Wood Types

The J. Novo ultra-thin wooden headjoint for the concert flute is now only made from African Blackwood, commonly referred to as Grenadilla wood.

Mr. Novo used to offer headjoints made from other exotic woods, but since Grenadilla is far superior to any other type wood under the stars, headjoints made from other woods have been discontinued for the benefit of the player.

No other wood on Earth can compare to Grenadilla wood in all aspects across the board. It is no secret, Grenadilla wood is – BY FAR – the best wood available for woodwind instrument manufacture.

Our Grenadilla headjoints are made from carefully selected premium grade Grenadilla wood – the same type of wood that is used for making professional oboes and clarinets.

The Grenadilla wood that we use has been seasoning on racks for over 90 years now and is among the best in the industry. This makes them extremely stable and very reliable. Grenadilla wood of this high quality is very rare to find these days (see http://www.blackwoodconservation.org/index.html#map).

Moreover, we prefer to leave our Grenadilla wood in its natural color: a black to dark brown color. We never dye our wood black, as most makers do, to hide imperfections and make them all one uniform color. So, what you see is what you get!

Please note: Grenadilla is NOT ebony. Ebony cannot be used for woodwinds because it is too dry and cracks very easily after prolonged exposure to moisture. Only the cheaper wind instruments are made from ebony. Beware of cheap imitations.