Many People mistake Korina for
Koa... They are definitely not the same ! Koa comes from
Hawaii and Korina comes from Africa. Koa has a little more red in it than
Korina also Korina wood is usually a little lighter in weight.
Tonally, most people would agree
that Korina wins on an electric guitar & Koa wins on an acoustic. The problem
with that theory is, there are so few Korina Acoustic Guitars that this writer
thinks it would be hard to make that judgment. By Jan of 2008, I plan to build
several Korina Acoustic guitars, simply to see what the difference really is. In
my entire career I don't think I have ever encountered a Korina acoustic guitar
of any kind. So if any brave souls wish to get involved in my little Korina
Acoustic discovery project, Please let me know. Theoretically,
Korina should sound great! I have some moving and restructuring plans for
2006 & 2007 so I am putting off this project for a little while. As I said above
if any one wants to get involved by ordering one of the prototypes, I will of
course give the guitar to them at a greatly reduced price.
White Korina or Limba The lighter variety of Korina is what Gibson, Dean & Hamer typically use on
all their Korina models. This is a Custom Made Guitar made from White Korina
This is a custom body that I made for a newer PRS guitar,
It Looks Better than Original. It Sounds Better than the Original. It Weighs Less than the Original.
My shop is always looking to improve on stock instruments. There is virtually nothing that can't be made better in some way.
Check out Gary's excellent line of instruments. Gary Jacobs uses all the same high quality components as JET,
Quicksilver,Centurion &
Abstract
Solid Korina
Quicksilver Bodies. These guitars are some the best sounding & most tonal guitars you will ever
play Please take 5 minutes and read about the different concept of construction of
the Quicksilver
Koa Korina/Limba Korina is sometimes confused with Koa,These are two different species. Koa only grows in Hawaii Sometimes it can be flamed the color is a reddish brown. Korina is darker brown or whiteI have never seen it flamed. Custom Bodies
Korina Wood, is the wood that Gibson used in the late 50's to make some of their finest
and most resonant guitars.
These were the original "Flying V", "The Moderne", The "Futura" and the
original "Explorer".
Jimmy Wallace's early 1980 Les Paul 59 reissue's
have Korina Wood backs. These Guitars sell today for $30.000.00. The only real
difference is the Korina
Today these guitars are selling in the $24,000.00 range. The original
"Flying V's" and "Explorers" are bringing prices in excess of $200,000.00.
So it's a fair statement to make that Korina Wood Gibson's are also some of
Gibson's most valuable guitars.
Korina is legendary as a tone wood, It is not overly expensive but it is rare.
My theory on it's rarity is there aren't many lumber importers bringing it in to
the country because there is simply not enough other uses for it. The guitar business is actually minuscule in the grand scheme of things. For
most similar applications mahogany works almost as well. Mahogany is extremely
plentiful readily available anywhere and inexpensive.
There are two varieties, black Limba and white Limba. The Dean's in this photo are all white.
These are front shots of the two guitars above.
Both Fabricated in My Shop
The Abstract EXP model above are the same guitar, The top one has been
wiped with a wet towel. Wetting it down gives an example of what a clear coat of finish will look
like.
Gibson Custom Shop Guitar, Ltd Edition 10 made, African Korina Wood Gold Hardware, Black Binding, Rosewood Board, & Gibson's usual plastic inlays
yechhh
Original Price in 1995 $8,000.00 (Ouch) Overpriced to be sure, Jim Triggs builds a
much better single cut guitar for much less money
Korina is legendary as a tone wood. It is not overly
expensive but it is rare. My theory on it's rarity is there aren't many lumber
importers bringing it in to the country because there is simply not enough other
uses for it. I believe it is the absolute best wood to make a guitar from.
The guitar business is actually minuscule in the grand scheme
of things. For most similar applications Mahogany works just as well. Mahogany
is extremely plentiful readily available and very inexpensive.
For this reason very few companies offer it as a standard
option. As of this writing I only know of several companies offering it. These
companies are Gledura,
Gary Jacobs,
JET ,
Pagan and of course myself .
Dean &
Hamer have discontinued it's use. So a very good
investment would be one of those.
Ed Roman 04/17/00
This is a left-handed Korina Pearlcaster made in my shop
Jaros Guitars
Custom Made 7 String
(I will be adding more examples to this Gallery as I complete them)
I am now offering the LSR EB-1 with a Korina or Koa back also. I believe it to be one of the best instruments I have ever built click here
to see it.
