Cocobolo (CITES)

When choosing wood for fingerboards, aesthetics is a very important factor, but not the only one. The wood hardness and resistance, are also decisive qualities to opt for a wood or another, since they directly influence on how the fingerboard stands the guitarist wear, blows or the contact.

The Cocobolo is a good example of an optimal wood for fingerboards, since it has all these features. On the other hand, this is an oily wood that should be worked in its minimum thickness to make fingerboards.

In Maderas Barber we have Cocobolo fingerboards for different qualities of electric guitars, but always with a dazzling beauty and acoustics.

COMMERCIAL NAMES: Cocobolo, Cocobola, Grenadilla

ORIGIN: Nicaragua

DESCRIPTION: red orange color with black veins wood, that has a density of 990-1250 Kg/m³. It has a light-yellow sapwood, although it may be cream-colored and it has a similar appearance to ivory. It is a wood whose colors are less intense when it is just sanded or cut and it gets darker over the time. Its grain goes from straight to intertwined, it is uniform and the texture is firm and it also has a beautiful natural shine.

SUGGESTIONS: It may present problems when gluing due to its high oil content. It may need frequent sharpening although it has excellent machining properties and it can be worked well with a blade. It has a high toxicity. The wood is very hard and easy to work, although the tools might need to be sharpened frequently.

DRYING: The drying process is very slow, with deformations and cracks risk.

USES: In addition to being used in various instruments fingerboards, it is also used in soundboard and in wind instruments.