The Bubinga is a perfect wood for musical instruments in all aspects. It is as hard or even more than the Rosewoods, but its texture is finer. For these reasons and for its interlaced grain, it is a wood that has to be worked carefully. Visually, it has a brown-purple color that makes it very similar to Tulipwood.
In terms of acoustics, this African wood presents a very rich and full sound filled with warm uniform tones. If to all this, we can add its great relationship between quality-price, which makes the Bubinga a highly recommended option to make your acoustic guitar backs.
BOTANICAL NAME: Guibourtia spp.
COMMERCIAL NAMES: Bubinga
ORIGIN: Gabon
DESCRIPTION: Reddish color wood with a 700-910 kg/m3 density. Its whiteness is whitish or reddish grey and old pink-red for its heartwood. It has lots of discontinuous thin grains of a violet, pink or red color and some other more wide, diffuse grains of a brown color. The grain is usually straight or slightly intertwined, but sometimes it can be waved too. The grain goes from thin to medium.
SUGGESTIONS: Saw is easy, but it’s recommended to use a powerful equipment. Machining doesn’t present any problem, but precautions need to be taken. The wood needs powerful equipment and the tools get quickly blunt.
DRYING: Drying speed is slow with some risks of deformation and cracks.
USES: Is equally used for sounding boards and wind instruments, apart form tops for electric guitars and basses.
