Paulownia Guitar Body Blanks: Lightweight Tonewood for Electric Guitars
If you build electric guitars, you will know the struggle of finding body timber that is light, stable and good to work. Paulownia has become a popular choice for lightweight electric guitar bodies, and we regularly supply guitar body blanks to builders all around Australia, from hobbyists making their first instrument to professional luthiers.
Why use Paulownia for guitar bodies?
Very lightweight
At around 260–300 kg/m³, Paulownia is significantly lighter than traditional body woods such as alder, ash or mahogany. A solid Paulownia body can be dramatically lighter than a typical solid body, which makes a big difference on long gigs and for players with back or shoulder problems. It also gives you room to add a figured top or heavier hardware without ending up with a heavy guitar.
Resonant and lively
Paulownia's light, open-celled structure is valued in instruments across Asia. In Japan, Kiri (the Japanese name for Paulownia) is the traditional wood for the body of the koto. Builders often describe Paulownia guitar bodies as resonant and lively. Like any tonewood, the final sound depends on the whole instrument: pickups, neck, hardware and construction all play their part.
Stable and easy to work
Paulownia has low shrinkage and swelling, so blanks stay flat and true. Its straight, knot-free grain routs, carves and sands cleanly, which makes it a forgiving timber for body carving, contours and cavities.
Sustainable
Our Paulownia is plantation grown and regrows from the stump after harvest, so it is a responsible alternative to slow-growing traditional tonewoods. Read more about Paulownia's environmental benefits.
Paulownia guitar body blanks
We supply blanks to suit solid-body electric guitars and basses:
Glued body blanks: two- or three-piece blanks, edge glued from our wide boards, sized for typical solid-body electric guitars and basses.
Dressed to thickness: blanks can be dressed to your preferred body thickness, ready for templating and routing.
Grain and colour matched: we cut from single, thick planks of clear timber, so the pieces in a blank are well matched.
Custom sizes: need something wider, thicker or longer for an offset, archtop or bass design? Just ask.
Single blanks or bulk: from one-off builds to batches for small-run guitar makers.
Custom CNC machining (optional)
Most of our customers prefer to shape their bodies themselves, but if you would rather start with a machined body, we can CNC machine guitar bodies from your own design. Send us your drawings or CAD files (for example DXF, STEP or STL) and we can machine the body outline, cavities and pockets to your specification.
Note that we machine to your supplied design; we do not supply copies of trademarked body shapes.
Tips for building with a Paulownia body
Reinforce screw points: Paulownia is a soft timber, so use threaded inserts or a hardwood block for neck bolts, and consider longer screws or inserts for strap buttons and bridge mounting.
Protect the surface: a hard finish (such as a sealed and lacquered or epoxy-based finish) helps resist dents, or add a hardwood top for extra durability and a figured look.
Grain filling: Paulownia is open-grained, so use a grain filler or sanding sealer before a gloss finish.
Sharp tools: use sharp router bits and a steady feed to avoid tear-out around cavities.
Paulownia is also popular for cigar box guitars, ukuleles and other instrument projects. See our guide to working with Paulownia for more tips.
Ready to start your build? Tell us how many blanks you need and the size and thickness you are after, or send through your design for CNC machining. We deliver Australia-wide from our workshop in Hornsby, Sydney. See our prices or request a quote.
