Materials
The selection of woods in a musical instrument serves both aesthetic and tonal purposes. The aesthetic is viscerally obvious, with sometimes dramatic and awe-inspiring 3-dimensional patterns and brilliant reflections from the grain.
Impacts on tone are hotly debated, partly due to the fact that immense variation in natural growth from the same species and even in the same specimen makes reproducible experiments extremely difficult. This will be the topic of multiple Blog posts and Videos to come.
For now, suffice it to say that there are a variety of woods to use for a variety of reasons in the construction of guitars and basses.
Available or under-consideration instrument woods at Dunham Guitars (see Philosophy & Values for more information on sustainability considerations).
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African Mahogany (body/back, neck)
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Basswood (body/back)
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Black Walnut (body/back, body/top, neck)
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Bocote (body/top, fretboard)
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Bubinga (body/top, neck, fretboard) ** Subject to CITES import/export restrictions
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Camphor (body/top)
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Chechen (body/top, fretboard, neck)
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Claro Walnut (body/back, body/top, neck)
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East Indian Rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia; body/top, neck, fretboard) ** Subject to CITES import/export restrictions
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Gabon Ebony (fretboard)
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Honduran/Big Leaf Mahogany (body/back, neck)
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Indian Rosewood (Dalbergia sissoo; body/top, neck, fretboard) ** Subject to CITES import/export restrictions
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Katalox (fretboard)
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Koa (body/top)
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Limba (body/back, body/top, neck)
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Mango (body/top, neck)
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Maple (body/top, neck, fretboard)
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Monkeypod (body/back)
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Nepal Alder (body/back, body/top)
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Ziricote (body/top, neck, fretboard)
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Pale Moon Ebony (body/top, fretboard)
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Pau Ferro (body/top, neck, fretboard)
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Poplar (body/back)
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Redwood (body/top)
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Sapele (body/back, body/top, neck)
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Swamp Ash (body/back)
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Wenge (body/top, neck, fretboard)
WOODS
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More information coming soon.