Koa Calling

[C55V8]

Koa owners, how about on the bass department? Where does it fall or how would you describe it?

[Strumming Fool]

As I said in a previous post - the power of mahogany, but not as dry....

[milo_otis]

As I said in a previous post - the power of mahogany, but not as dry....

+1

It could also be described as looser.

[Jersey tuning]

The bass end will be enhanced over the years as the guitar opens up.  So as long as one is satisfied at day 1,  it will only get better over time.

[Earl]

I have one of those koa / spruce GS's from 2006, bought used.  It sang to me starting with the first chord, and I took it home an hour later.  It is my best guitar, period.  You would enjoy it.  Mine is NOT for sale, and will be the last guitar left in the estate when that day comes.

I also got my 424 LTD all-koa GA from Martin Music, and the transaction went superbly.  Highly recommended folks.

[michaelw]

don't know if this has been posted yet, but this is kind of interesting -
solid koa top TSBT1
http://www.rainbowguitars.com/guitar/taylor/bt1-koa-taylor-swift-limited-edition-baby-taylor/bt1koa/to

[michaelw]

I have one of those koa / spruce GS's from 2006 ...

the koa used on the ones that i've seen was extremely highly figured -
if presentation grade is considered 5A, then i'd guess this is about a 4A+, or so

uh, um, er ...

i guess the linked pic is a little ...




B-I-G
sorry 'bout that

[mgap]

How can one discern between the different grades of Koa.  To my untrained eye the picture above is a 5A, that is to say I think it is beautiful.  I am not sure what criteria you use to grade the koa. 

I have seen the Koa on the 200 series and of coarse it has no figuring and it would be what grade?  Then the Koa series has a beautiful grade, yet they don't tell you the grade online. http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/k66e

The 500 series often has limited models made from Koa, and they a little nicer than the 200 series, but not as nice as the Koa series. 

Then there is the tone side of the equation. If all aspects of the guitar were equal with the only difference being the grade of wood, would the higher grade of Koa sound better?

[Geez]

I was never told the "grade" of Koa that is used on the "K" series and I've seen many that I liked and a few that were not as appealing to the eye. When first saw MY K24...I had no choice but to buy it. I had also played a K24 & K26 and while I always loved the sound, none of them yelled "BUY ME"...then MINE showed up.

I did ask a question or 2 about the Koa grades at a road show last year, and never got an answer that I fully understood.   

[Strumming Fool]

How can one discern between the different grades of Koa.  To my untrained eye the picture above is a 5A, that is to say I think it is beautiful.  I am not sure what criteria you use to grade the koa. 

I have seen the Koa on the 200 series and of coarse it has no figuring and it would be what grade?  Then the Koa series has a beautiful grade, yet they don't tell you the grade online. http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/k66e

The 500 series often has limited models made from Koa, and they a little nicer than the 200 series, but not as nice as the Koa series. 

Then there is the tone side of the equation. If all aspects of the guitar were equal with the only difference being the grade of wood, would the higher grade of Koa sound better?

I agree that it becomes more difficult to establish a standard for the higher grades of koa, because of the variation in appearance from one specimen to another. My previous guitar,  a Larrivee OM10K was considered to have the highest grade koa due to its intense flame evenly distributed over the surface. However, the overall color was rather pale, and the koa had very little variation. My current koa guitar, a 1995 GA-KS has that beautiful amber coloring and grain and what I like to call "phantom flame", which can be seen at different places at different angles. It's quite pretty, but I imagine that some might feel that this wouldn't be AAA due to the lack of "fixed" flame.

In any case, this guitar sounds like a big old Martin with extra "Taylor brilliance" so I wouldn't trade it for anything else, regardless of the grade of koa.

[michaelw]

How can one discern between the different grades of Koa.  To my untrained eye the picture above is a 5A, that is to say I think it is beautiful.  I am not sure what criteria you use to grade the koa. 

I have seen the Koa on the 200 series and of coarse it has no figuring and it would be what grade?  Then the Koa series has a beautiful grade, yet they don't tell you the grade online. http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/k66e

The 500 series often has limited models made from Koa, and they a little nicer than the 200 series, but not as nice as the Koa series. 

Then there is the tone side of the equation. If all aspects of the guitar were equal with the only difference being the grade of wood, would the higher grade of Koa sound better?

my guess would be that, provided the wood is stable & suited for & considered "instrument-grade"
that it is likely based more on aesthetics, rather than acoustic properties, as the koa guitars i've
seen, played & owned, to me there was no direct correlation on the aesthetics of the wood -
i've played some really pretty "so-so" sounding koas & some plain-jane looking ones that sounded & vice-versa

to my ear, the CV braced models with bone nut & saddle i've played seemed to be consistently "one-tier higher"
than a non-CV model with Tusq, with neither of the models having much play time & one year difference in age

custom options for koa grade are A, AA & master, with B grade being used on 300/400 LTDs -
i imagine the degree of figuring & grading would depend on the stock on-hand & that one
batch graded AA could change, based on the aesthetics of the sets from the next log received

sometimes they're reserved for customs or used on LTDs, such as the 06 GS koas

AA koa
http://www.wildwoodguitars.com/products/1101284125.php?CategoryID=122&n=3

98 PS14c(e)


98 k20c (standard ?) - again a little B-I-G (sorry )


i've seen pics of 214ce koa where the veneer had sharper, tighter more defined "curl" or flame than some
that  were graded AA & i've seen some standard koa models that seemed to be upgraded, but no AA upcharge -
sometimes, it may be nothing more than just the "luck of the draw"

[Ciarre]

Thanks for the gas, everyone.

[michaelw]

Thanks for the gas, everyone.

free with every fill-up -
more smiles per mile

[Strumming Fool]

Here's some more - my 1995 GA-KS:





I personally think that this is beautiful even if it may not be conventionally considered "non-AA" koa .

[michaelw]

i think i see a face in there ...
kinda mesmerizing