If by "genuine mahogany" you mean the stuff (Honduran) Gibson, and many other companies used back in the day, vs. other types of mahogany (African, Fiji, etc)? The Basics: African Mahogany is the general term for a few species of wood, but the two most commonly sourced are Khaya ivorensis and Khaya senegalensis. One way to distinguish the two – African mahogany has no obvious smell. From what I've researched it's considered a lighter-weight alternative to mahogany. Scientific Name: Aucoumea klaineana. Reply. Okoume has not generally been used for external joinery, as it is not very durable. What are your thoughts on a Tenor POC top with Birdseye maple b/s. Average Dried Weight: 27 lbs/ft 3 (430 kg/m 3) Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC):.35, .43. The two can appear similar. Despite sharing a common name with Genuine Mahogany, African Mahogany is a somewhat dissimilar wood. The only real difference is their overall, respective densities, due to their mineral content, as each species is grown in different types of soil, which contains different types of minerals. It seems that "Okoume" is becoming very popular in newer guitars all of a sudden. jrbarilla. However, I've also found that it's used in Chinese made Gibson knock offs because it's cheaper and more abundant. Common Name(s): Okoume, Gabon. African Mahogany doors African Mahogany. It would be either African mahogany (khaya ivorensis) or more likely sapele mahogany (entandrophragma cylindricum). Within its native range, the obeche tree is … Sapele has a nice aroma, so smell the inside of the guitar at various times of the day depending on hot/cold/dry/humid. Okoume is like a really lightweight mahogany, maybe between mahogany and cedar. We’ve sold plenty of ukes with that wood without anyone having issues worth allergic reactions. Theses woods are in order of cost from least to most: Okoume, Tiama (also known as Edinam), Sapele, African Mahogany (has several names), and Utile (Sipo). **Okoume (Aucoumea Klaineana) Akoume ... African Padauk is almost redundant since the other Padauk from the Andaman Islands, ... Pernamabuco neck in electric guitar vs. mahogany: a) The pernambuco neck guitar was by at least 30% louder than the mahogany neck guitar. This hardwood species is native to west-central Africa, especially Gabon, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Congo. It costs the same as meranti. Obeche, also known as African maple and Abachi, is the wood of the obeche tree (Triplochiton scleroxylon). Distribution: Central Africa (primarily Gabon) Tree Size: 100-130 ft (30-40 m) tall, 3-6 ft (1-1.8 m) trunk diameter. July 29, 2016 at 11:08 pm. There are five woods from African considered as ‘Redwoods’ (Mahoganies or Mahogany looking and substitutes).