoenix Tree to the original:




It's very unlikely thay are importing Carolina Pine (a horrible tone wood) and exporting budget guitars.

 

 

While I'll agree with you that it seems quite unlikely that a company would use yellow pine for a guitar, the wood in the photo you have does not look much like the wood in the first photo. The grain is quite different, and that is what makes it look like yellow pine. Yellow pine grows very fast, from seed to harvest in 25-30 years, which is why it has very broad grain lines.

 

Without being able to examine the piece it is impossible to say, but it *looks* like yellow pine, and given they SAY it is "Carolina" I would hesitate to buy it. At least, I'd insist on playing it first.

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Originally posted by matt_t

Completely agree on the sentiment of playing it before I bought it. Isn't pine a heavy wood? Compared to the lighter basswood or alder they use on cheaper guitars, that is.

 

 

white pine isn't, but yellow pine is - at least heavier than basswood. I don't know about alder, it can be pretty heavy too.

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