Butternut...

[Pelagaard]

Has anyone built and/or played guitar or (ideally for my purposes) a bass made from butternut?  My local Woodcraft has several slabs that could easily be made into a body for $90/slab.

Everything I've been able to find says its very similar to walnut, but I'm hoping someone here might have some insights.

 

[Wyliee]

I've played a couple basses from a regional builder.  (Forgot his name and he's since shut down.)

I recall liking it a lot.  Reasonable weight and not ugly.  It has always been on my 'to research further' list.

 

[bagman67]

http://americanwoodworker.com/blogs/tips/archive/2010/07/24/butternut.aspx


Lots of handy info there.

 

[Pelagaard]

The only real downside I've come across is its as soft as pine.

 

[ZionWarmoth]

It looks like Pine but i never have seen one close enough, here a pic

 

[SkuttleFunk]

from a carving aspect I liked Butternut. from a longevity aspect I thought it was too soft to hold screws and/or sharp edge details well

my testing lead me to choose not to offer it as a body wood choice, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't work for your personal building vision

all the best,

R

 

[lkja8uatt33]

Recently, studies have been conducted concerning the effacacy of using Butternut for guitar bodies.

Sadly, these studies have universally shown that the bread simply is not rigid enough to stand up to the stresses made by a fully strung neck.
Subsequent tests were made in wich the bread was thoroughly toasted. The bodies made from these toasted loaves were no more able to produce a quality instrument than the non-toasted bread.

Sorry.