Every piece of wood that leaves our Maleny workshop has been chosen by hand, quarter-sawn for stability, and air-dried for a minimum of two years — because the character of an instrument is written into the timber long before it reaches the luthier’s bench.
Australian Guitar Timbers works with a deliberately curated range of Australian and pacific tonewoods, chosen for their acoustic qualities, workability, and the stories they carry.
Our species list spans iconic Australian hardwoods like Tasmanian blackwood, Queensland red cedar, Queensland maple and bunya pine, through to highly figured specialty timbers such as flame she-oak, camphor laurel, and purple gidgee.
Most of our logs are salvaged, locally felled, or sourced through responsible forestry partners — a quiet but non-negotiable standard we’ve held since day one.
Below, David has shared a short guide to each species in our range: What it sounds like, how it behaves under the tool, and where it earns its keep in a build.
If you can’t see the cut, figure, or dimensions you’re chasing, get in touch — chances are something is quietly curing on the racks.
Species Guide
Contents
African mahogany
Khaya ivorensis
African mahogany has all the characteristics of a great tonewood. Its weight and strength allow for well defined ranges of tone as well as strong volume.
It works easily and displays a beautiful figure.
It comes in everything from straight-grained to flamed, quilted, curly and mottled.
African mahogany has great musical properties with a warm and full tone and good sustain.
Best for
Backs
Sides
Necks
Solid bodies
Blackwood
Acacia melanoxion
The looks and sound of blackwood guitars are among the best that can be produced in a classical guitar.
Blackwood produces an outstanding warm, mellow and well balanced tone and is a highly valued tonewood.
The grain varies quite a bit between trees, but the sonorous properties are very consistent and always top of the line.
One of the finest choices for backs and sides and necks.
Best for
Backs and sides
Necks
Archtop back and side sets
Bunya pine
Araucaria bidwillii
Bunya pine has a fine, even texture and a straight, tight grain with faint growth rings making it ideal for soundboards.
Bunya soundboards have a direct, strong, earthy and evocative tone with more midrange than spruce.
Bunya has enough flexibility to receive and amplify the vibrations of the guitar strings.
Its colour is similar to sitka spruce, sometimes with slight pinkish tinges.
Best for
Acoustic soundboards
Archtop soundboards
Camphor laurel
Cinnamomum camphora
Camphor laurel has excellent working qualities.
It has stunning, contrasting curly grain and can be a highly figured timber with beautiful grain pattern.
The timber has a pleasant aroma and a nice crisp sound.
Camphor is stable, moderate in weight, has a good tap tone and displays a variety of figure making it an ideal tonewood, making it a great tonewood for beginners.
Best for
Backs and sides
Caps and tops
Electric solid bodies
Flame she-oak
Casuarina
Flame she-oak is a spectacular, rare Australian tonewood prized for its fiery reddish-orange hues and shimmering, lace-like figure.
Denser than most oaks, it offers a crisp, balanced acoustic response with shimmering highs.
Its striking visual depth and structural stability make it ideal for fingerboards.
Best for
Fretboards
Headstock veneers
Bridges
Huon pine
Lagarostrobos franklinii
Huon pine is a slow-growing ancient timber with a beautiful golden yellow hue and a fine grain.
It is softer and heavier than spruce, due to its high oil content that ensures lifetime durability.
Tonally, it delivers a warm, clear, and resonant voice, making it a sought-after choice for premium soundboards.
Best for
Soundboards
Archtop soundboards
Specialty builds
New Guinea rosewood
Pterocarpus indicus
New Guinea rosewood is easy to work with and has a really nice tap tone, although it is an underused timber.
Its colour ranges from a yellow, golden brown to a dark red.
The grain is even and some select logs have a bee’s-wing mottle figure which is spectacular.
It is a stable wood, classified as a moderate steam-bending wood.
New Guinea rosewood is used for necks and is a great backs and sides wood.
Acoustically, it has a very bright ping when tapped.
It is generally a great tonewood.
Best for
Backs and sides
Necks
Northern silky oak
Cardwellier sublimis
The northern silky oak has beautiful, lustrous grain with big, silver medullary rays that create a stunning lace pattern.
Lighter and more resonant than its southern relatives, it offers a warm, woody tone with excellent projection.
It is a dream to work with and a classic choice for distinctive acoustic builds.
It is native to northern Australia where it is called silky oak. In the United States it is called lacewood.
Best for
Backs and sides
Headstock veneers
Caps and tops
Purple gidgee
Acacia camnagei
Purple gidgee is one of the world’s densest and hardest timbers, offering incredible structural integrity and a glass-like finish.
Its deep chocolate tones are infused with striking purple hues and a tight, shimmering grain.
Tonally, it provides immense sustain and clarity, making it a premier choice for fingerboards and bridges.
Best for
Bridges
Fretboards
Fingerboards
Queensland red cedar
Toona ciliata
While spruce is the more traditional wood for soundboards, the use of cedar has become increasingly popular.
Cedar is lighter, softer, and a little more stable than spruce and imparts a beautiful tone, sweeter than spruce making it a favourite with classical players.
Cedar soundboards are also less susceptible to variations in humidity than spruce.
Cedar soundboards provide crispness, volume, depth, and responsiveness.
Best for
Acoustic soundboards
Classical soundboards
Archtop soundboards
Queensland maple
Flindersia breyleyana
Queensland maple is a highly popular and sought after Australian tonewood.
It is light, strong, has a fabulous tone producing strong mid tones and is striking to look at.
Golden in colour with light brown features. It has a straight and wavy grain with frequent fiddleback features.
Queensland maple is ideal for backs and sides, solid bodies and necks. It is used often for necks and neck and tail blocks because of its stability and lower density than other hardwoods.
Quilted maple has a beautiful wavy and satiny grain, suitable for headstock veneers.
Best for
Backs and sides
Necks
Solid bodies
Headstock veneers
Blocks
River oak
Casuarina cunninghamiana
River oak features a tight, subtle grain with the signature medullary rays characteristic of Australian oaks.
Its pale-to-medium brown heartwood offers a clean, refined aesthetic.
More dense and durable than many other native species, it provides a bright, articulate tone and exceptional stability for guitar backs and sides.
River oak is a dense, hard, straight grained timber ideal for fretboards.
Best for
Fretboards
Fingerboards
Swamp cypress
Taxodium distichum
A distinctive softwood with a light yellowish-brown colour and contains high levels of natural oils, which gives the timber exceptional durability and resistance properties.
Often featuring a straight, fine grain with warm honey tones, it offers a played-in responsiveness similar to traditional cedar but with added clarity.
It is exceptionally stable and naturally resistant to decay.
Swamp cypress is a standout choice for solid bodies.
Best for
Solid bodies
Caps and tops
Tasmanian myrtyle
Nothofagus cunninghamii
Tasmanian myrtle is an excellent tonewood.
It has a fine, even grain, is pinkish in hue and has a warm sound.
Its fine even texture and frequent flame figuring provide a stunning aesthetic.
Tonally, it sits between mahogany and rosewood, offering a clear, bright top end with warm, focused mids.
Best for
Backs and sides
Archtop back and side sets
Specialty builds
