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How does it bend? Workability? Tap?

TIA,
Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Work with it?
I can't even pronounce it!

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I think John Arnold has.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

I have a J-45 I've started, it has a great sound when thumped with your knuckle.......(worth what it cost you) and its fairly brittle.

I haven't used any yet, but I have a set I got from John Arnold's protege, Nathan Hampton. I'd say out of all my B&S sets, it has the most bell-like tap of them all. When I'm nerding out with friends, going through the stack, their eyes get real big when we get to that set, with the inevitable, "woah!" or "holy s^*t" issuing forth. Quite remarkable. My feeling is that it would make a great fingerstyle guitar, probably loaded with overtones. I'd guess an SJ or smaller body size would be preferable, as I could see anything Dread or bigger getting real boomy.


Ken Jones
Mountain Song Guitars

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Mountain Song Guitars www.mountainsongguitars.com

Thanks for the info, gents. I'll get in touch with John Arnold.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Got some from LMI, haven't done anything with it yet, but yes I was drawn like a moth to a candle by its bell like tap tone.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

I've built a dreadnaught out of it. Bends pretty easy, love the smell. I would compare it to a Pau Ferro. It's a little "glassier" than IRW.

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-Marcus
http://www.bailieguitars.com
Instagram | YouTube

Isn't it the same thing as "Hormigo"? You might try a forum search for that.

I guess it's the same as hormigo, in the lumber trade it sometimes goes by the name of amazon rosewood (go figure). Never built with it, but I concur about the tap : really strong fundamental and nice, ringy, quite metalic overtones. And loooong sustain. Plus, really cheap. I'm not sure if the smell is that nice, though.

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

Just to be confusing, "Amazon Rosewood" also commonly refers to an unrelated true Rosewood: Dalbergia spruceana. The latin names are their own confusing labyrinth, but if we tried to include them at least parenthetically, we'd be talking about the same thing more often.

So for "Macacauba", and "Hormigo", I understand Platymiscium spp. And I haven't worked with it, and I want to.

Yes, we can always trust the babel element of lumber trading!

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

I have sawn up about 25 sets of it. It has been beautiful to prepare, to work with and to just have around. It has an incredibly pleasant smell.

As no customer has yet ordered it from me, I have not yet finished a guitar with it, so I cannot give tesitmony to its tonality. However, I would say that of all of my woods in my shop, it most reminds me of Grandadillo, which is a very good sounding wood for the money it costs. It bends very well (though what I have is mostly straight grain, clean wood), sands without gumming, and planes nicely.

So, after all of that, my expectations are high for it, though I know none of this gives you much help.

Stephen

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www.ziegenfussguitars.com

I have liked this wood since I first got some from a salvage pile back in the mid-1990's. Some of it is a bit abrasive to resaw, but it tends to stay very flat.
I understand that it is quite popular in Brazil for mid-priced classical guitars.
Other names for it are curatinga rosewood, maca wood, and coyote.

I have also bought granadillo from the Platymiscium genus that is very similar.
The one piece of hormigo I have is lighter in color, denser, and has smaller pores. In looking at hormigo online, it does not seem to have the striping of macacauba. Besides the tap tone, the rosewood-like stripes are part of the attraction for me.

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John

Thanks for the info, everybody. I expect I'll go ahead with it.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com