Sinker Mahogany Series

For decades and decades mahogany has produced some of the finest sounding guitars. This tonewood often described as having a fundamental tone means it produces a well- rounded bass, sparkling treble and powerful mid-range. Mahogany is perfectly suited for almost any musical style – flatpickers and fingerpickers choose mahogany back & sides with an Adriondack top for immediacy of the sound and directness of the tone.

Here at Thompson guitars we use several types of Mahogany: Honduran, Sinker and Cuban Mahogany

Our standard mahogany is Honduran Mahogany, known for its’ balance, volume and articulation of tone. It is clear, direct and powerful.

Cuban Mahogany is a rich looking wood that can have some beautiful striping and wave to the grain like the set below. Because most Cuban is denser and harder than Honduran Mahogany, guitars with Cuban back & sides tend to have a tonal range approaching that of Rosewood instruments. Cuban mahogany guitars still have the clarity and high-end, typical of Honduran, but also bring in more overtones and warmth to the bass and mid-range notes.

We recently have purchased a few exceptional sets of Sinker Mahogany. These sets are river salvaged sinker genuine Belizean Mahogany. The old growth mahogany trees were cut down during the 19^th century when the British used Belize rivers as their main source of transportation and from time to time some of the logs sank into the tributaries. Using small boats and pulleys and local labor the trees were pulled from the water, milled and kiln dried in Belize. We recently ordered (7) beautiful Sinker sets and as you can see by the photos the grain is so distinctive and looks like the finest old mahogany used to make furniture in the 1800’s. We will be taking these sets and making several special guitars for our Sinker Series.

These sets of old growth mahogany were under water for so long that some mineral content penetrated the wood. This changes the Mahogany to become slightly heavier and harder. Some of the tonal descriptions for Cuban mahogany may be applied to the Sinker Mahogany. The complexity and overtones for sinker mahogany may contribute to a guitar with wonderful clarity with added warmth and fullness as well.

Out of the (7) sets of sinker we know for sure one Dreadnought with be adorned with a beautiful shell herringbone top trim – made out of agoya shell – this special herringbone appointment will provide a one of a kind look that you don’t see often in the marketplace and our first here at Thompson. We will also combine a sinker set with a Tunnel 13 Redwood top and a classic abalone rosette.