Rich Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 Hi everybody, Last month I bought a new Gibson Mowie Wowie, which is J-45 with Koa top, back and sides. It was made in 2006. I noticed that the top bracing, what little I can see of it, looks like it might also be made of koa wood. The back bracing looks like spruce. Would anyone know if the top bracing on the Mowie Wowies are made of koa wood? Thanks, Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodge Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 Hi Rich, I have a J-45 koa with a sitka top and the spec sheet that came with it states that the "rib species(top braces)" are flamed koa. So there is a good chance that yours are koa to. You can definately tell that the braces are a different wood than spruce. Nice guitar you have by the way=p~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted August 4, 2008 Author Share Posted August 4, 2008 Dodge, Thanks for the info. The braces are a lot darker looking than normal spruce bracing but I'd never heard of koa being used. Thanks for the compliment on the Mowie Wowie. Does your spruce top custom have a honey/cherry colored sunburst? I saw one at Mandolin Bros. a few months ago. Beautiful looking guitar. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted August 4, 2008 Author Share Posted August 4, 2008 Sorry, I didn't see your avatar. That's the one I was talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Player Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Man, how things change.... Back in my day (high school and college) Mowie Wowie had nothing to do with Koa... Yes it was a plant, but you sure as hell didn't "play" it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarstrummer Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Hi everybody' date=' Last month I bought a new Gibson Mowie Wowie, which is J-45 with Koa top, back and sides. It was made in 2006. I noticed that the top bracing, what little I can see of it, looks like it might also be made of koa wood. The back bracing looks like spruce. Would anyone know if the top bracing on the Mowie Wowies are made of koa wood? Thanks, Rich[/quote'] According to my friend at Gibson, they used Mahogany on some and Spruce on others. It depended on the stiffness of the top being used. If the brace wood is dark in color it's Mahogany. If it's light color like the top it's Sitka Spruce. The Mahogany warmed up some of the harshness of the Koa. They did that on some of the Maple top guitars as well. It takes a bit more time voicing those things but the end result is very satisfying. Not a lot of other manufactures will go to that length to make a guitar look good and sound good as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted August 5, 2008 Author Share Posted August 5, 2008 Thanks, Mike. The guitar does have a nice, warm bottom end and crisp, bell like mids and trebles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acousticat Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Man' date=' how things change.... Back in my day (high school and college) Mowie Wowie had nothing to do with Koa... Yes it was a plant, but you sure as hell didn't "play" it! [/quote'] I played with it once, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Player Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 I played with it once' date=' [/quote'] Me too... but I never inhaled?!?!?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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