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Ovangkol: what do you think of that wood?


BlackHatHunter

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I recently started noticing more and more guitars popping up - especially acoustic guitars - made of ovangkol. I'd never noticed that wood before so I looked it up. Found this on the Taylor site:

 

 

Ovangkol is an attractive hardwood indigenous to tropical West Africa. Usually, its coloration runs from yellow-brown to a mottled olive-brown to dark brown, and it features stripes that run from gray to almost black. When it has significant purple coloration, however, ovangkol's variegation and grain pattern closely resemble East Indian rosewood. It also shares some tonal characteristics with rosewood, but boasts the livelier "sparkle" found in such medium-density hardwoods as mahogany, walnut, and koa.

 

 

What do you think of it? Like it, love it, hate it?

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I recently started noticing more and more guitars popping up - especially acoustic guitars - made of ovangkol. I'd never noticed that wood before so I looked it up. Found this on the Taylor site:




What do you think of it? Like it, love it, hate it?

 

 

I love the way it looks. It sounds a lot like rosewood to me.

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I bought my Taylor 414CE partly because I loved the way the wood looked, partly because I was after the rosewood sound but couldn't afford the 700- or 800 series, and mostly because I loved the way the guitar felt and sounded when I tried it. The sides and back on my guitar are beautiful!

 

I seem to remember Warwick were one of the early regular users of Ovangkol and still use it on necks and some bodies.

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I seem to remember Warwick were one of the early regular users of Ovangkol and still use it on necks and some bodies.

 

 

^ This.

 

I see Warwick basses on CL that are made of ovangkol on a pretty regular basis. My guess is that the reason they started using it for acoustic guitars is that traditional woods (like rosewood) are becoming increasingly harder to find since they've been over-harvested. IIRC, there are lots of restrictions on importing rosewood, among other woods. Gibson got in trouble with the EPA not too long ago for importing wood from questionable sources.

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Looks nice, sounds pretty unremarkable - not bad, just not especially noteworthy. I guess it splits the difference between mahogany and rosewood, tone-wise. I don't dislike it or anything, but I wouldn't seek it out, either. I played an ovangkol Taylor, but bought the rosewood one instead.

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Bling-wood. High-contrast. Looks like cheaply-stained oak. African rainforest tree threatened by deforestation and climate change (course I'm not one to point fingers; my favorite Taylor 114 uses sapele for neck/back/sides).

 

In short, no.

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It also shares some tonal characteristics with rosewood, but boasts the livelier "sparkle" found in such medium-density hardwoods as mahogany, walnut, and koa.

 

 

Well I guess that just about covers all the bases. It sounds like everything.

 

Or maybe the back and sides don't really contribute much of anything to the sound afterall? :poke:

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Looks nice, sounds pretty unremarkable - not
bad
, just not especially noteworthy. I guess it splits the difference between mahogany and rosewood, tone-wise. I don't dislike it or anything, but I wouldn't seek it out, either. I played an ovangkol Taylor, but bought the rosewood one instead.

 

 

 

 

These. Sound of the ones I heard were not particularly distinctive and I really dont care for the look.

Id take koa ove it any day.

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  • 1 year later...
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Tone-Graph.jpg

 

According to the wood comparison chart provided by Taylor, Ovangkol has one of the widest tonal ranges, extending well into the bass. That must be why it doesn't sound distinctive acoustically, since it's pretty balanced across all frequencies, but is not as penetrating as the scooped mid profile of rosewood.

 

However, Taylor's are often noted for their amplified sound, and the wide range and rich mids of ovangkol give you a lot to work with when plugged-in, so you can truly "tailor" your sound.

 

Not to sound like too much of a fan-boy, but I have a 410 and a 414ce and I like they way they sound. I also have a Martin 000-16CGTE and DM35 and they sound great, too. The DM35 is the loudest acoustically, though, without question.

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Not to sound like too much of a fan-boy, but I have a 410 and a 414ce and I like they way they sound. I also have a Martin 000-16CGTE and DM35 and they sound great, too. The DM35 is the loudest acoustically, though, without question.

 

 

Normally I don't pay any attention to zombie threads, but I've never heard of a DM35 and Martin doesn't list one on their web site. What is it?

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I'd be interested to know who built the guitars from Ovangkol that you fellas tried. Its a beautiful tonewood, very close to Rosewood and Walnut in its tone. of course .. theres one frig of a lot more to guitar tone than the back and sides of the thing :poke:

 

BlackHat .. I just finished a build using Ovangkol :

 

build_complete10.jpg

 

build_complete6.jpg

 

build_complete1.jpg

 

beautiful tone, and a lovely wood to work with.

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I'd be interested to know who built the guitars from Ovangkol that you fellas tried. Its a beautiful tonewood, very close to Rosewood and Walnut in its tone. of course .. theres one frig of a lot more to guitar tone than the back and sides of the thing :poke:


BlackHat .. I just finished a build using Ovangkol :


build_complete10.jpg

build_complete6.jpg

build_complete1.jpg

beautiful tone, and a lovely wood to work with.

 

Really nice Rick, but if you look closely you'll see that only the last two posts are up to date. Another zombie

 

That said, I think Ovangkol is a lovely wood, but unfortunately the only guitars that I've played made out of it are Taylors and I'm not a Taylor fan. Can I try yours?

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Normally I don't pay any attention to zombie threads, but I've never heard of a D
M
35 and Martin doesn't list one on their web site. What is it?

 

Sorry for the confusion, the guitar is actually a D-35. Mine is a 2003, but they are still in production and widely available AFAIK.

 

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQJfIzilnMUdZwAboBdEP5

 

I find my Taylor's responsive and rewarding to play, but the D35 really nails the classic acoustic rock guitar sound.

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I'd be interested to know who built the guitars from Ovangkol that you fellas tried. Its a beautiful tonewood, very close to Rosewood and Walnut in its tone. of course .. theres one frig of a lot more to guitar tone than the back and sides of the thing :poke:

 

 

Good point, I think the top contributes more to the tone anyway, not to mention the neck.

 

 

That guitar looks great, nice work!

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  • 5 years later...
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Having had a few spruce tops / rosewood combos (GA8, Martin 000-28), i started to realize that my playing style was (gasp) not a great fit with rosewood. I know that rosewood is the bees knees to most but the scooped mids weren't for me. I am a singer songwriter and wanted a versatile guitar with some nice mids but some high end sparkle. Recently picked up the 414ce with ovangkol and i really have to say that this is the sweetest more resonant sounding guitar i've ever laid my hands on. With gloss, it is mesmerizing to look at and it really almost gives me a blend of rosewood, mahogany and a touch of koa. I've become a fan of ovangkol.

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I must say having had a number of roseeood and mahogany guitars that I love and am surprised by the unique and dynamic sound of ovangkol. For versatility and richness from low to mid to highs it brings it all. It almost could be called rosehogany w a touch of koa.

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Having had a few spruce tops / rosewood combos (GA8' date=' Martin 000-28), i started to realize that my playing style was (gasp) not a great fit with rosewood. I know that rosewood is the bees knees to most but the scooped mids weren't for me. I am a singer songwriter and wanted a versatile guitar with some nice mids but some high end sparkle. Recently picked up the 414ce with ovangkol and i really have to say that this is the sweetest more resonant sounding guitar i've ever laid my hands on. With gloss, it is mesmerizing to look at and it really almost gives me a blend of rosewood, mahogany and a touch of koa. I've become a fan of ovangkol. [/quote']

 

 

 

I played a Taylor 414CE for many years. It was a fine guitar, and made me a nice chunk of change on a weekly basis.

 

I sold the guitar cause it gave me wrist issues, and I devolved a ganglion cyst. Some day the thing ached and throbbed and some days it just looked like an ugly growth on top of my wrist.

 

My primary doctor said leave it alone. I thought I'd go see and orthopedic guy and I did. He drained it 3 times and it would come back in a few weeks. I opted not have surgery. We broke it with a huge book, the old fashion way a few times along the way. It eventually didn't return.

 

Somewhere along the way I sold the Taylor, and went to a Martin that had a touch smaller less flat of a neck.

 

Other than that the Taylor 414 was very nice, and it sounded nice unplugged too. I also think Ovangkol sits somewhere between rosewood and koa. I love the 14 series in general.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I don't get the comparison with EIR. I have a Lakewood M-18. It is loud, a bit bright--bell-like in tone. Bass is there, but not overwhelming. In contrast, Lakewood's M-32 is EIR, and tonally completely different. Much more muted.

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