Ovangkol

The timber of Guibourtia ehie, an African hardwood with rosewood-like density and a streaked, olive-to-brown colour.

It is hard and fairly oily, which makes it suitable both for fingerboards and for acoustic back and sides, and its voice is usually placed near rosewood: warm and full with a clear midrange and a slightly tighter low end. It is more widely available than the rosewood species and does not carry the same trade documentation, which is a large part of why it became common on mid-priced instruments. Like most dense woods, it needs sharp tooling.

Example: an ovangkol-backed acoustic gives much of the depth a rosewood body offers without the same restrictions on supply.

typical use: Acoustic backs and sides, plus necks and fretboards.

Ovangkol

See also