How much of a gamble is Black Korina?

[ThisIsHuhWow404]

If you order a solid Black Korina body, is there any way of knowing how interesting (or boring) the figuring will be? There’s not really a "grading system" like there is for flame/quilted/birdseye maple. What if it’s ordered with a clear or transparent finish? Is that taken into account at all when the wood is selected?

Is the only way to be 100% certain you will be satisfied to get a showcase body or a unique choice top?

 

[Tretgeraet]

Is the only way to be 100% certain you will be satisfied to get a showcase body or a unique choice top?

I would say so. There's almost as much diversity in personal preference and taste, as in figuring.

A piece of Korina, that is aestheticly pleasing for one, could be boring for another and a piece that is exciting for that other could look ugly for the first one.

 

[JohnnyHardtail]

Good question. It seems like you can ask for white korina as an off-menu option. I’m always curious but unsure exactly how it would turn out, and whether there are any differences in wood properties such as density, elastic modulus etc.

I might be interested in heavier weight Korina for use in a chambered body. I prefer bright, and I don’t want it to sound “dead as mahogany”

 

[Hodgo]

I don’t think it’s official but it feels like custom orders tend to get pretty consistently high quality wood picks and the uggos end up in the showcase.

 

[Thin Crust]

I just scored a Black Korina Regal. It’s a chambered BK core, carved BK top with Ivoroid binding and a tobacco burst. It really wasn’t my first body choice for a Humbucker guitar, but every time I look at it I like it more. Neck will be a Vortex in rosewood, with specified rosewood on the fretboard. This too will have ivoroid binding. My wife bought the body as an early Christmas gift. I’ll get photos up once everything arrives.

 

[rockandroller]

...
Is the only way to be 100% certain you will be satisfied to get a showcase body or a unique choice top?

I would say yes... Limba can have a lot of variability in the grain and color from one end of a board to the other

 

[teleme01]

I don’t think it’s official but it feels like custom orders tend to get pretty consistently high quality wood picks and the uggos end up in the showcase.

Ditto... I have never been disappointed, I may be with the garage sale, but I will bet I am still overwhelmed

 

[Schneidas]

Let me tell you a personal story, although it's not Warmoth related. I had this urge to get a white Korina body plus white Korina neck and later have a painter paint it in the traditional yellowish/clear color.
At the time, I ordered it from Musikraft, which said they had some killer pieces.
When I received the pieces, the neck was indeed killer looking. But the body was the ugliest piece of wood I had ever seen - at least for my aesthetics.
Living in Europe I had paid quite a bit for those pieces, especially with shipping and import duties.
So I had to find another way with finishing to make them look good to me. Took a big gamble, found a good painter/finisher in the US and and shipped them off to him. Thank god he turned the body around and now it's my favorite looking guitar.
But it started off as a the ugliest ugly duckling ever!!
(The picture is before the finish, just so you can see how ugly Korina can look)

 

[Rick]

I went to the showcase ... I got a hollowbody korina tele that is stunning, both back and front with beautiful streaking caused by the interaction of worms with the wood, and I'll never part with it. Another way is to use a lam top. You want guarantees right? Then best is by the pictures.