Carvin.com - Custom Shop Color and Wood Guide


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Alder (Northwest USA)
Alder is the standard body wood on many Carvin solid body guitars and basses. Due to its relatively light weight, this wood is very resonant with upper midrange definition. Alder is a classic tone wood and has been present in solid body electric guitars from the beginning. Alder has a medium light color, slightly darker than maple and swamp ash.

Hard Rock Maple (Northeast USA)
We use premium Eastern hard rock maple for our necks because of its time proven strength and stability. As a body wood, hard rock maple being very heavy and dense, delivers a bright sustaining tone. Maple has a wonderful light grain that looks great with all of our translucent finishes.

Genuine Mahogany (Honduras)
Mahogany is standard on most Carvin carved top guitars, and has an inherent warm quality with accentuated low-midrange. Mahogany is also considered to be a classic tone wood. It is denser and heavier than Alder, but lighter than Maple. Mahogany along with our flamed or quilted maple tops, gives great sustain and warmth. Honduras Mahogany should not be confused with less expensive Philippine and African Sapele. Honduras Mahogany is reddish brown in color and looks great with all colors.

Swamp Ash (Southern USA)
This vintage body wood comes from Southern swamps. The portion of the tree that is suitable for high quality lightweight Swamp Ash, is actually submerged underwater for years which yields a porous lightweight wood. This wood delivers slightly less midrange with full low-end and nice singing highs. Swamp Ash is light in color with rich grain patterns and matches the color of our Eastern Hard Rock Maple necks looks great with translucent finishes.

Black Walnut (Eastern USA)
Eastern Black Walnut is a dense medium hard wood that is slightly heavier than Mahogany. Its tonal quality is warm with a growling low end and a bright top end, especially when used for bass it will really cut through in the mix. Black walnut has medium dark beautiful grain patterns and looks great with gloss or satin finishes.

Koa (Hawaiian Islands)
Koa is an exotic medium weight wood grown exclusively in the Hawaiian Islands. It was used by ancient Hawaiians to build canoes and surfboards. Koa has warmth and sustain similar to Mahogany and also possesses the clear open tone of Alder. Koa looks wonderful whether you choose a tung oiled, satin or gloss finish.

AAAA Flamed Curly Maple (Northwest USA)
Carvin's Flamed Curly Maple tops come from the Northwest portion of the United States. It is lighter in weight than Eastern Hard Rock Maple and produces singing highs with a tight low end. Sounds wonderful over our standard Maple neck/Alder body sides or optional Genuine Mahogany.

AAAA Flamed Curly Maple (Northwest USA)
Carvin's Quilted Maple tops also come from the Northwest United States. Quilted Maple produces similar tones to the Flamed Curly Maple. The figure can vary from large cloud shapes to smaller pockets looks great with all translucent finishes and stains.

Flamed Curly Koa (Hawaiian Islands)
Flamed Curly Koa is the premium wood for building Ukuleles and high-end acoustic guitars. Whether you choose to add Flamed Curly Koa to the top of your acoustic or solid body, the tone will benefit from added sweetness and pronounced midrange. Koa looks wonderful whether you choose a tung oiled, satin or gloss finish.

Figured Claro Walnut (California)
Claro Walnut is the most sought after figured walnut on the market. A walnut top will add a unique look and a brighter tone in the upper register with a darker growling low end. The figure can vary between a flame and quilted look with variations in patterns and shades of brownish root beer colors and black.

Spalted Flamed Maple (Western Canada)
Spalted Flamed Maple is an exotic wood that comes from dying standing trees, which gives this wood it's unique old-world appearance. Tonally, it's similar to flamed maple. Looks best when finished in clear gloss, but also looks very nice with sunsetburst edges.

Burled Birdseye Maple (Western North America)
Burled Birdseye Maple is an exotic wood that comes from big leaf maple trees (Acer macrophyllum). Tonally, it's similar to flamed maple. Looks best when finished in clear gloss, but also looks very nice in satin or tung-oil. Because of its scarcity, it is available in limited quantities.

Engleman Spruce (USA) - for acoustics
Known for its pure light color and uniform grain, Engleman Spruce is well known for being one of the finest woods for Acoustic Guitar tops. It has a brighter tone than Cedar with a very nice and even low-end response.

Cedar (Canada) - for acoustics
Cedar has a very nice reddish brown color with even straight grain and comes standard on our CL40. It has been used for hundreds of years as a top wood on classical and flamenco guitars. It has a very warm tone with subdued high end when compared to spruce.

Ebony
Standard on all Carvin Custom Shop guitar & bass models. Extremely dense, hard wood, producing bright notes similar to maple. Mostly black, but can have light streaking. Requires virtually no maintenance, and lasts a very long time with normal playing. All Carvin inlays are available on ebony. Carvin doesn't not dye ebony fingerboards as some manufacturers do. White dots are standard on most models, but some have genuine abalone dots or blocks standard. Unfinished.

Rosewood
Not as dense or hard as ebony, but similar, and also produces bright, clean notes. Can vary in color from dark brown to reddish brown, and can have light streaking. Requires virtually no maintenance. All Carvin inlays are available on rosewood. White dots are standard on most models, but some have genuine abalone dots or blocks standard. Unfinished.

Maple
A hard wood, ideal for fingerboards. Tonally similar to ebony. Offers a nice, vintage look, especially on bolt-neck instruments. Black dots are standard, and mother-of-pearl diamond or abalone dot/diamond inlays are available. Requires occasional cleaning. Finished in tung-oil.

Birdseye Maple
Similar to plain maple, with attractive birdseye figuring. Offers a more elegant vintage look, especially on bolt-neck instruments. Black dots are standard, and mother-of-pearl diamond or abalone dot/diamond inlays are available. Requires occasional cleaning. Finished in tung-oil.

Flamed Maple
Attractive flamed figuring adds a distinctive, exquisite look to the instrument. Looks especially nice with flamed maple top woods. Black dots are standard, and mother-of-pearl diamond or abalone dot/diamond inlays are available. Requires occasional cleaning. Finished in tung-oil.