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| Tonal qualities of Zebrawood? http://w-ww.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=18453 |
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| Author: | Viv2199 [ Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:28 am ] |
| Post subject: | Tonal qualities of Zebrawood? |
Hello All, I haven't been posting for awhile but I'm still watching you  It was a great pleasure to meet many OLF'ers at Montreal this year and I hope to have more opportunites to hang out and chat in the future. Wonderful people, wonderful works! My question for today is: could anyone please comment on the tonal properties of Zebrawood? I have done a search on the OLF forum and found numerous posts but none discussed tonal characteristics. Thank you all so much! Best wishes, Viv |
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| Author: | WaddyThomson [ Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:38 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Tonal qualities of Zebrawood? |
I have no comparisons, with only one build, but it seems to sound fine. I was told it is similar in "tone" to EIR, but it certainly isn't as easy to work. The guitar I built with it came out fine, and sounds great. |
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| Author: | joel Thompson [ Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:51 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Tonal qualities of Zebrawood? |
I have not built with it but i have sold a few sets. it has been likend to indian rosewood and it does have a simalar texture density etc. but to be honest it is hard to compare any wood to another as it will have a personalty of its and should be judged as such. i often recomend it to beginers becouse it is very cheap and readily available (at least here in the uk it is) i have been told it bends readily but i cant comment on that as i have not tried it for myself. Its one of those woods you either love or hate. personly i do not like its looks and it smells bad when cut but it very fashionable at the moment and this attests to the fact that many people like the looks of the wood. I am sure that many of the forum have built with it and can let you how well it works and what the finished guitars were like, Joel. |
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| Author: | WaddyThomson [ Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:58 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Tonal qualities of Zebrawood? |
In my opinion, and limited experience, it is not particularly easy to work. Very hard to thickness. Does not like sanding, planing, or scraping, though scraping was best. Easy to gouge out and make deep holes when planing. The soft part is very soft(relatively) and the grain is very hard. It has splinters like sabers, and twice as sharp. Do not, I repeat, do not, check the smoothness of an edge with your finger. It bends fine, but likes a fairly high temperature. I would say that limited water involvement is also a good idea. It wants to cup a bit as you are bending. I hand bent mine on a pipe. However, once bent, it stayed put. I had no issues with spring back. When cutting binding ledges, using a knife edge cutter is very dangerous as it wants to follow the grain. Use a scraping cutter, and it will cut it's own path. |
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| Author: | RodN [ Tue Aug 19, 2008 5:38 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Tonal qualities of Zebrawood? |
I am working with some right now for a ukulele that I am building. The wood looks stunning, especially with the landcape figure, but it isn't without its problems. I found that the large pale band here was fine, but it is the pale bands between the dark ones that cause the problem. The pale bands are much softer than the dark ones.... 1) A scraper will tear up that pale wood in places. So much so that I gave up with the scraper. 2) Sanding can make some of the pale lines look very soft and porus in places. Think balsa wood. I am wondering how they will take sealer and finish. 3) Jointing was a pain, because the pale bands were softer than the dark ones, and it was a sod to get a good joint with a plane. In the end I finished by sanding the edges for jointing after getting them close with a plane. But it looks so stunningly "different".     Sound wise... I have no idea yet! Rod |
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| Author: | WaddyThomson [ Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:05 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Tonal qualities of Zebrawood? |
That's a beautiful piece. It'll sound great. |
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| Author: | CWLiu [ Wed Aug 20, 2008 2:58 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Tonal qualities of Zebrawood? |
My Zebrawood sets are very consitent(actually more than EIR) in density or stiffness. Its density is roughly the same as the lightest EIR but I think Zebrawood has a dryer tone, according to the only Zebrawood guitar I've made. For me it's not very hard to scrape or cut binding ledges by hand. |
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| Author: | Viv2199 [ Wed Aug 20, 2008 6:04 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Tonal qualities of Zebrawood? |
Thanks to all of you for your replies! Looks like I'll have to get some Kevlar gloves and some type of aromatherapy to work this wood. Any other comments about the tone of actually completed guitars available? Thanks and best to all, Vivian |
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| Author: | Steve Kinnaird [ Wed Aug 20, 2008 10:01 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Tonal qualities of Zebrawood? |
Rod, zounds that's pretty! Keep us posted on this little guy as he develops. Thanks for the pic! Steve |
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| Author: | RodN [ Wed Aug 20, 2008 10:40 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Tonal qualities of Zebrawood? |
Yes... I just saw that wood and fell in love with it immediately! I particularly like the landscape figuring in the back between the centre stripey parts and the broader pale band. Being as it is a ukulele, I am using the zebrawood for the top (lower photo above) as well as the back and sides, and will use an ebony fingerboard and bridge as a contrast. I felt like having a back purfling instead of a straight butt joint, but I wanted something that was "toned back" in colour so as not to distract too much from the beauty of the wood itself. So I used fine b/w/b each side of a centre strip of maple. Everything "scaled down" to uke proportions. As you can see from my mould (lower picture) it is going to be a soprano similar to a "Dreadnought" guitar shape. Rod |
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| Author: | terence [ Sat Aug 23, 2008 7:21 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Tonal qualities of Zebrawood? |
CWLiu wrote: My Zebrawood sets are very consitent(actually more than EIR) in density or stiffness. Its density is roughly the same as the lightest EIR but I think Zebrawood has a dryer tone, according to the only Zebrawood guitar I've made. For me it's not very hard to scrape or cut binding ledges by hand. Hey CW, you have a PM! warmest regards, Terence www.guitarbench.com |
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| Author: | Howard Klepper [ Sun Aug 24, 2008 1:20 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Tonal qualities of Zebrawood? |
WaddyT wrote: That's a beautiful piece. It'll sound great. We all (or most) want to be supportive. But I, for one, think people regularly go a bit overboard in assuring someone that some piece of wood or wood combination is going to sound great. How can you know? Doesn't it have to be built into a guitar first? Wouldn't it be enough to say it looks nice and it's worth a try if you like it? Not directed at you, Waddy. Just one example of something I keep seeing that seems to me to be more than anyone can have any certainty about. |
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| Author: | Shawn [ Sun Aug 24, 2008 1:38 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Tonal qualities of Zebrawood? |
just like any wood Zebrawood can be very different board by board. When selecting you can either go for a very contrasty piece as was pictured for a back but in general there are some things to look out for... As Waddy said it can be difficult to plane. It can be "rowey" in that the grain can change directions along the stripes every inch or so...this is often a sign that there is runout or that that particular piece has compression wood in it. If you see sections in which the light wood is much darker it can be sign of compression wood. as most would with other woods, the most stable is quartersawn so fine even striping is better than wild grain. I used to import exotic hardwoods and would stock Zebrawood up to 24/4 and when it is not dry it can have alot of movement. Having said that if you want to use zebrawood and have pieces you are happy with it takes a finish really nicely and you will see that under a finish it has two levels of contrast, the thin stripes that make up the grain and broader sections of light and shadow that are from the cross grain. I have seen commercial guitars made of it from Hofner and other lower ranges guitars which looked great but because they were mass produced were no indication of what it would really sound like. Its taptone is clear and distinct so it does not seem to have much dampening so it should at least be a decent alternative wood. Fortunately the trees it is taken from are in good supply and as such the price is good and sources are easy. Good Luck |
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| Author: | RodN [ Sun Aug 24, 2008 2:33 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Tonal qualities of Zebrawood? |
Howard Klepper wrote: WaddyT wrote: That's a beautiful piece. It'll sound great. We all (or most) want to be supportive. But I, for one, think people regularly go a bit overboard in assuring someone that some piece of wood or wood combination is going to sound great. How can you know? Doesn't it have to be built into a guitar first? Wouldn't it be enough to say it looks nice and it's worth a try if you like it? Not directed at you, Waddy. Just one example of something I keep seeing that seems to me to be more than anyone can have any certainty about. Yes indeed. This is exactly the stance that I am taking with this ukulele that I am building, especially as I am using it for the top too. As I stated earlier, I have no idea what it will sound like! Its just an experiment with great looking wood, and if it sounds good, then all the better. If it doesn't, then it will be a lesson learned, and I won't use it again. Rod |
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| Author: | WaddyThomson [ Sun Aug 24, 2008 2:52 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Tonal qualities of Zebrawood? |
Howard Klepper wrote: WaddyT wrote: That's a beautiful piece. It'll sound great. We all (or most) want to be supportive. But I, for one, think people regularly go a bit overboard in assuring someone that some piece of wood or wood combination is going to sound great. How can you know? Doesn't it have to be built into a guitar first? Wouldn't it be enough to say it looks nice and it's worth a try if you like it? Not directed at you, Waddy. Just one example of something I keep seeing that seems to me to be more than anyone can have any certainty about. It is a very valid point. I should be more selective in my terminology. Also, I don't mind if it's directed at me. ![[:Y:]](./images/smilies/smiley20.gif "Thumbs Up")
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