Solid KOA San Dimas Custom shop Charvel versus Alder or Mahogany

[jeff9beck]

Hi - Question for any owners of a Koa bodied Charvel!

vu5a9uty.jpg
"figured curly koa"

I've been wondering how a solid KOA guitar body would sound / especially when compared with an Alder or Mahogany body.

Anyone out there who may have now, or have had in the past, several Charvels, including a KOA one ?

I figured Charvels would be easier to compare than Jacksons or maybe other guitars, cause they usually have maple necks and other specs are very similar.

But the question is a general one, if you've owned similar guitars with the difference being just the solid body being Koa, Alder, or Mahogany..

It would easier to compare if the bridge (Floyd hopefully), fingerboard, and pickups, were the same...but even if not, it would be helpful..

I know that a solid Koa body is $$$ - and I know how awesome figured Koa can look (to me, anyway).

So, I am wondering more about -- does it sound super awesome ?

Also how does it differ in sound? -- "from someone who's actually heard the difference"?

Because, sure -- I've read and read a lot about how it sounds - but have never been able to hear it, or compare it...

I'd appreciate any and all replies about how your Koa bodied Guitar sounds..~!

Thanks

Jeff

[xenophobe]

To me it sounds a little more upper midrangey than mahogany. Needs ebony fretboard or maple neck... but nothing an EQ can't fix.

Then there's the whole debate on how much wood actually affects tone... there are people who think it's hogwash and those that think there is more to it. I think it's more baseline of wood density and pickup choice than species than anything else. And adding electronic amplification also colors your tone, so it's only a small factor at best.

There's that basement dweller guy on youtube who likes to debunk tonal differences but he has yet to debunk the Strandberg video which does indeed show a difference. There is also a study related to identifying wood species with piezo electric pickups for restoration purposes that has nothing to do with guitars that shows they can reliably determine wood species based on spectrum analysis.

So whether or not you want to believe is up to you.

[jeff9beck]

To me it sounds a little more upper midrangey than mahogany. Needs ebony fretboard or maple neck... but nothing an EQ can't fix.

So, it naturally emphasizes upper mid frequencies, more than than Mahogany would ... ?

Curious why would that means it needs an ebony fretboard or maple neck - wouldn't that make it brighter overall - all frequencies?

Does needing ebony fretboard or maple neck -- mean that Koa is darker sounding overall than mahogany?

Or that you feel a Mahogany body would also need an ebony fretboard or maple neck..


Wondering -- if you 'fixed' it with an EQ, how would you set it? Do you mean flatten upper mids to get a more even/linear response?
Or are you just saying in general, amp settings would likely be different for Koa than Mahogany?

-- just asking so I'm sure I understand what you're sayin' --

Then there's the whole debate on how much wood actually affects tone... there are people who think it's hogwash and those that think there is more to it. I think it's more baseline of wood density and pickup choice than species than anything else. And adding electronic amplification also colors your tone, so it's only a small factor at best.

There's that basement dweller guy on youtube who likes to debunk tonal differences but he has yet to debunk the Strandberg video which does indeed show a difference. There is also a study related to identifying wood species with piezo electric pickups for restoration purposes that has nothing to do with guitars that shows they can reliably determine wood species based on spectrum analysis.

So whether or not you want to believe is up to you.

thanks for your reply -- it's very helpful

[xenophobe]

Very similar to mahogany. I think mahogany and koa both need either a maple neck or an ebony fretboard. I have an all-koa neckthru Fender... it has either rosewood or pao ferro fretboard and it just doesn't have the top end treble... it sounds a bit muddy without it, from what I can tell playing it acoustically.

I meant I had to up the last two or three EQ bands on my MXR M108 10 band eq, but I'm not certain that it wasn't the pickup which I didn't change. It was the Fender Humbucker found on the Deluxe, which I like in an alder body with maple neck and ebony fretboard.

I honestly haven't heard much of a tonal difference between koa, mahogany and korina. They're all similar density moderately hard wood species. I just know there's less difference in tone between them then there is comparing them to basswood, poplar and alder, which are all softer hardwoods.

I dunno if that helps but that's about as much as I can really describe.

[j2379]

Koa can vary a lot but it tends to be just a bit brighter than mahogany. I have a bunch of full koa BCRs and had a koa bodied strat.

[murkat]

" I've been wondering how a solid KOA guitar body would sound / especially when compared with an Alder or Mahogany body.
Anyone out there who may have now, or have had in the past, several Charvels, including a KOA one ?"

I have experience with Koa solid bodies (vintage B.C. Rich, custom builds), but no experience with Koa Charvels.

Koa is my favorite "tone" wood. Similar to mahogany, with a little more push in the mids (like a SG) with a solid, tight bottom end.
Kind of like what a maple cap does for a mahogany LP, but with more focus on cut, attack.
Adding the known tone print of neck, fretboard woods to the equation with a solid Koa body will do the same result with any other tone wood solid body.

What makes Koa my favorite is that it has this Attack, in your face punch to the notes and chords, yet very musical.
You may be able to go out there and find a few koa made guits hanging on the wall to try out compare before ponying up.

[jeff9beck]

thanks guys

[Black Shadow]

Very similar to mahogany. I think mahogany and koa both need either a maple neck or an ebony fretboard. I have an all-koa neckthru Fender... it has either rosewood or pao ferro fretboard and it just doesn't have the top end treble... it sounds a bit muddy without it, from what I can tell playing it acoustically.

I meant I had to up the last two or three EQ bands on my MXR M108 10 band eq, but I'm not certain that it wasn't the pickup which I didn't change. It was the Fender Humbucker found on the Deluxe, which I like in an alder body with maple neck and ebony fretboard.

I honestly haven't heard much of a tonal difference between koa, mahogany and korina. They're all similar density moderately hard wood species. I just know there's less difference in tone between them then there is comparing them to basswood, poplar and alder, which are all softer hardwoods.

I dunno if that helps but that's about as much as I can really describe.

Agreed, having an all-koa guitar is like having an all-mahogany Gibson with no maple cap---it needs an ebony board for sharp attack. My Charvel I has a bird's eye maple neck and pau ferro fretboard, which sounds great, although I wouldn't mind ebony either. Koa doesn't have quite as much low end as mahogany and tends to be a bit lighter, but has a similar sound overall. And the beauty of koa is unmatched!

[xenophobe]

Agreed, having an all-koa guitar is like having an all-mahogany Gibson with no maple cap---it needs an ebony board for sharp attack. My Charvel I has a bird's eye maple neck and pau ferro fretboard, which sounds great, although I wouldn't mind ebony either. Koa doesn't have quite as much low end as mahogany and tends to be a bit lighter, but has a similar sound overall. And the beauty of koa is unmatched!

I had an all koa masterbuilt Fender with pau ferro fretboard and it just didn't have that sharp attack that I like on my guitars... It was pretty, it was very warm sounding both acoustically and plugged direct, but I just couldn't get enough out of it for my liking...

This was mine... I hope it's sold...

https://reverb.com/item/1750490-used-1999-fender-custom-shop-masterbuilt-jason-davis-koa-showmaster-calendar-electric-guitar

[Nightbat]

FWIW my Koa SD Reissue is the best sounding guitar I have

[Dog Boy]

Back of my Koa Dinky, great sounding guitar!

[Black Shadow]

Back of my Koa Dinky, great sounding guitar!

I see you have the ultra-rare Jackson neck plate like me, too! I was told that makes it one of the first 50 built if you have a mid '90s USA Model I Koa.

It really does have a dinky body, too. Looks a bit strange next to my Fender Strats, but looks very good when I'm wearing it.

[jeff9beck]

can we see the top?

[Catharpin]

can we see the top?

[jeff9beck]

Yeah I remember that one.. nice!