Padauk body?

[Soap]

I'm considering this wood, seems to have some nice tone characterisitic's.
Anyone have experience with it?
Whats it like tone wise and what type of finishing...oil or satin?
Appreciated the feedback thanks.

[37fiat]

I can't comment on tone, but as a professional cabinetmaker, I've worked with Padauk a fair bit.
The color of the wood will change dramatically over time if exposed to sunlight. Even just through oxidation (exposed to air), the color will change, although much slower than with the sun (UV rays).

Most Padauk starts out a vibrant orangish/red with some purple/black streaking, but the color eventually turns brownish.

If you were to store the guitar in it's case, it may take a long time to change colors, but wall hanging it will accelerate the process.

I've oiled and used lacquer on Padauk, but have found that a gloss or semi gloss film finish (lacquer, varnish) brings out the grain and color the best.
The oil, while easy to apply, tends to darken it and I feel some of the vibrant color and grain pattern is lost.

The dust from Padauk can also be a serious irritant, so using a dustmask would be wise. The orange dust also gets everywhere, and is a pain to clean up.

Here's a crappy pic of a piece I made for a customer a while back. It's 8 1/2' wide x 7' high. Padauk and Macassar Ebony. It's quite a bit darker now, than in this picture.