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“Terra Tonewoods (terratonewoods.com) is a company that specializes in sourcing a variety of responsibly harvested woods from Peru. In some cases, these woods come from forests that the Peruvian government has designated to be cleared for mining or agriculture. In other instances, Terra sources its materials from sustainably managed forests. Some of the species the company offers include familiar woods like mahogany and members of the rosewood family, but there are also types such as Peruvian walnut, ishpingo, higuerilla, and moena, that, while not yet well known, are beautiful and exceptional sounding. “I started working with [Terra Tonewoods’] Lance and Belinda Peck as they were local to me and had some amazing wood that was never considered for guitars,” says California luthier Mike Baranik (baranikguitars.com). “I made some guitars out of these woods, and we have now partnered up to help get the woods into the hands of luthiers.” Baranik’s partnership in Terra Tonewoods has helped get individual builders such as Michael Greenfield and Michi Matsuda, as well as larger companies like Bourgeois and Collings, using the woods.”

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This article also appears in Acoustic Guitar, August 2012

Manchinga has an interesting spalt-like figure on a light-tan to grayish-tan field. The grain of this unusual wood ranges from a fine-grained texture that is similar to a light-colored mahogany, to smooth fields of tan or grey-tan. Manchinga has small pores and is a medium weight wood that weights 47 pounds per cubic foot. It has moderate flexibility which helps this wood to deliver a medium to bright tone when used for backboards and rims.