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Has anyone here ever used Koa for a bridge or a fingerboard? Is it hard enough for this use?

Michael, I have seen Koa used for a fingerboard on a fretless bass, but the wood had been stabilised ( put in a polymer vacuum bath to draw out air and then pressurised to refill air pockets with polymer)for this purpose. It looked fantastic but untreated, my thoughts are that it may be too soft for either task.

Cheers

Kim

Yes that was my thought too. I always thought it was similar in quality to a mahogany. I seen someone on the web seeling blanks and I had doubts about its use.

[QUOTE=larkim] Michael, I have seen Koa used for a fingerboard on a
fretless bass, but the wood had been stabilised ( put in a polymer vacuum
bath to draw out air and then pressurised to refill air pockets with
polymer)for this purpose. It looked fantastic but untreated, my thoughts
are that it may be too soft for either task.

Cheers

Kim[/QUOTE]

Sounds like Koa would be perfect for a fretboardless bass

It would probably contribute to a bright sounding guitar as the general
rule is the lighter the bridge the brighter the sound, and vice versa....to a
certain extent. Would/could you use it? Sure. Would/could it affect the
tone? Sure. IMO the guitar is a combination of a lot of little and large
factors.

_________________
John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

[QUOTE=larkim] Michael, I have seen Koa used for a fingerboard on a fretless bass, but the wood had been stabilised ( put in a polymer vacuum bath to draw out air and then pressurised to refill air pockets with polymer)for this purpose. It looked fantastic but untreated, my thoughts are that it may be too soft for either task.

Cheers

Kim[/QUOTE]

Kim, that might be one of my acrylized boards.....I've shipped tham around the world for years now. Do you know the builder's name? Thanks....

Sorry Larry,

Can't help on the builder's name or even the player's for that matter. The bass belonged to some guy who was a friend of a friend just passing through, only hung a couple of days till he wore out his welcome.

Great look'in bass though, the process had maintained the 3D of the figure and the board felt very slick, kind of a waxed feel.

I would like to trial a fingerboard of Tim Spittle's Tiger Myrtle treated this way, I think it would look spectacular.

Cheers

Kim

Lots of Koa bridges used on Weissenborns.
Fingerboards too, but of course they don't have to put
up with the abuse a regular guitar does.