Un-boxing a gift from Screaming Eagle Guitars in Australia. A selection of Australian tone-woods

[@Stephane1995]

I never thought I'd enjoy a video of a man touching and showing off his wood. Then you came along.

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

:)

[@plexibreath]

I too find that rubbing oil on my wood makes it pop.

[@coaldoubt2879]

Ha. I see what you did there.

[@carolinehaf21]

So happy to see this as an Australian! Would love to see some guitars made out of these Ben!

[@darrkstarg]

That was a beautiful selection of wood, I can only imagine the joy you must have felt being able to smell the wood.

[@the2connors]

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this video, being Australian, it was good to know our woods are suitable for guitar construction. I've been subscribed for a long time & I think this is the first comment I've made.

[@gpurkeljc]

Thank you Mr Crowe for showcasing our Australian timbers. It was a pleasure to watch.

[@BBGuitars]

I came to this video after watching your live stream the other night and you mentioned Aussie timbers. Some real gems here. If only I could find the people who actually sell this stuff...

[@mikeivey8471]

Those mountain ashe planks look amazing !! Thanks for sharing !!

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

Stunning woods.down under, simply stunning! B

[@andrewbarker9773]

I asked only a few weeks ago about Australian tone woods and never got a reply, rightly so Ben, I should have known you had already done this topic years ago, I am slowly working my way through your videos and now my questions answered, I now know what I can get here in Australia and what I will look for to work with, I love the Banksia and Tasmanian mountain ash, wow

[@bluglass7819]

I hadn't seen this one. You are a man after my own heart. Everytime you mention the smells, I understand. I personally am sticking mostly to woods grown in Florida especially the FL Keys. The world of wood is so sweet.

[@WombatHide]

I'm from nz and we are very blessed when it comes to timbers I have a Banksia in my back yard and my father's farm is covered in many different trees never knew any of them could be used for guitars.

[@BoxedGod]

Yep. Tool reviews are a great idea for a series of videos. You had my curiosity, but now you have my attention.

[@Nihilism2011]

Tasmanian blackwood is very popular with Australian luthiers making acoustic guitars. My brother has a beautiful Cole Clark acoustic made from blackwood and bunya.

The smell of Tas Blackwood is a smoky burnt smell - very distinctive. The wood dust is a wonderful skin irritant :-(

[@Billo1281]

Ah, it's morning here, and i'm looking at a lot of wood! Enjoying the videos sir, thanks!

[@scraverX]

Oh my yes, Australian timber.

[@esa062]

Lovely woods down under too. Yes, you definitely need to think outside of the maple-mahogany box. My last guitar has a body made out of the spruce you get from a local lumber yard when you ask for 2 by 4. Not because I couldn't get something better, but because I chose that from all the woods in the world. It is perfect for that guitar.

[@danieldelapena8369]

It is a fantasy of mine to receive a box of exotic woods. And I tell you I am fluorescent green with envy. Anyways looking forward to see what becomes of all of this wood. Crimson Custom Guitars

[@andrewbrundle8074]

Amazing woods! I too am in love with wood, I love the feel and the smell of it. sawdust is man glitter. (LOL)

[@garethbarlow5278]

Mountain Ash is a most wonderful wood. Here in Victoria I grew up having limitless access to it and spent some time, sadly, logging them. They rival California Redwoods and Giant Sequoia in total metric volume, larger in canopy, and after a couple thousand years can readily top twenty plus metres in girth. Tragically unsustainable logging and some armageddon-like bushfires have reduced the supply on the mainland and thus Tasmania has become the primary source for Mountain Ash and indeed most furniture grade hardwood in Australia. I wouldn't bet on that supply being infinite. It's a vast patch of forest down in Tassie but the need to preserve Australia's dwindling forests is becoming ever more acute and political pressure to ban logging outright hovers nationally at about 40%. Consider, if you will, that Blackwood needs at least 25 years to become commercially harvestable, Banksia somewhere between 75-200 years depending on variant, location and understory, and Mountain Ash grows for, at least, Two Thousand years, several hundred presumably until a harvest is possible. As far as I am aware there are no Mountain Ash trees planted as regrowth that have grown to a fraction of the size required for harvesting and thus you can effectively argue that it is a limited resource which cannot be replaced. I hope some of that was helpful. Cheers!

[@richard68wallace]

I used heavily figured Tasmanian Blackwood top and headstock facing on an Ibanez style seven string back in '99, beautiful to work, even had a control and bound truss rod cover out of it too.

[@haynodex2285]

we do have a selection a great wood over here. and wait to see what you do with some of the wood.

[@simonderycke7545]

Love the different blackwood variations! Wow!

[@NoyzyBoyZ3]

You're correct about Myrtle Beach,in South Carolina,on the southeast coast of the US. I'm very new here to your videos and this one was quite a surprise. I'm a lover of wood also,maybe not quite to your level,but a lover of wood just the same.I'm considering getting involved with your program here,if there is room for another! Peace.

[@suzannacrawford6447]

Thank you for sharing, I love exotic woods....still drooling! I have an acoustic made of Tasmanian blackwood, it's a great sounding and beautiful guitar.

[@bradpattinson2774]

Absolutely stunning wood. I can't believe I have only just stumbled upon this video. Turns out he is only 1.5 hours down the road from me, I think I'll have to head out and have a look.

[@OzziePete1]

There are 2 Australian guitar companies that make acoustic guitars from local woods. I have a custom made acoustic that has a Victorian Blackwood back & sides that is mind blowing in its flame. I had it stained with a vintage styled darker sunburst. The blackwood (both Tasmanian & Victorian) is used for sides & backs of acoustic guitars and in solid body/semi hollow electric guitars. Tonally they come close to Koa (genetically there's also conjecture that Koa & Australian Blackwood are related). Other woods used by these 2 manufacturers are Sassafras, Bunya Pine for tops, Jarrah for fretboards & Queensland Maple for neck wood.

[@PassiveMatrix]

I now have a new dream guitar top. I HAVE to have a flamed Blackwood top. That colour is amazing.

[@lewisbeeman]

How do you know about Myrtle Beach in America. Your knowledge never ceases to amaze me Mr Crowe.

[@MonsterGuitars]

Tasmanian Blackwood is easily my favourite wood for tops. We can get it here in New Zealand and it's gorgeous. I use some in a video series, the Blackwood Telecaster.

[@Belman5]

Some absolutely beautiful pieces there. Love the Blackwood.

[@thebullgoose1]

FYI, The australian mountain ash also happens to be the tallest hardwood tree on earth. It and related species such as flooded gum (eucalyptus grandis) are marketed in Australia as Tassie Oak and the timber isn't that expensive. If you're after a durable bridge or fingerboard you could perhaps consider australian bull oak, which is the hardest timber on earth. Monty Python intoned, "This here is the wattle, the emblem of our land, you can stick it in a bottle, you can hold it in your hand." Tasmanian Blackwood is basically a giant wattle tree.

[@pillznthrillz3013]

I am in Australia, and I am going to try building my first kit guitar. Just South of New Zealand is the furthest location from London, Australia is a little closer to civilisation but not by much :) We are geographically quite different and our timbers are not the same. Maton use some native timbers in their guitars and a piano maker, Stuart & Sons have made some amazing pianos too.

[@standingbear39]

Some beautiful wood.

[@luthiersmercantileinternat5786]

Amazing! That figure is beautiful.

[@MrGrantdw]

I don't know if you know this but we use metho to show what grain looks like and leaves no marks also good for lifting dents just pool it on the dent and lite it on fire . Also all thoes mountain ash are eucalyptus oak "ie" gumtrees and depending where in OZ you are it has different names like tas oak to vic ash. Strange that sassafras was not green in colour as that is its predominant feature?

[@rossbalch]

Living here in Australia we have access to some truly spectacular timber.

[@jimmyboi176]

These woods scream acoustic guitars 😱😱

[@MarkLindsayCNC]

Pornography. Pure pornography. And on a Saturday morning, no less. It's nice to see another wood nerd absolutely lose his cool over a simple plank. It's nice to see that I'm not the only one, anyway. The main problem with using Australian woods, at least for me, is the cost of obtaining it. I have no problem paying the price for the material itself - it's the exorbitant cost of shipping. Sometimes shipping is more than twice the price of the material itself. Wood is just expensive to ship, and I understand that. In order to have a piece big enough to do anything with, other than drool over, it has to be a fairly long piece. It's that length that costs so much to ship. So for now, I'll just have to live vicariously through you and a few other luthiers who get the opportunity to use such gorgeous examples of "the other exotics." I'm not complaining (much.)

[@Jesse-B]

Mark Lindsay I am somewhat relieved (for want of a better word) that it cuts both ways - buying guitar parts and wood from the USA is crippling with the fall in the AUD, but the death blow comes from exorbitant shipping costs. In response, I have stopped importing exotic maples etc, turning instead to what we have here... I had no idea how incredibly beautiful some of our woods really are until I actually started looking.

[@codelicious6590]

That Acacia..it's marvelous.

[@technicallyalive232]

Ben: "I just love wood"....hehe

[@Expedient_Mensch]

yes! tare-out in Aussie timber. know it too well, especially in Victorian Ash. Some Gums such as Brushbox (used to line the walls of the Sydney opera house) and Jarrah for example are deadly to sharp edges, and almost impossible to work with edge tools alone but have amazing acoustic qualities in return. Also, many aussie timbers will cup or bow and easily check, sometimes even in the middle of a board if not dried properly, I find its usually best to look for kiln dried. So you like the figured Myrtle? You should try a Myrtle Burl, also check out Sheoak

[@wamgoc3637]

Australia has some good woods. They have been underused.

[@stevenedwards4470]

So much wood, so little time, so few hands. Ben, I saw something interesting the other day...a Grant bass. It was made with a body of sandwiched wood, two if not three kinds. The body curve was carved back to display both the top and under layer of wood and I thought that might make a nice application for one of these...along with one of your beautiful multi laminate necks. Ever do, or consider doing something like that?

[@Deliquescentinsight]

I live in Tasmania, and yes the local timbers are remarkable for instrument making-Blackwood is great for acoustic guitars-there are some luthiers around as you might expect -including one very rough journeyman in myself!

[@tonymcfeisty2478]

I have some Mountain Ash furniture, lovely wood, often called Tasmanian Oak in the timber indusrty and I often heard it also called Victorian Ash whilst I was living in Australia, obscure fact Eucalyptus regnans is the Tallest flowering plant in the world and the second tallest tree. Quite a sight to see a forest of these 200 foot plus giants growing on the mountainsides of Victoria.

[@gp85hkg]

tony mcfeisty...in December 2003, Forestry Tasmania admitted that it was responsible for the death of Australia's largest living thing. The tree, El Grande, was 79 metres high, with a 19-metre girth and the prodigious volume of 439 cubic metres. imagine the guitars in that

[@busc221]

Hi Ben Australia has thousands of unexplored wood species, at least from a guitar making perspective. The continent does not get iced over during ice age periods. This means the vast areas of monoculture forests that are a feature of northern hemisphere don't occur and Australian forests are essentially uninterrupted mixes of hundreds of species. Interestingly packs of common hardwood used in furniture and flooring and traded under the names Mountain Ash, Victorian Ash, and Tasmanian Oak are in fact made up of boards that may represent upwards of 20 species. All with a similar look. The guitar builder, being selective, can find some beautiful quarter sawn boards very cheaply from these packs. Many Australian woods are named after common northern hemisphere species but have no botanical connection. On of the most interesting Australian woods to look up is Purple Hearted Sassafras.

[@ian-c.01]

They are such a contrast to the more familiar woods that it's going to be difficult to find something to compliment them. My first thoughts where 'how would they look with a stain on them?'.

[@Oldtanktapper]

If you ever get the chance, check out Silky Oak (Grevillia Robusta), Casuarina species (often called She-Oak). Beautiful figuring when cut right and they work well. A funny thing about the Blackwood you have there (A. Melanoxylon) is that is found across a huge area of Australia, but up in the northern states like Queensland it only grows into a straggly shrub not suitable for milling, whereas down south it forms a decent sized tree. Definitely take care with the dust from certain Australian timbers, some of them are pretty nasty. I’ve heard of a couple of blokes getting hospitalised from milling Red Bean out in the bush.

[@johnchase8510]

Nice woodshow! Like the tap tone of that second to last piece of mountain ash. Semi hollow carve top?

[@herbertplanter2108]

Greetings from Australia! Just found this video and found it absolutely fascinating! Amazing! Thankyou so much :) I have a bunch of these species growing (previously for another purpose...), who knows, maybe some day i'll get to make some beautiful guitars out of them... right now I'm about to start my very first SG build, so tempted to go with a burnt finish! Oh the choices! Interesting side note: did you know the Australian army discovered that Mountain Ash actually contains large amounts of mescaline?! (Normally found in cacti) In fact, many Australian natives, particularly the Acacia, contain quite the array of very powerful psychedelic compounds... fitting really. I would love to hear your thoughts on Australian woods now in 2018! Simply beautiful!

[@uniquepieces7365]

Well, aren't you the lucky one Mr Crowe! Its funny that here in Oz we think of Purpleheart, Wenge Bubinga etc as being the rare exotic species that are hard to come by. Figured Maple is near impossible to buy locally from any wood merchants so we have to buy direct from overseas. I live not far from where screaming eagle guitars are located in Victoria and there is a lot of blackwood around this area sort of take it for granted. In Australia we have two different "Mahoganys" Red and White both are better known as stringybarks and are eucalyptus varieties, we also have Queensland Maple which is more like traditional mahogany with its grain structure and tone, except that it is far prettier, it also is quite a rare and protected timber now. I was lucky enough to come by a couple of large 40mm thick slabs approx. 800mm x 1500mm each with beautiful flame figuring - harvested from private property after the tree was blown down in a tropical cyclone in Queensland I'm sure you will enjoy the wood! PS. Screaming Eagle Guitars has some links on their website to Australian tonewood suppliers... but I didn't tell you that :-) Cheers Carl ... Euroa Guitars

[@jdcmusicchoice]

Mr Crowe, where do you source your wood from? Who is your supplier? I have found the hardest part of guitar building is sourcing materials and hardware at a fair rate... I would love to hear your recollections from starting out, if you would be willing to tell them.

[@Dodgerm1cbo]

Fantastic, I love wood too, do you make archtop Jazz guitars? I think these would show highly figured woods at there best.

[@danikanskywalker2119]

No QLD maple? No Australian rosewood? Love the blackheart sasafrass, though. It's our equivalent of black korina, but better to work with.

[@PrinceWesterburg]

Haha - Great video! I started clearing out my garage today which is piled up with mahogany, walnut, beech etc. plus all my old guitar parts I'd forgotten about and, piled to the rafters as it was, I've only touched about a quarter of it BUT I have a love of wood as you do and this video means I won't sleep tonight! LOL Yeah, really inspiring as though I love all the traditional woods, they have been done to death and strutting around on stage with a lump of a victorian desk round your neck is silly really innit?! :o)

[@demantoid418]

I liked this vid didn't think I would.. thanks

[@LooneyTune666]

I love Tasmanian Blackwood. I toyed for a long time to get an acoustic made with Blackwood back and sides but alas finances dictated otherwise.

[@wolflahti412]

Western Red Cedar is, of course, a marvelous tone wood often used for the tops of acoustic (especially classical) guitars - but is it too soft a wood to use on a solid-body electric? Have you (or anyone else) had experience using it for that application? I have a lot of it on site, and it's a lot easier to get a decent-size block of the Cedar than it is to get one from my Maple, which, despite careful drying in my primitive facilities, checks and splits with abandon.

[@SuperCarver2011]

Other than A/B comparisons of the figuring, what is the use of these woods for acoustic properties? Book matched backs I suppose.

[@figjam9530]

screaming eagle make gorgeous (mostly electric) guitars. if you'd like to see australian wood (mostly acoustic) guitars check out cole clark. EDIT, of course maton use australian wood too but you are more likely to find imported wood used in a maton (on say the fretboard) than a cole clark. at this point i believe cole clark will only use imported wood upon request in a custom build.

[@leeh.4453]

Save some for us acoustic fans, please. I could imagine the book matched backs. BTW -- how can you determine which species would be good top woods, and which would resonate best with the other species?

[@ralphpinder8566]

I am sure that wood turners have been using these timbers for many years with stunning results.....

[@Sotek101]

The blackwoods look awesome!!! And, Ben, I get the feeling that making guitars is just an excuse for feeding your addictions :)

[@jimdeeds]

Love all the videos but this one in particular. You mentioned an oil to replace tru oil? Do you have it for sale?

[@johnmana]

OH, Please Please Please revisit some of these woods if you still have them.

[@shoominati23]

Infact, I never realised you could get Mahogany in lightish colours until I saw US Les Paul tops, as in Australia we have a Jarrah which is a very tough, resilient brownish hardwood and is a member of the Mahogany family. I'd love to do a guitar in Huon Pine, which is a native to Tasmania, but sadly now it's a controlled wood as alot of it was used to build boats in the 1800s / early 1900's and obviously it was really resilient to salt water and is actually quite attractive. I'm sure I'd be able to get enough to build a guitar though.

[@transcendkira]

shoominati23 Huon Pine would make an amazing guitar I reckon. It's unfortunate the wood is a bit hard to come by with it being controlled. But it would be worse for them to go extinct. They still find old logs floating down the river every once and a while. Thanks to their oil they don't rot so there will still be some out there. Try it out I reckon.

[@tombruchal2307]

Beautiful! Never saw any of your vids on building acoustics though. what else would you use that wood for?

[@transcendkira]

tom bruchal Some of those woods are surely great for Acoustics I believe. I know that the Tasmanian Sassafras is used in quite a few very nice acoustics as are most Australian Tonewoods. A lot of local Luthiers will use them.

[@Goofygreyhoundgoober]

There are companies in Australia that build some stunning acoustics with the blackwood, check out Cole Clark guitars. I have one myself and can say it is the most beautiful guitar i have ever played, and it sounds fantastic. Check these babies out!!! www.coleclarkguitars.com/

[@wf2243]

09:15 Acacia? Maiden's Tears? The inspiration's all there! I hope to see an Eddie Special come out of this!

[@TheColodrummer]

I really enjoyed that. I'm hooked. ha-ha.

[@michelvandermeer7355]

Enyone here familiar with Ormsby guitars from Austrailia? Perry Ormsby uses a lot of blackwood and all other kind of briljant woods like snakewood....so nice.

[@mikekrause8263]

I have tried over and over to watch this guy and the various videos he produces. I just can't do it. This is the slowest talking dude ever.

[@johnny888ify]

Extremely jealous!!

[@neilxpeart]

I have a tasmanian blackwood snare drum, has a similar sound to ash but a bit more mellow.

[@MichaelVivian]

I just bought blackwood and myrtle for a uke build. I wouldn't know where to get maple anyway :)

[@ace260386]

African Acacias are related to the Australian ones and there is a lot of debate as to where the species originated from. Giraffe do not like chewing on them because of the high tannin content in the leaves. The blackwoods are actually invasive here in south africa and are chopped down on site and used as firewood.

[@ace260386]

apologies. genus originated from, not species.

[@trappenweisseguy27]

I myself has been wondering,after seeing the grain resemblance of acacia mel to mahogany, if it would make a good substitute because "real mahogany" will be hitting the cites list at some point in time.

[@djredhareaus38]

theirs heaps of banksia where i live i might have to chop some down

[@nothingsworking]

I would still love to get a boring but nice bookmatched flame maple for a top :\ (dyed purple for a telly) any good onlie sources that ships to the EU?

[@pops71]

I believe the acacia black wood is related to Hawaiian koa

[@devilononeshoulder]

got any links to the guitars he made with this wood?

[@justinbolth132]

"We don't have this much...wow...". Funny.

[@musicbypetegonzales4814]

Question, if I find some thin wood that has dimensions that would work for multi laminated necks but the thin strips 1/4" are warped? Can the wood still be used if sandwiched between thicker straight wood or will the thin wood still cause the assembly to warp over time?

[@musicbypetegonzales4814]

Too cool!

[@emceeboogieboots1608]

Some streets in the UK were paved with Jarrah I believe, sourced from WA

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

serious? That is both really cool and very sad :( B

[@emceeboogieboots1608]

@@CrimsonCustomGuitars It even showed up in a Sherlock Holmes story. "Right now we’re on a macadam road, as you can clearly hear from the distinctive crunching from beneath our wheels. A few moments ago we were on a road covered with, if I am not mistaken, Jarrah wooden blocks from our antipodean colonies. Jarrah is an Aboriginal name for Eucalyptus marginata. This hardwood has a density ten times that of the Swedish deal that covers some of our other streets. The sound of a cab’s wheels on a Jarrah road makes a particular sound and, by estimating the speed of our horse, the number of turns it takes and the sound from the road, I can work out our approximate location even in total darkness, give or take five yards" Apparently the Swedish deal blocks soaked up horse urine and squirted it out under heavy traffic. The Jarrah was for the upper class areas.

[@sserddab]

These are great vids , thanks.

[@2460speedy]

Theres a timber called red cyrus in northern australia. It is stunning. Something like Mulga only better.

[@CrimsonCustomGuitars]

You guys get all the best woods! B

[@Capt1Cuddles]

I think you may have gotten the website wrong . Regardless , gorgeous wood

[@BRRRwm]

Hi, I have a question for you. I bought a kit guitar from ebay and I want to tint the entire neck and fret board black. It is mahogany with a rosewood fretboard. I am using trans-tint brand black tint. Is this going to be a bad idea or can I do it without issues. Thanks!

[@oneinchsidehop]

I been told that Blackwoods/Acacia are carcinogenic, as are some of the other woods in Australia, and the dust is quite dangerous. I hope you or Andrew can help either dispel the myths or explain how to use it safely. Beyond that the wood is absolutely stunning.

[@simonderycke7545]

I was wondering about this too, in other woods like 'Iroko' (west-african) and other 'regular' woods. How unsafe is it to be working in a 'wood-dusted' environment all weekend, scraping, filing and inhaling?

[@ingwiefreak]

oneinchsidehop im pretty sure your right,not good to breath in.

[@public138]

Yes and if you are in the US, west coast www.outbackhardwoods.com/ has a very good selection of Australian hardwood. They bill themselves as flooring, but I can say I have gotten piles of very resonate and sexy wood from them in person and recommend them without reservation.

[@joshuamolina8548]

We see them here in socal, on Taylor Guitars, but as far as getting them, eBay sadly remains the best option for hobbyist.

[@FearCoreorg]

can you make a mosaic guitar out of various pieces of wood (stained, exotic, ect.) for a future video?

[@2yakka]

do you have a guitar made from some of these pieces yet?

[@DeltaOracle257]

What kind of tone does each of those types of wood give?

[@karlboman]

Looks amazing! I've a guitar being built with a queensland maple top and gidgee fretboard, check those out too :)

[@kenowens2706]

beautiful

[@kenowens2706]

They have links on the website for suppliers.

[@spacefx1340]

The reason we use those common woods is because they cheap and solid for building guitars, main point is their cheap, but still some people rip us off.

[@gregmartin1757]

Awesome wood porn!! Blackwood is awesome to use on guitars.i have used it quite a few times.have not tried any of the other species show but know I feel I have too. Thanks.

[@MrMuncieman]

I went to the wood store to buy some mahogany and when I got home I noticed the ticket said Sapele Mahogany is this the same quality as regular Mahogany or should I return this and get regular mahogany, Help

[@5naxalotl]

if he really loved you he'd have sent some huon pine. you might check some prices in case there are any cheap bits lying around

[@brianterrill9587]

Myrtle Beach, Florida. aka Myrtle Beech.