Official Luthiers Forum!

Whatever happened to the availability of Hormigo?
Seems like a couple of years ago, it was becoming available and now...POOF! It's gone and no one has it.
Just wondering why it seemingly disappeared...Bob C?

Haans I wish I knew. It was a favorite wood of mine. The first boards we had exhibited some beautiful orange and chocolate brown stripes. Haven't been able to source any more. Just disappeared

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Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

Haans, you can find sets here and there on ebay. I think Aaron Hix has two sets for sale right now.

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Brad

I've just ordered my second set of hormigo from Aaron. Nice sets and a very helpful guy.
Pat

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There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

Granadillo (Platymiscium sp.) and macacauba are very similar.

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John

Well, as I read it (sorry, Bing), Hormigo is Platymiscium dimorphandrum, Granadillo, Coyote, Cristobal, Macacauba, Brazilian Jacaranda, etc. are Platymiscium spp. Saying Granadillo is Hormigo is like saying anything that starts with Dalbergia is Brazilian. Indian RW is Dalbergia...
Don't know where Bob C got the stuff he had but I got 2 of them and the tap is outrageous. I may try a set of Granadillo, but I'd like to see more quartered than I have seen. Here's one of the sets of Bob's Hormigo...



Heard things about Collings and Old Standard...a bit of hoarding mebbe?

Haans we have had macacuaba and it is very very close to Hormigo.

_________________
Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

Thanks John, I'll check them out, and thanks Bob, I'll keep checking your site...

I'd just like to echo this sentiment. I never seem to hear that much about hormigo but the stuff rings like a bell. In my opinion, it should have a higher profile in the guitar world.

Pat

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There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

I suggest we end this string in order to keep eBay bidding wars lower for hormigo

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Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something

Here where i live Hormigo and Macacauba are umbrella words for different species of platymiscium, but they all looked similar to me - the folks in the lumberyard couldn´t tell me if there was or wasn´t a big difference - but then again they didn´t know how to tell mahogany from sapely either... Another name they usually give it (for flooring at least) is Amazon Rosewood (confusing, i know) - so maybe you can search for some Amazon RW and get Hormigo instead?

It´s my most ringing wood, amazing tap tone. and cheap too.

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

I think part of the problem here lies in the fact the differing exotic woods get sold from time to time using a group of different names. Often one species has different common names by region, dialect, etc. The problem seems to begin in the nation of origin and is exacerbated by whatever name is most valuable at the time it reaches the wholesale or retail destination.

Other times someone just makes a mistake along the way. I once ordered 600 bd feet of 10/4 quartered sapele, when the semi arrived it was all khaya. My rep at the brokerage just apologized and said "it happens" and expedited shipment of the sapele.

Tim

Fortunately, (or unfortunately) most of the 'Amazon rosewood' being sold on Ebay these days is actually macacauba. It has several other names, including coyote, crystobal, curatinga rosewood, and macawood.
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/macacauba.htm

I said the woods are similar.
If I did not have first-hand experience with all three woods, I would not have made the statement. IMHO, the tap tone is equal on all of them. The main difference I see is the pore size, with macacauba a little larger than the others.
'Granadillo' is a name applied to several unrelated species...that is why I specified Platymiscium.

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John

Yes you did say Granadillo and Macacauba were very similar, I wasn't too clear. I was referring to an ebay listing that first called the wood Hormigo, then called it Granadillo in the next sentence.
Seems as though the names are just a "catch all" for a wide species of wood from what you are saying.
Just wondered what happened to the availability of Hormigo. Seems there is a some of it coming out of OSW/Collings and nowhere else. Another Gilchrist "D" log...

What you have to understand is that macacauba (platymiscium pinnatum), granadillo (Platymiscium yucatanum), hormigo (Platymiscium dimorphandrum), are all called "granadillo" by the local sawyers in the areas where these woods are cut.. It can be confusing as these woods are almost always imported as "granadillo". When I import these species sometimes I do not know exactly what I am getting until it gets to my shop! Crazy, Huh?

I have a decent stock of each of these right now, and will have sets available within a couple of weeks.

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Guitar Maker and Purveyor of the World's Finest Tonewoods
http://www.aaronhixguitars.com/
http://stores.ebay.com/A-Hix-Tonewood-a ... r-Supplies

Thank you for clearing everything up Aaron. Your post makes everything most transparent.
Now about that Quercus alba...

I am on it! haha I'll get some quercus alba pics post haste! Gotta dig though the stash and pick some out to photograph.

_________________
Guitar Maker and Purveyor of the World's Finest Tonewoods
http://www.aaronhixguitars.com/
http://stores.ebay.com/A-Hix-Tonewood-a ... r-Supplies

I haven't used any of these woods. I've been reading about them for a couple of years, and I'm intrigued. Is there a consensus among dealers that "Hormigo" refers only to Platymiscium dimorphandrum? Is some of the Macacauba or Granadillo that is offered by prominent dealers really Hormigo?

Aaron--when the wood arrives at your shop, how do you determine the species? (I trust your expertise in judging look and feel. Among the woods I know well, some are distinctive by species, and some aren't.)

I understand that there are many more Platymiscium species. Do any of these reach our market? Do some of them get lumped together under a single common name?

My thanks for any light you can shed on my confusion.

well, maybe macacauba we get here is a different species, it comes from brazil (lower amazon region) and there it goes by the name of Platymiscium ulei. Also found out that it originates in a tupi (brazilian indian) word meaning "the monkey tree". more data here, if you can read portuguese:
http://www.ipt.br/informacoes_madeiras/42.htm

where it says "nomes internacionais" (3rd line), you get some interantional trade names
not that it matters much, but i decided to share anyway.

best,
Miguel.

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

Lots of info on Platymiscium here: http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/4111062?uid=3739560&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21104164842603 (You have to register to read the full paper, but registration is free.)

I can't say that reading this cleared up any of my confusion, but I have a better idea of what it is I'm confused about.

I did get a set of Granadillo last week. Seems a lot denser than the Hormigo I have, and tap is similar, but very dense. I cut the sapwood off, still large enough to have most all of the flatsawn part fall outside of my mold. Probably would have to make the back thinner...