Mopane is the answer to the makers of woodwind instruments, who look for a solution for selling across borders and for their customers concerned about crossing borders with instruments made of wood like African Blackwood (Grenadilla) and Cocobolo that have been listed as endangered species.
Its sonority is perfect and its aesthetic a strong point indeed. Being significantly less prone to cracks and slits, Mopane is the hardwood of choice for the making of clarinets, oboes, bass-clarinets and bagpipes, not to mention backs and sides of guitars.
Those who availed themselves of the opportunity to making use of it are ahead of competition.
Four leading clarinet makers and three oboe makers have been buying increasing volume of mopane sets one of them for the past five years!
Review :
https://www.facebook.com/FlutesbyWindward/videos/vb.137003396391680/510383775720305/?type=2&theater
Mopane: Technical features
- The wood has a density of 1.3 kg/dm3 / 77 lb per cubic foot, i.e. 96% of the Dalbergia melanoxylon.
- Little if any porosity.
- Comments from existing customers: when turning mopane craftsmen notice that very few or no flaws are produced, the wood remains very stable therefore mopane is significantly easier to work upon than the African Blackwood.
- Heartwood is reddish-brown with very dark streaks. Notable figure is produced by the growth rings.
Mopane: Musical performances
Well-known clarinets makers describe its sound performances as early starter and of sweeter tonality, typical to the clarinets made by Schreiber, the German leader in musical instruments.
The tone is as rich as the one of African Blackwood, as powerful, and a little bit warmer. It resembles the tone of Coccus wood that became commercially extinct.
The parts we endeavour to keep in stock
| For woodwinds | |
| Clarinet sets | Bells 85/85 x 45/45 x 130 Lower joint 36 x 36 x 320 or 36 x 36 x 285 Upper joint 36 x 36 x 245 or 36 x 36 x 230 Barrel 51 x 51 x 80 or 47 x 47 x 80 or still 40 x 40 x 80 |
| Bass Clarinets | 47 x 47 x 760 and 47 x 47 x 460 or
47 x 47 x 700 and 47x 47 x 550 |
| Alto Clarinets | 40 x 40 x 410 |
| Oboes | Bells 65 x 65 x 150 or 60 X 60 x 140 Joints 40 x 40 x 285 or 36 x 36 x 270 or still 32 x 32 x 265 |
| English horns | Bells 70 x 70 x 140 Joint 40 x 40 x 400 |
| Flutes | 33 x 33 x 380 or 33 x 33 x 330 or still 33 x 33 x 265
30 x 30 x 510 or 30 x 30 x 410 or still 30 x 30 x 325 and 30 x 30 x 300 28 x 28 x 400 or 28 x 28 x 285 or still 28 x 28 x 270 |
| Piccolo | 28 x 28 x 250 + 30 x 30 x 150 |
| Highland bagpipes | (HBPs) 14 blanks of 11 different sizes, representing a total of 6.555 dm3
1 X 54 x 54 x 305 + 2 X 51 x 51 x 205 + 1 X 40 x 40 x 385 + 1 X 47 x 47 x 310 + 1 X 47 x 47 x 195 + 2 X 47 x 47 x 160 + 1 X 47 x 47 x 125 + 1 X 47 x 47 x 115 + 1 X 40 x 40 x 310 + 2 X 40 x 40 x 245 + 1 X 40 x 40 x 220 |
| For the Uilleann pipes (Irish pipes) , English pipes, Gaitas (Spanish pipe), Bombarde (French pipe), the section on Folkloric instruments provides the exact dimensions. | |
| For stringed instruments | |
| Jumbo | Back: 2 X 560 x 210 x 5 + Sides: 2 X 830 x 130 x 4 |
| Classic | Back: 2 X 530 x 190 x 5 + Sides: 2 X 760 x 110 x 4 |
| Modern | Back: 4 X 530 x 95 x 5 + Sides: 2 X 760 x 110 x 4 |
ProSono has implemented a very tight quality process that starts in the forestry operation and not at the entrance of our saw mill. Our presence on the spot and the continuous supervision by knowledgeable, trained and motivated personnel is the only way to achieve consistency of results in African field conditions.
In the factory, the operation is planned and checked up for best results and quality. All the parts are checked at the time of storage and again at the time of packing.
Our prices depend on the number of parts and make-up of the order, for we always factor in the recovery percentage that can be achieved. As a result, we are the most competitive, when small, medium and large blanks, are ordered simultaneously. Please, keep this in mind, when placing your order with us.
QUALITY CONCEPT
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Botanical name | Colophospermum mopane |
| Family | Fabaceae | |
| Local name | Mopanie | |
| English name | Mopane | |
| Distribution | Northern Province of South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe. | |
| The tree | It grows up-to 30 meters and 90 cm in diameter in the more humid regions and about half in dry regions. | |
| The wood | The heartwood is brown to reddish, the thin sapwood yellow to light brown. The wood is very hard and heavy, termite resistant. Air dry density 1.3 t / m3 (77 lb. / cu. ft.) | |
| Seasoning | Drying slowly, it doesn’t split or slit easily, the light oily content of the wood might explain this worthwhile feature. | |
| Workability | It works well with the appropriate tools. It glues well. | |
| Use | For high quality furniture and inlays in light coloured wood. It has been used for many years for flutes, piccolos and other traditional instruments. The tone is as rich as African Blackwood, as powerful, but a little bit warmer. It resembles the tone of the Coccus wood, which became commercially extinct. Its high density and good workability make it an attractive alternative to Blackwood, especially in very dry and humid countries, where Blackwood has tendency to slit. |
