Paulownia
Paulownia (pronounced “paw-LOH-nee-ə),” might seem like a “new tonewood” on the boutique guitar scene, but did you know that Guitar Mill was offering Paulownia as far back as 19 years ago? In fact, we even own the domain name www.paulowniaguitars.com.
Simply put, no one has more experience with Paulownia than we do! Back in 2006, Mario saw it as the wood of the future, and now that future is here. Unfortunately, there are many unsubstantiated claims out there concerning lightweight guitars. The dreaded and way oversensationalized, “neck dive”, “less sustain”, and various rumors, have prohibited many players from experiencing the superior resonance, vibration, and nimbleness of our favorite two tonewoods -Ultra Light Swamp Ash and Paulownia.
Paulownia or “Empress” wood has the same qualities that have made Swamp Ash such a popular tone wood. Appearance, tone, weight, resonance – Paulownia and Swamp Ash share these highly esteemed traits. As far as differences in the woods go, Paulownia is substantially lighter in weight. The ultra-light weight of Paulownia is a result of a tree that grows remarkably fast. Whereas an Ash tree may not be mature enough to harvest until 50 plus years – a Paulownia tree can be mature enough to be cut in as little as 12 years.
Paulownia is remarkably like Swamp Ash….BUT EVEN LIGHTER! The tonal profile of Paulownia and Swamp Ash are bright, clear and resonant. However, the average Paulownia body weighs about a pound less than the same Swamp Ash body. Due to this decreased density, Paulownia is even more resonant than Ash in most cases — Paulownia guitars will sing forever.