Buying tonewoods online: Any caveats?

[Arnt Rian]

It is a good idea to educate yourself on what constitutes good "tonewood", not only to avoid the pitfalls of shopping online, but also so you can go and see what you can find locally. My favourite tonewood vendor in Europe is probably Rivolta in Italy, otherwise I rely on various local sources (lumber yards, other woodworkers, farmers etc). I don't shop from Madinter any more, but if you do, be prepared for a bit of frustration if there are issues with your order and you have to deal with their customer service. I hear good things about both Touchstone and David Dyke in the UK. Over the last several years, the exchange rate between our currency and US$ has been favourable for us, and I have shopped from LMI, Stewmac, RC tonewoods, Shane Niefer, Old Standard, Colonial, Alaska Specialty Woods, Domex, Larry Davis, Grant Goltz, Notable Tonewoods, Exotic Woods, Hidbon, Allied, various eBay sources and probably a few more that I forget. Many of these suppliers specialize in a few types of top woods, or exotic woods for backs and sides, so I shop accordingly. You usually get what you pay for, and if there is a problem, they will make it right.