Honduran mahogany

The timber of Swietenia macrophylla, the genuine mahogany prized for set-neck electrics and traditional acoustic back and sides.

It offers the combination that made it famous: warm, midrange-forward tone with a smooth top end, easy machining, stable behaviour and good gluing, all at a weight that keeps a solid body manageable. It is not as hard as maple, so it dents more readily, and the species is restricted by international trade rules, which has driven makers towards substitutes. Older instruments built from it are valued partly for the deepening of that voice over time.

Example: a set-neck double-cut in Honduran mahogany with a maple cap gives the thick, vocal lead tone that made the recipe a standard.

typical use: Premium set-neck bodies and necks, and traditional acoustic backs and sides.

Honduran mahogany

See also