What's the *best* koa top you've ever seen?

Pickie

This must've been done before, but my limited search skills can't find it, if it has!

I'm shamleslessly craving pretty guitar pics to drool over, plus I've been considering a Koa GS-Mini forever. 

This is definitely a style-over-substance question, but as Koa seems to be a particularly unique and picturesque wood, I'm curious as to what people love in a good koa top? 

I know some love the blond stripe, while some don't — then there's wild-and-curly vs. even grains, and lighter vs darker wood tones. All down to personal preference!

So, what type of Koa top floats your boat? 

I'll start off: I think the most beautiful one I've seen so far (totally open to change my mind!) is probably this one, which is the promo photo GuitarGuitar used for their competition to win a GS-Mini (in my dreams! I wonder if the winner won this actual guitar?). I love a bold blond stripe (although this one is very thin), but the curls in the grain and the warm-looking tones are just gorgeous!

Over to you... please can you share a pic or link to the best koa top you've ever seen?

malcolmkindness

I have a very beautiful Martin 00028k 1921 authentic but I don't know how to post a picture.

CountryDave

This Taylor Sambora isn’t too shabby

BigPaulie

Tannin

We don't see many Koa tops in this part of the world. I think the main reason for that is the plentiful supply of Blackwood here: it's hard to justify spending a fortune on imported Koa when there is any amount of beautiful Blackwood. 

Sadly, most of the small number of Koa tops I do see around the traps have been visually butchered by awful black sunbursts. (Taylor hang your head in shame. What an awful thing to do to a beautiful timber!) 

I fell in lust with a all-Koa Taylor a few months back. It was nothing special visually, pleasant enough and not spoiled by idiotic black paint, but not a patch on that magnificent one @CountryDave posted above. But it was a real joy to play with a lovely warmth and just enough percussive attack to keep it interesting, and I filed it away on my "must have one of these one day!" list - pretty close to the top of the list, actually. 

That one has since sold and I've seen one or two others advertised around and about but the doubts have got me. What if that particular guitar was the gem, not that model of all-Koa Taylor? I'm thinking now that I can't simply order one, I  need to wait until someone has got one in stock and go and play the exact one I'm going to buy. Or not buy if it doesn't thrill me the way the first one did. (Unless I get as lucky as @SixStringSage ;and see the first one second-hand.) 

As for @Pickie's example ... well no. Lovely looking bit of timber, but it looks like a crazy choice for a top. Taylor know  far more about making guitars than I do, but the thought of grain patterns like that on the one part of the guitar which has more structural stress on it than any other fills me with dread. (I do note that they have at least got some straight grain near the centre, that is a mercy.) I love that timber, yes, but I'd want to see it on a back where the stresses are far lower and you can get away with any bit of timber cut any way (within reason).  

Love to see more pictures in this thread. To that end, @malcolmkindness if you want to, email me a picture and I'll post it up here. Shoot me a PM and I'll reply with my email. 

SixStringSage

Tannin said:

 I  need to wait until someone has got one in stock and go and play the exact one I'm going to buy. Or not buy if it doesn't thrill me the way the first one did. (Unless I get as lucky as @SixStringSage ;and see the first one second-hand.) 

Ah then I may have some encouraging news for you! I checked with the store and they had no record of my guitar's serial number as being sold last year, meaning it almost certainly isn't the same guitar that I fell in love with originally. That's encouraging because it means there were two that were equally magnificent, and the same could be true with these Taylors

Pickie

Fab additions to the thread! Would love to see more too, please!

Tannin said:

Sadly, most of the small number of Koa tops I do see around the traps have been visually butchered by awful black sunbursts. (Taylor hang your head in shame. What an awful thing to do to a beautiful timber!)

100% agree, I can't understand the appeal of the Mini-e Koa Plus line, for example! But each to their own I suppose, and tastes change... the first guitar I fell in love with as a teen was a sunburst

Tannin said:

As for @Pickie's example ... well no. Lovely looking bit of timber, but it looks like a crazy choice for a top. Taylor know  far more about making guitars than I do, but the thought of grain patterns like that on the one part of the guitar which has more structural stress on it than any other fills me with dread. (I do note that they have at least got some straight grain near the centre, that is a mercy.) I love that timber, yes, but I'd want to see it on a back where the stresses are far lower and you can get away with any bit of timber cut any way (within reason). 

Ah, interesting! This is not something I've considered before. 

There's so much variety and given I'm in the market but am also very green in this game — what would you look out for, @Tannin? 

I know the ideal is to go for how it plays rather than looks but... well... you have to narrow the field somehow, and a beautiful top that makes me want to pick it up is pretty key for my motivation. Visually, I'm dreaming of one with a big bold strap of sapwood in the centre, and thought I'd read something about curly grains giving better sustain or something? But is there any kind of grain pattern you'd specifically avoid for structural or tonal reasons?

Tannin

Cheers @Pickie - well, on balance, no. That Taylor top looks alarming but I'm quite certain that the Taylor people know what they are doing. I daresay you could buy it and own it for years without an issue.  It just looks scary. If I remember correctly, that model has a solid top - if it was laminated, of course, it could have any grain at all without structural problems. 

Cole Clark make some alarming-looking tops too. Here is a mild example - I've seen others much more pronounced.



This is my old 12-string, which I bought new in 2020 and sold in 2022. The top is Bunya Pine, back and sides Blackwood. 

In general, the conventional wisdom is that grain pattern makes little or no difference to tone. Plain maple, for example, will sound the same as a spectacular piece of flamed maple. But, of course, we all love pretty timber. Later on I'll see if I can't dig out a shot of my Maton WA May (the guitar I traded the 12-string on, as it happens). It has a Sitka Spruce top but I think you will enjoy the lovely flamed Blackwood back. 

Oh, and @malcolmkindness has my email now: when he wakes up he will send me pictures of his Koa Martin, which I'll post in this thread.

Tannin

As promised, pictures of @malcolmkindness' beautiful Martin 000-28k 1921 Authentic. 




   

Now that is a wow! from me. 

guitarjack66

I must be in a small minority when I say that I'm no fan of how these guitars look. Inconspicuousness and pragmatism all the way for me. 

Tannin

Fair enough. Bear it in mind that a good Koa top can sound utterly divine. Ditto Blackwood (which should be no surprise as they are very similar species). Probably a good mahogany or mahoganyoid top is nice too but I'm yet to experience one of those. (I have played some pretty awful ones.)

malcolmkindness

guitarjack66 said:

I must be in a small minority when I say that I'm no fan of how these guitars look. Inconspicuousness and pragmatism all the way for me. 

I bought this guitar because it was a 000 and sounded wonderful,  I traded in a Collings 0002h against it. The fact that it looks beautiful is secondary.

Kurtis

Tannin said:

As promised, pictures of @malcolmkindness' beautiful Martin 000-28k 1921 Authentic. 




   

Now that is a wow! from me. 

Is the pickgaurd slightly unusual? 

Tannin

Kurtis said: Is the pickgaurd slightly unusual? 

Indeed yes. In fact in that location it isn't a "pickguard", it's a "fingerrestguard".

It offers little protection for the top and the edge of the soundhole against clumsy strummers, but is perfectly located for fingerpicking players who drop one or two fingers onto the top to aid precision. 

As a fingerpicker, I require the second type to avoid wearing through the finish on the tops of my guitars and wish is was more common. 

Kurtis

Tannin said:

Kurtis said: Is the pickgaurd slightly unusual? 

Indeed yes. In fact in that location it isn't a "pickguard", it's a "fingerrestguard".

It offers little protection for the top and the edge of the soundhole against clumsy strummers, but is perfectly located for fingerpicking players who drop one or two fingers onto the top to aid precision. 

As a fingerpicker, I require the second type to avoid wearing through the finish on the tops of my guitars and wish is was more common. 

Ah, interesting. I'd never heard of that. 

malcolmkindness

This is a faithful copy of a guitar from 1921, I don't think it was intended for strumming. The Martin Ditson guitars from the 20's have a similarly placed pickguard.

westford

Mine has a sunburst which I'm no fan of, but to my ear it was the nicest sounding guitar in the shop so I bought it.