What is this kit made from? Aka - is Zebrawood real?

[emoney]

Neighbor lady asked me to put this kit together for her 12 year. Says they ordered it and realized it was too scary for them. Seem like a good family and I have a feeling the kid is on the spectrum even tho I didn’t ask. Definitely seems ocd so he and I have a lot in common lol. Anyway, the point of this thread is wood identification. I know it came from EBay and I’ve found at least similar listings. Some on the internet say it’s manufactured whiles other says no. Here’s a pic;

I can post some more but if it’s a “plywood” it’s a helluva job because you can’t see it in the routes. BTW, side note; they are getting a heckuva a lot better in China. This neck fit pretty easy. There are some slight gaps around the heel, but when inserted there’s no twist and the action seems pretty spot on. I checked all the measurements for scale, looked for twist, etc. Also, the fretboard is separately glued down so has a truss rod altho I haven’t tested it. I jumped right in to gluing the neck thinking I’d knock this in a day but now I’m curious.

 

[emoney]

Couple more close ups for the curious;

They got a little aggressive on the fret beveling btw but haven’t noticed any high frets and they’re not really sharp on the edges. I’m impressed so far because she said she paid $200. The hardware doesn’t look so hot but whatever

 

[NicholasGuitars]

that's a composite they call "zebrawood"..its not real wood.

 

[fatdaddypreacher]

i've seen manufactured veneers very similar. called ebony, but made up of dyed wood strips to appear like natural wood. some looks better than others. that looks manufactured to me

 

[the great waldo]

It's made from real wood, just lots of thin strips glued together a bit like plwood but the grain goes all the same direction with this stuff. There is a wood called Zebrano which has a nice figure with light and dark stripes, looks quite nice.
Cheers
Andrew

 

[emoney]

See, here’s the thing….inside the routes, first look I said “has to be plywood”, but then a I kept staring at it, I noticed the “layers” were diagonal. The “stripes on the top” are not straight…at all. So how the heck do they make it? Just this body would require a several inch thick billet to be able to cut it at a Willy nilly angle. And then, how do they end up with wavy stripes on the top that you can sand down pretty aggressively if it’s a plywood veneer? This stuff has me really baffled

 

[emoney]

The other thing is you can follow one of the black grain “stripes” all the way down the side and to the back. I mean how would they do that? I wish this was mine so I could just cut the body in half to see what’s in the middle

 

[efstop]

The stripes are of varying thickness, and there's an occasional extra piece that pushes a layer sideways.

 

[the great waldo]

See, here’s the thing….inside the routes, first look I said “has to be plywood”, but then a I kept staring at it, I noticed the “layers” were diagonal. The “stripes on the top” are not straight…at all. So how the heck do they make it? Just this body would require a several inch thick billet to be able to cut it at a Willy nilly angle. And then, how do they end up with wavy stripes on the top that you can sand down pretty aggressively if it’s a plywood veneer? This stuff has me really baffled

This stuff is made using heat moisture and high pressure. You'd be surprised what you can do with that. Check out some furniture made using steam bent woods. Ammonia chemical bending is also interesting

cheers
andrew

 

[TVvoodoo]

I keep seeing these C-made kits on my facebook feed... then I go down the rabbit hole guaranteeing they keep coming up. Actually good to hear they check out build-wise. Will keep watching yours... They are quite reasonably priced. Many without hardware and an amazing selection of body styles, and not all this zebra stuff. I don't mind it, might be fun to dye in an outrageous colour, but i'd rather not have it for a fretboard too - seems like you could get practically anything you wish. Might spring for a vee style this spring for a summer project

This would be a super fun kit! Beyond my skill grade though.

Here's a pic of a singlecut in that crazy "zebragany"

 

[emoney]

Not done but almost knocked out. Still need to flatten the clear and do some soldering. I added just a hint of red into the top. Went more opaque on the back. Fretboard is simply oil and I’m leaving the back of the neck with a very light oil finish as well. Not my cup of tea but hopefully the neighbors will like it;

 

[CB91710]

I keep seeing these C-made kits on my facebook feed... then I go down the rabbit hole guaranteeing they keep coming up. Actually good to hear they check out build-wise. Will keep watching yours... They are quite reasonably priced. Many without hardware and an amazing selection of body styles, and not all this zebra stuff. I don't mind it, might be fun to dye in an outrageous colour, but i'd rather not have it for a fretboard too - seems like you could get practically anything you wish. Might spring for a vee style this spring for a summer project

This would be a super fun kit! Beyond my skill grade though.

Here's a pic of a singlecut in that crazy "zebragany"

That V is pretty cool, but I'd prefer one with a slightly larger body like the one Rudolph is occasionally seen with.
It has properly rounded points/valleys.
That one looks a bit small... but the sharp points likely make for an easier kit build, not having any bent sides.