Scientific name: Juglans fallax Dode
Origin: South East Asia
Other names: Nogal Oriental
Average density: 40lbs/ft3 – 640kg/m3
Uses: Guitar back and sides.
The heartwood can range from a lighter pale brown to a dark chocolate brown with darker brown streaks. Its color can sometimes have a gray, purple, or reddish cast. Its texture is rather coarse, the grain is very similar to that of Indian rosewood and the odor and taste mild but distinctive. This wood works well with hand and machine tools and takes an excellent finish. Walnut is an excellent tonewood falling sonically between the warm dark sounds of East Indian Rosewood and the bright bell-like ring of Maple. A walnut backed guitar can have a unique warmth and tonal depth.