N IS FOR NATO

Not the one we debate our commitment to, but Palaquium Luzoniensis, Sapotaceae family, the mainstay of the Filipino drawer business. There are various other species of palaquium: alakaak, dulitan, kalipaya, malac-malac, malikmalik, manicmanic and so incomprehensibly on, all with latin equivalents, and not particularly relevant as timber is selected from them all on the basis of quality rather than species. It's easy to work and doesn't warp, which is just what you want if you knock out drawers for a living, and supplies for this purpose would be known as amugis corriente. Amugis perfecto refers to another Phillipine timber, the true amugis or koorder-siodendron pinnatum of the anacardiaceae family (I promise I'm not making this up), a harder and heavier timber. You've got to watch this amugis business a bit if it shows up in a guitar catalogue, as it may actually refer to some other timbers as well, such as bassia ramiflora or garuga.

From this potential for confusion you will not be surprised that nato has appeared in a number of optimistic marketing department spec issues as "Nato Mahogany". This should read "Not a Mahogany", because it isn't. But it's a nice enough timber, vaguely cedary looking in its light red to reddish brown colouring, fine textured, varying in density from 640 to 720 kilos per cubic metre. It's quite strong, and I've seen plenty of perfectly reasonable solid necks and bodies made from it. TRADA will advise you reassuringly that it is rarely attacked by beetles.

You might mistake Nimbarra or Nimwood for nato, it has a similar colouring, though it is much lighter at 340 kilos per cubic metre, and weaker. It's proper name is Lunemidella, or Melia composita, of the same family as mahogany; meliaceae. It may be called Ceylon cedar or Ceylon mahogany, which gives you a significant clue to its likely end uses as a lauan or nato type mahogany substitute in guitars. TRADA list musical instruments, alongside cigar boxes, as an application, but I have failed to unearth a traditional sample. It is straight and coarse grained, and requires careful drying.

N is for Nambar, another name for Macacauba: Platymiscium; Leguminosae family. This one has a yellowy sapwood, distinct from the dark streaked reds and browns of the heartwood, and grows mainly in Brazil. It comes from the same family as rosewood, but is less oily and polishes better, and is heavier at around 960 kilos per cubic metre. The texture and working qualities are roughly similar, that is, medium and difficult, but rosewood grain is more likely to be straight. In music, it shows up as an alternative to Brazilian tulipwood for marimba keys.

Narra, or Pterocarpus indicus, another Leguminosae. I include this because I've seen it in a guitar, but can't remember where. It's a very good looking timber, with a high degree of figuring giving fiddle-back and mottle effect. It may be called amboyna in its most decorative, burred form. It's also not drastically heavy. With an average weight about 660 kilos per cubic metre it's much lighter than a rosewood. Darker stuff will be denser and heavier, and TRADA say stuff from Cagayan is heavier, harder, and blood-red. Otherwise, it grows widely in Southern Asia, and may be called Solomans padauk, or Papua New Guinea rosewood.

New Zealand Kauri. This is Agathis australis, a softwood of the Araucariaceae family. Kauri also grows in the East Indies and Malaysia; this is agathis alba. Australis is generally darker than alba, a hard resin may be found in it, and it is about 100 kilos heavier at 580 kilos per cubic metre. Both resemble Parana pine in some respects, and neither is a wood normally associated with musical instruments, being more likely to show up in kitchen furniture or internal frames. Yamaha specify agathis in their wittly named APX-7 guitar which Jerry Uwins reviewed. I pressed a vibrating tuning fork to my kitchen chair, and it sounded fine to me.

Norway spruce, picea abies or excelsa, pinaceae family. There's plenty of this softwood throughout Europe. It was a native in the UK originally, but is now classed as an introduced species. UK weight is lighter than the average 470 kilos per cubic metre, and the best quality timber is reckoned to come from higher altitude forests. The pick of it, known as romanian pine, is used for piano sound boards and violin bellies. It is straight grained and fine textured, varying in colour from creamy white to yellowy brown. Nova Scotia spruce is a name for Eastern Canadian spruce, various piceae, the pick of which crop also ends up in piano sound boards. But more details under S. Or maybe R.