low end Tokai models made from Agathis wood

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warxy

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hi i found that few of the low end Tokai guitars like the ALS 43/48 MIC ones, their body are made from agathis wood, which is a type of softwood.
i would like to know, is there any side affect to the guitars made from this wood?
regard
Ben
 
It's actually agathis. If you do a Google search on it, there is plenty of info such as this thread:

http://www.myguitarsolo.com/usenet/threads_guitar/116577-1.html
 
marcusnieman said:
It's actually agathis.
Click to expand...
apologize for the misspelling :oops:

marcusnieman said:
If you do a Google search on it, there is plenty of info such as this thread:
http://www.myguitarsolo.com/usenet/threads_guitar/116577-1.html
Click to expand...
thanks for the link, i did had a look at that page before , and i also checked wikipedia which is where i found that its a softwood.
does that mean things will easily get lossen off or break?
Ben
 
It's an inexpensive wood - remotely related to mahogany - so it is a cheap product in terms of tone wood for guitars - but probably a step above plywood. I've heard it is not a real resonant wood and sounds kind of dull. Is it more prone to breaking? Probably - just don't drop your guitar :wink:

Unless you are screwing and unscrewing things like tuners, you shouldn't have any concern about things loosening or falling off. But, obviously a soft wood can easily be stripped by screws.
 
Soft and Hard don't have any bearing on how hard wood is (if you can read that without smirking or laughing like Sid James, you're a better man than I).

Balsa is a hardwood and it's softer than most softwoods.

It's more about the internal structure of the wood. Agathis is a conifer and conifers produce softwood - which is cheap and easy to work. Agathis is a tough wood (physically harder than most pines), it has a medium to heavy density which gives it the tonal quality similar to maghogany (although it's not related to any mahogany genus).

I believe I may just have made the dullest post in history.....
 
No you haven't, you've just reminded me about something I was taught in woodwork lessons when I was about 11.

A few years ago....

:lol:

Mike
 
What, "Don't lean over the lathe with your school tie on"? That's about all I remember! :lol:

I do know that wood from the Plywood tree (Laminaticus Cheapandnastius) is very difficult to cut.
The growth rings are at right angles to one another (Due to the fact that the trees roots rotate each winter) and separated by a layer of naturally occurring glue.
The main benefit for the modern woodworker is that a fully grown plywood tree tends to have a fairly standard dimension of 8ft by 4ft. and a four-sided trunk. Unique in the plant world.

The width of the sawn timber means that a one-piece plywood body is fairly common. In fact, two bodies can usually be routed from only one slab cut from a fully grown Ply.

A two-piece plywood body would be a very cheap device indeed.

:wink:
 
And yet, even a 1958 Gibson ES175 or ES 335 would have a top of laminated wood. And you know how much they sell for?

Not exactly cheap.

:eek:
 
Yeah, but do you know how hard it is and how many years it takes to grow a plywood tree with an arched trunk?
Click to expand...

Not to mention training a woodpecker to put the f-holes in.
 
Exactly Bruce. No-one thinks of all these little touches, but they all cost money.

Speaking of woodwork, if you've got some spare time have a read of this:

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=192705&page=1&pp=20

A guy has made himself a twin-neck Telecaster. From scratch. At home!
I mean just from bare wood! talented bloke. I'm not worthy! :eek:
 
what if i compare the ALS43/48 with a Epip LP standard? sounds like the epip got better wood :-?
 
warxy said:
what if i compare the ALS43/48 with a Epip LP standard? sounds like the epip got better wood :-?
Click to expand...

That is exactly what you need to do. Then YOU can tell which one SOUNDS like it has the better wood.

The Tokai is a basswood body with a maple neck. Fact.

The Epi, depending on where you look, is supposed to be Solid Mahogany with a Flamed Maple top and a Mahogany neck, just like the real thing, if you believe in Leprechauns. Mahogany/Alder body and Mahogany/Alder top with a Mahogany neck is another selection. WTF is Mahogany/Alder? Is the word "Laminated" supposed to be mentioned?

Epi state that this is "Mahogany" but is actually (Laminaticus Cheapandnastius), so yes, if you want to believe they got the better wood.........

http://www.guitargear.net.au/discussion/index.php?topic=13572.0

An Epi will be either Alder or Basswood, with a Maple neck.

Check the neck for a scarf joint behind the 1st to 3rd frets. The Tokai and the Epi will be the same.

If you think you are getting Mahogany, look at the back of a Japanese Tokai, or a Gibbo and compare the grain to the Epi. The Epi will be different.

If you want an Epi, go for it. Look at the thread about a Springysound by kitarist. He was not sure about his first Tokai.

Now he knows.

Hope Santy puts something nice in your Xmas stocking.[/i]
 
oh thanks a lot, that is great info to be know of :wink:
i will be sure to try check that out!!
Ben
 
You know what? Joking aside for a minute; Plywood (Good plywood) may not be that bad a material for a guitar body when you think about it.

I used to design and make speaker enclosures in a previous life and when money was no object we would build sealed enclosures using 1" Marine Grade ply.

Very, very expensive (mainly because you had to factor in the cost of all the router bits you'd destroy in the process of trying to work the stuff!) but acoustically inert and really good. 8)

Jim Marshall makes his cabs out of plywood too. Hmm....
 
My first guitar, which I still have, is a plywood body. A MIK Profile Str@t.

Guess what? It still sounds like a Str@t. It does have a split in one of the laminations, near the neck pocket and if you look closely, in the right light, you can see the laminations in the tummy cut. Been a good guitar for nearly 20 years now.

I take the point on plywood. A practical product with benefits in certain applications. However, if you took the back cover off your Marshall cab and found, instead of high grade plywood, you found MDF......
 
MDF is okay for speaker enclosures too, as long as its thick enough. The worst thing with MDF is the tendency it has to come to pieces when it gets wet.
It doesn't exactly turn into Weetabix like chipboard does, but it's not good.

Reasonable budget alternative for speaker cabs, but Ply is still the way to go.
 

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