Turkey hunting forum for turkey hunting tips

Cocuswood is supposedly the holy grail and African Blackwood is hard to beat, and figured Cocobolo makes a beautiful call, but as far as sound goes what do y'all think the most underrated call wood for trumpets is? I personally think that blood wood is at the top of that list

Hard to beat pink ivory

I'd like to hear thoughts on bloodwood.  To me, plain old mopane will get the job done and is underrated because it looks plain.  ABW and Cocobolo are industry standards and cocuswood, whether or not it's a better trumpet tonewood, is highly sought after.  Tough question IMO.  The call makers can provide better answers. 


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I have used Bloodwood a few times, makes a great trumpet.....it is dense and resonant.

Quote from: Meleagris gallopavo on February 15, 2024, 08:15:43 PM
I'd like to hear thoughts on bloodwood.  To me, plain old mopane will get the job done and is underrated because it looks plain.  ABW and Cocobolo are industry standards and cocuswood, whether or not it's a better trumpet tonewood, is highly sought after.  Tough question IMO.  The call makers can provide better answers. 


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Years ago I made a number of trumpet yelpers from bloodwood.  They were good solid trumpet yelpers, but nothing spectacular. There were other woods I enjoyed turning more.  I really like turning mopani/mopane....I have several trumpet blanks of mopane I have been hording for years keeping for myself.  Desert ironwood is a favorite, along with Hawaiian Koa....olivewood and cherry burl.

I'd say pretty much all the domestics are underrated.


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Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on February 15, 2024, 08:33:50 PM
I'd say pretty much all the domestics are underrated.


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^^^^^^
This

Osage

On the high Brazilian rosewood

I have some Aussie Blackwood that makes a nice trumpet, previously used the stuff for acoustic guitars.

I like Katalox!

Osage for sure. Mr. Buice loves osage.

I remember reading from someone that Ralph Permar hunts with a walnut trumpet quite a bit. I would say Osage is right on the fringe. It's got a good bit of fans.

For sound differences, I don't think the wood species matters much

 I think Genulne Lignume Vitae sounds pretty good

Tarheel mentioned Mopane/Mopani, I agree that this wood sounds fabulous for trumpets.

If I had to pick an all time favorite it would be Kingwood.  Relatively inexpensive and easy to turn.  Always produces great sound.  Also a very attractive wood.

Quote from: merocustomcalls on February 16, 2024, 06:26:21 AM
If I had to pick an all time favorite it would be Kingwood.  Relatively inexpensive and easy to turn.  Always produces great sound.  Also a very attractive wood.

Good call, I love Kingwood too.

Yeah!  Love Kingwood and Camatillo.  I'm very fond of ebonies, especially Macassar, Mun and Malaysian Blackwood.  Not much difference between those three really IMO.


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Argentine Lignum and Brazillion Ebony (Gombeira) are what I like to hunt with.  I have turned cocuswood, blackwood, snakewood, etc., but I still go back to those two for hunting.

Ziricote, bocote, koa, black locust, persimmon, Alaskan yellow cedar burl, black & white ebony, & cherry burl..


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Yep, that  Argentine Lignum sure does smell good!
Does the genuine Lignum have that same smell?

Quote from: speedracer on February 17, 2024, 08:00:51 AM
Yep, that  Argentine Lignum sure does smell good!
Does the genuine Lignum have that same smell?

Genuine Lignum does not smell like the Argentine, I don't like the Argentine "taste/smell" when running trumpets.

As far as underrated and not used enough - The list could be long, but to just pick the most obvious, I would say Walnut and Mopane, and maybe to some extent Kingwood. Mopane seems to be catching on more and more, it is just kind of a slightly plainer wood in appearance and some people overlook it because of that even though for me the sound is the main issue, and looks are the secondary issue. And Mopane is just full of turkey as far as tonal qualities.

Domestically, Walnut is a great wood and not sure why you don't see more Walnut trumpets than we do. Maybe I am missing some who do make them, but I just personally do not see many presently. But, it will probably come back around in popularity at some point.

I'd be interested in hearing more about black walnut.  The heavy, dense woods get a lot of use in the trumpet market to the point that I wonder why bother with lighter woods.  Black walnut is really light (0.62 SG) compared to most woods used for trumpets.  I do have a heart pine trumpet from Bob Buckner that sounds great. 


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Quote from: Meleagris gallopavo on February 17, 2024, 05:41:30 PM
I'd be interested in hearing more about black walnut.  The heavy, dense woods get a lot of use in the trumpet market to the point that I wonder why bother with lighter woods.  Black walnut is really light (0.62 SG) compared to most woods used for trumpets.  I do have a heart pine trumpet from Bob Buckner that sounds great. 


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I have made a few Black Walnut trumpets and they turned out great, maybe not as loud as ABW, Snakewood, Etc, but darn nice tone and playability. Seems like any type of call I have made out of Black Walnut sounded turkey, just a great tonewood in my opinion.

I have a Billy Buice trumpet made from walnut 

Quote from: greentrout on February 15, 2024, 09:23:18 PM
I remember reading from someone that Ralph Permar hunts with a walnut trumpet quite a bit. I would say Osage is right on the fringe. It's got a good bit of fans.

I have a 1930 Model walnut that Ralph made.

Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on February 15, 2024, 08:33:50 PM
I'd say pretty much all the domestics are underrated.

I'm thinking black locust would be a great trumpet wood.

Had a piece to give to a maker at Unicoi, but the hand-off never got made.   

Maybe next year.

Walnut Zach Farmer

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240218/3810494abdcf6fe4db601668515a9da3.jpg)


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Quote from: Terry on February 18, 2024, 05:35:07 AM
Walnut Zach Farmer

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240218/3810494abdcf6fe4db601668515a9da3.jpg)


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Whoa!

Wow!, that Farmer is Sweet!
After reading all the comments about Walnut I think I'm gonna have to agree that it has got to at least be near the top of the list ...
I have built more calls of walnut than probably anything else mainly because I have a lot of it and it didn't cost anything but a little sweat, first trumpet I made was walnut, and all the rest of them would have worked just fine in the woods.
I will have to get som Mopane to try and for anyone who hasn't tried Bloodwood yet, I would highly recommend you get some and try it.
I've enjoyed hearing y'all's comments on this post
Stay Safe!
Rick

Gorgeous Walnut Farmer.

Made one yesterday and finished it up this morning. It was really a nice piece of walnut but it blew up on the lathe about 2 inches from the drive side . Well I decided to make a shorty and it turned out great. Sound is there as well.


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I often wonder about Honduras Rosewood (not the burl).  I have seen 2 Greg Gwaltney has made and 1 Irvin Whitt made about 2 years ago, but evidently it's not popular, especially for such a highly touted tonewood. 


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Quote from: Toddmann on February 18, 2024, 09:14:53 AM
Made one yesterday and finished it up this morning. It was really a nice piece of walnut but it blew up on the lathe about 2 inches from the drive side . Well I decided to make a shorty and it turned out great. Sound is there as well.


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Here's a picture of it.


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Quote from: Meleagris gallopavo on February 18, 2024, 09:15:02 AM
I often wonder about Honduras Rosewood (not the burl).  I have seen 2 Greg Gwaltney has made and 1 Irvin Whitt made about 2 years ago, but evidently it's not popular, especially for such a highly touted tonewood. 


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I think Honduras Rosewood sounds awesome, if the guys who received those from me see this and speak out we will see what their thoughts are as well. When I built acoustic guitars, the few instruments I made with Honduras Rosewood sounded extremely good/resonant, I always thought it was one of the better rosewoods tonally.

Went down this worm hole a long time ago. Talked to a handful of well known trumpet makers that have been turning them for many many years. All of their responses were the same. It's the internals and mouthpiece that makes the difference. I was told that the wood that is picked is more to please the appearance for the owner. The type has very little to do with the sound. To prove this to me , a call maker that's calls are extremely hard to come by had a trumpet he turned out of pine. It was so soft that you could put marks in it with your finger nail. He used his internals and a surgical plastic mp. He played that call and man it sounded really good. He then said that certainly the harder woods are best. It makes the call more vibrant and stands up to hard use vs softer stuff. From then on I completely trust what several of them told me about that. Who knows better than makers turning them for decades.

Quote from: Spitten and drummen on February 18, 2024, 10:35:43 AM
Went down this worm hole a long time ago. Talked to a handful of well known trumpet makers that have been turning them for many many years. All of their responses were the same. It's the internals and mouthpiece that makes the difference. I was told that the wood that is picked is more to please the appearance for the owner. The type has very little to do with the sound. To prove this to me , a call maker that's calls are extremely hard to come by had a trumpet he turned out of pine. It was so soft that you could put marks in it with your finger nail. He used his internals and a surgical plastic mp. He played that call and man it sounded really good. He then said that certainly the harder woods are best. It makes the call more vibrant and stands up to hard use vs softer stuff. From then on I completely trust what several of them told me about that. Who knows better than makers turning them for decades.

I have been told the same as well, but have been told differently by other well-known trumpet makers too.  I really just like calls made out of different woods.  To me, the only way to tell a difference between woods is to compare a bunch of calls of different woods made by the same maker using the same internals.  Even then, individual pieces of wood of the same species will have different tonal qualities.  I do think wood species has a greater effect on much larger musical instruments.  A trumpet is so small there's really not much room for resonance to reach levels that can be detected between different woods.  This is just my opinion...


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Met 2 guys yesterday who wanted to get a call. I was certain they would get the ABW or the Katalox. They tried what I had. They ended up getting Holly and Osage. You just never know what someone's hear and eye is gonna want. This is way I like folks to play them instead of me sending them a video of me playing one that I would choose for me.

Quote from: Meleagris gallopavo on February 18, 2024, 11:00:12 AM

Quote from: Spitten and drummen on February 18, 2024, 10:35:43 AM
Went down this worm hole a long time ago. Talked to a handful of well known trumpet makers that have been turning them for many many years. All of their responses were the same. It's the internals and mouthpiece that makes the difference. I was told that the wood that is picked is more to please the appearance for the owner. The type has very little to do with the sound. To prove this to me , a call maker that's calls are extremely hard to come by had a trumpet he turned out of pine. It was so soft that you could put marks in it with your finger nail. He used his internals and a surgical plastic mp. He played that call and man it sounded really good. He then said that certainly the harder woods are best. It makes the call more vibrant and stands up to hard use vs softer stuff. From then on I completely trust what several of them told me about that. Who knows better than makers turning them for decades.

I have been told the same as well, but have been told differently by other well-known trumpet makers too.  I really just like calls made out of different woods.  To me, the only way to tell a difference between woods is to compare a bunch of calls of different woods made by the same maker using the same internals.  Even then, individual pieces of wood of the same species will have different tonal qualities.  I do think wood species has a greater effect on much larger musical instruments.  A trumpet is so small there's really not much room for resonance to reach levels that can be detected between different woods.  This is just my opinion...


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The purpose of the bell of a trumpet yelper is amplification. Years ago, especially Roanoke River style yelpers, the yelpers were individually hand-made by the turkey hunters themselves, and they used sharpened scissors, broken glass or knives to thin the bell of the calls. These calls were not turned on a lathe; and the purpose of thinning those bells down so thin was to enhance sound.  Today the wood in the bell section of trumpet yelpers is so thick and heavy there is limited sound enhancement possible discernable by the average human ear.....but it is measurable with instruments for measuring sound.  Seth Hamon could address this much better than me.........

As far as underrated wood for a trumpet imo would be Bocote . I've built many trumpet calls out of Bocote and every single one has been flat out players

Quote from: fordhunt on February 19, 2024, 05:00:08 PM
As far as underrated wood for a trumpet imo would be Bocote . I've built many trumpet calls out of Bocote and every single one has been flat out players

Agree, and ash. Ash isn't the prettiest, but it sounds nice.

I know of a maker who used a pine 2x2 from a lumber store to turn a trumpet. I played it and it sounded great. Guarantee I could kill with it with the same efficiency as any other trumpet. I'd worry less about wood and more about the makers long standing reputation and your practice time.


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I chase the tone and the sound myself regardless of the wood or the combo...

I like the sound of any wood if made by someone that knows what they are doing. I pick woods that I like the looks of. Osage and desert ironwood are a couple of my favorites.

Quote from: Yoder409 on February 18, 2024, 05:27:50 AM

Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on February 15, 2024, 08:33:50 PM
I'd say pretty much all the domestics are underrated.

I'm thinking black locust would be a great trumpet wood.

Had a piece to give to a maker at Unicoi, but the hand-off never got made.   

Maybe next year.

I just turned a pot call out of Black locust, with purple slate over glass!!! That "sound" I am looking for is in it!!!! Pretty tough to turn!!! Very fine yellow dust, looks like pollen .

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Quote from: Toddmann on February 15, 2024, 08:56:46 PM
I like Katalox!

Of the few I've made, katalox has been my favorite so far.


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I think persimmon should make a great trumpet wood, and I've seen a few made from persimmon but I've not run one myself.  An exotic you don't hear much about is Curupay or Cebil (also called Patagonian Rosewood, but it's not a true rosewood).  I have a Curupay trumpet from Misfire that's a player.

Another one could be Pau Rosa.  It's closely related to Katalox but it's a beautiful orange color.  I have a Turpin/Jordan set Kenneth Mullins made me and they look and run great. 

Once again, since both Curupay and Pau Rosa are dense woods they make good candidates for loud trumpets.

Since playing soft is very effective, wouldn't it be advantageous to use lighter woods for soft talk?  I have thought Jordans could be better for soft calling but I have a Jordan hybrid made of Kingwood that's very loud.


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Quote from: Meleagris gallopavo on March 04, 2024, 08:11:23 AM
I think persimmon should make a great trumpet wood, and I've seen a few made from persimmon but I've not run one myself.  An exotic you don't hear much about is Curupay or Cebil (also called Patagonian Rosewood, but it's not a true rosewood).  I have a Curupay trumpet from Misfire that's a player.

Another one could be Pau Rosa.  It's closely related to Katalox but it's a beautiful orange color.  I have a Turpin/Jordan set Kenneth Mullins made me and they look and run great. 

Once again, since both Curupay and Pau Rosa are dense woods they make good candidates for loud trumpets.

Since playing soft is very effective, wouldn't it be advantageous to use lighter woods for soft talk?  I have thought Jordans could be better for soft calling but I have a Jordan hybrid made of Kingwood that's very loud.


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Intersting that you brought up persimmon. I just made one last week and it runs well.

I have one of Austy's adjustables in persimmon, has great tone to it and is a looker

Quote from: Meleagris gallopavo on March 04, 2024, 08:11:23 AM
I think persimmon should make a great trumpet wood, and I've seen a few made from persimmon but I've not run one myself.  An exotic you don't hear much about is Curupay or Cebil (also called Patagonian Rosewood, but it's not a true rosewood).  I have a Curupay trumpet from Misfire that's a player.

Another one could be Pau Rosa.  It's closely related to Katalox but it's a beautiful orange color.  I have a Turpin/Jordan set Kenneth Mullins made me and they look and run great. 

Once again, since both Curupay and Pau Rosa are dense woods they make good candidates for loud trumpets.

Since playing soft is very effective, wouldn't it be advantageous to use lighter woods for soft talk?  I have thought Jordans could be better for soft calling but I have a Jordan hybrid made of Kingwood that's very loud.


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I've made several out of persimmon it makes a good call !!

Agree its underrated

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