In response to my koa & pau ferro demonstration I received a number of questions about how koa compares to mahogany.  Since I think the tones should speak for themselves I decided to put together this comparison.

The Gear:

Guitars:
Suhr Standard (natural finish)
Koa Body, pau ferro neck and fingerboard

Suhr Standard (tobacco burst)
Mahogany body & neck, maple top and Brazilian rosewood fingerboard

Both guitars have identical Suhr pickups: DSH – bridge, V60lp Middle, DSV neck

Amp(s):
CAA OD100 Classic + (all but final high gain clips)
David Friedman “Hairy Brow Eye” Modded Egnater Seminar Head (final high gain clips)

Cab: CAA 1×12 with Eminence Governor

Recording gear:
Mic: SM57
I/O & mic pre: MOTU 896
Software: Ableton Live & Final Cut Express

• brazilian rosewood
• David Friedman
• DSH
• DSV
• Eddie Van Halen
• egnater
• EVH
• Hairy Brown Eye
• koa
• koa vs mahogany
• mahogany
• pau ferro
• racksystems
• suhr
• tone comparison
• van halen