Koa

Joe

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I am seeing quite a few Koa wood guitars being advertised and am curious about what others think about them. I have only tried one (a Taylor) and found the sound muted & thin.

What have been your experiences?
 

Graham

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I haven't played one, although I'm thinking about having one made. David has at least one, a T5.

From what I hear from a luthier that I'm talking to and some other forumites, it fits between rosewood and mahogany in sound.
 
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it has more akin with mahogany than it does rosewood, in my opinion. a great fingerstyle, bright sound suited for small bodied guitars

also, extremely beautiful when exectuted right....AAAA+ or better. check out some of the froggy bottom koa guitars on buffalo bros site. amazing stuff. it's on my short list of wood choices for future guitars

also, for the record (and i know it will be a point of contention), i think the vast majority of taylors i've played sounded thin and muted, koa or otherwise. i've definitely heard great sounding koa guitars (goodall comes to mind)

all koa f-20? anyone?
 

Graham

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bluegrass jubilee said:
it has more akin with mahogany than it does rosewood, in my opinion. a great fingerstyle, bright sound suited for small bodied guitars

also, extremely beautiful when exectuted right....AAAA+ or better. check out some of the froggy bottom koa guitars on buffalo bros site. amazing stuff. it's on my short list of wood choices for future guitars

also, for the record (and i know it will be a point of contention), i think the vast majority of taylors i've played sounded thin and muted, koa or otherwise. i've definitely heard great sounding koa guitars (goodall comes to mind)

all koa f-20? anyone?

Somewhere, someone was talking about an all KOA somethingorother, I think I hate details, :shock: , anyway they felt that a KOA top was just too much, too tight. Of course it's always a personal thing with sound and feel.

For me anyway AllKOA can wait. :shock:
 

wombat

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Here's my take on the Koa Taylor's I've played. To be fair, my K-14C was a nice sounding guitar but ultimately not that nice compared to other (less expensive) guitars I have played since: the price was mainly justified by the the playability and looks but not the sound.

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4798

I've also tried a few all koa Martin dreds. Not a fan of them either, seemed a bit characterless: they were punchy but didn't have a very interesting or responsive tone - not very easy on the ear either. All that said, I haven't tried koa guitars from other manufacturers and I'd never rule anything out as a tonewood. Construction seems to account for a lot of the sound of a guitar. And of course it all depends on your tastes and playing style. Gimme a hog, maple or ash Guild D or F model any day of the week.
 

Jeff

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Graham said: Somewhere, someone was talking about an all KOA somethingorother, I think I hate details, , anyway they felt that a KOA top was just too much, too tight. Of course it's always a personal thing with sound and feel

Might have been the discussion of this Eye Popper DK 70 listed in Anchorage Craiglist.

Whatever the tonal qualities, this one isn't selling for the 5k asking price.

http://anchorage.craigslist.org/msg/409993983.html

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