Honduras Mahogany

Mahogany is traditionally used on PRS, Gibson, and many other white bread brands of guitars. It isn't much to look at but it does sound OK. Most people in the know tend to favor the African Mahogany, better known as Korina or Limba.

Mahogany Neck Thru Guitar

I personally am not an expert on Mahogany. I have surmised however that Mahogany is not very consistent sounding, Some Mahogany tends to sound much better than other Mahogany. It probably has to do with age. If you listen to an early 80's PRS they will typically sound much better than the newer ones. When production was limited, Paul didn't have to buy lumber in tonnage. He would carefully seek out choice wood and then take the extra time to match it tonally to the tops.

The age theory does not always hold up. I have had occasion to play guitars made from the same piece of Mahogany and I still could tell a huge difference.

I stated above that I am not an expert on Mahogany but soon I will be starting to build the RVC Guitars. I expect my feel for Mahogany will improve due to that. Currently I build mostly higher priced custom guitars and I don't get too much call Mahogany.

Korina sounds much better and costs considerably more but I am inclined to believe that it's worth the extra dollars and time. Korina is much harder to work with because it is more porous. It is precisely those pores that give Korina it superior tonality and blooming capabilities.

Quicksilver All Mahogany