Members Crunchtime Posted March 13, 2006 Members Posted March 13, 2006 How will using koa as a top affect the tone and volume of a thin body acoustic as opposed to spruce?
Members pipedwho Posted March 13, 2006 Members Posted March 13, 2006 Thin bodies have a pretty neutral sound, but I'd still expect the koa top to mellow down and enhance the midrange of the sound a bit. I love the koa sound, but it does really depend on the guitar to bring it to life.
Members cosmogs Posted March 13, 2006 Members Posted March 13, 2006 Thank you for raising this question. The all koa guitars are so beautiful...I really really really want this one. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7397858005&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1
Members t60 fan Posted March 13, 2006 Members Posted March 13, 2006 Originally posted by cosmogs Thank you for raising this question. The all koa guitars are so beautiful...I really really really want this one.http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7397858005&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1 I love Koa and am a big fan of Martins, but that is not a particularly attractive guitar to me. I'm more partial to Koa-topped GA's and OM's. But that's just me...
Members lalatingstrings Posted March 13, 2006 Members Posted March 13, 2006 well im not too much for thin bodied guitars.my yairi all koa is an OM with a dread depth.anyway the tone of koa is TOTALLY different than spruce.you should really try both and see for yourself.i love my all koa.it has a very warm mellow sound with lots of sustain.i play 90% of the time in open or dropped tunings and this is where i feel the koa really shines.some guitars get too muddy or boomy when you go as lo as i do.example A string down to E.but the koa handles it really well.i actually think it's true voice does not come out till you tune down.
Members guitarcapo Posted March 13, 2006 Members Posted March 13, 2006 The problem with koa topped guitars is that some factories don't thin the top out enough. They treat it the same as spruce and you get a dead sounding guitar. If you get one that's built right they sing with a really distinctive voice. Strong fundamental without a lot of overtones.
Members t60 fan Posted March 13, 2006 Members Posted March 13, 2006 My friend with the all Koa Tacoma EKK-19 told me he is selling it. The thing is beautiful to look at, listen to, and to play. I'm going to try to avoid him for a while, for the sake of my marriage (my wife would F'in kill me!).
Members bjorn-fjord Posted March 13, 2006 Members Posted March 13, 2006 Originally posted by guitarcapo The problem with koa topped guitars is that some factories don't thin the top out enough. They treat it the same as spruce and you get a dead sounding guitar. If you get one that's built right they sing with a really distinctive voice. Strong fundamental without a lot of overtones. gc, do you have any specs on the thickness of Koa tops for guitars? I can't find any info. I recently "acquired" a large amount of the most beautiful 4A flamed koa I have ever seen including a couple of complete sets where the tops are the mirror image of the backs. I am really excited about building a koa top guitar but I have no idea how thin to go with the tops relative to the usual 2.7-3.0 mm for spruce. This is uncharted territory for me.
Members Quake17 Posted March 13, 2006 Members Posted March 13, 2006 Cosmogs, I had the same model guitar (D-25K2). It's basically a D-28 with an all koa body. Martin only made these from '80 to about '87 or so. The $6K is WAY too much for this. I still have an all koa dred Martin (D-42K2) and prefer the scalloped, forward-shifted bracing to the D-25K2's bracing pattern, but I really like all koa for the reasons the other posters have brought up. I have mine in open D tuning at the present. I did find that both of my all koas sounded really tight for about a year, but medium strings and a heavy hand eventually beat them into shape sonically.
Members cosmogs Posted March 13, 2006 Members Posted March 13, 2006 Quake17: I saw the same Martin model as you got in an earlier auction, believe that also were on ebay. I`m still kind of sorry I didn`t just go for it, the most beautiful guitar I ever seen. And that regret kind of kicks in when I see the D25 K2 up for sale now. Show us some pics. I also find it a little difficult to trust a seller without special good feedback with that amount of money. And I love my HD28. Time will show.
Members Quake17 Posted March 14, 2006 Members Posted March 14, 2006 Cosmogs, I'll try and post some pics later. You might check out the UMGF (Martin Forum). There are koas on there every so often. I believe someone either just sold or still has a D-37K (or K2) for about $1500; it's bad for GAS pains checking out the Buy/Sell there. Grant
Members The Idiot Posted March 19, 2006 Members Posted March 19, 2006 My Yairi dy-40 has koa back and sides. I love the look, but I love the tone more!
Members studyscoot Posted March 19, 2006 Members Posted March 19, 2006 That koa didn't look flamed at all. Of course that doesn't mean that it won't sound good, but its not exactly eye candy. Also the picture of the upper side of the neck seems to show some finish cracks. The 70's weren't martin's best years.
Members fingerstyleman Posted March 19, 2006 Members Posted March 19, 2006 I prefer Cedar, more fragile but a darker,subtle tone with more bite.
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