An African tone wood closely related to Mahogany, Sapele is similar in both look and sound. It produces a focused sound. For the player who values a dry, crunchy, punchy sound, mahogany gets the nod over rosewood’s rum-jug bass and metallic overtones. Almost every Martin Ukulele was an all mahogany body. As a guitar top, dense mahogany has a solid, punchy tone with low overtone content and good high-end response. Mahogany sound "has some bark left on the tree"; sapele is more refined. Sapele is visually and tonally similar to mahogany, which means it will give you a rich, warm tone without being overly bright. Mahogany back and sides often emphasize bass and treble, with more overtone coloration and a “woody” sound (as opposed to the more metallic sound of, say, rosewood back and sides). We use laminated sapele on the top, back and sides of our entry level Honu models. Sapele. Glossary of Terms. Early on it became the ukulele sound. Sapele is a very popular tonewood used primarily on entry level ukuleles. It is much less dense than other hard woods like rosewood and most exotic dark woods, and more dense than softwoods like spruce and cedar. Also — and mind you, this is MY terminology, struggling to put what I hear into words, therefore subject to dispute just on the basis of the words I choose — mahogany, especially new mahogany, is harsh to the point of making my nerves frazzle. Sapele. Fundamental vs. Overtones A fundamental tone is the initial sound heard when you pick or pluck a note (and which decays at varying rates depending on the sustain); the overtones are complex harmonic layers that can make the note swell after the fundamental is initiated. Sapele trees are protected in such a way as to prevent over-harvesting which makes this a relatively sustainable wood that is being harvested responsibly. Mahogany is a hard wood but in the middle of the spectrum. 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