Custom-Made Snake Wood Body for SHURE V15 Type III Cartridge

Custom-Made Snake Wood Body for SHURE V15 Type III Cartridge

A snakewood body for the Shure V15 cartridge will produce a highly detailed, fast, and controlled sound. Snakewood is one of the densest and hardest tonewoods on earth, even heavier than ebony or cocobolo, and this has a direct impact on how it influences the cartridge’s behavior.

🐍 What Is Snakewood?

Snakewood (Brosimum guianense) is an exotic hardwood native to South America, prized for its incredible density, stiffness, and dramatic, snake-like grain pattern. Due to its mass and acoustic characteristics, it is used sparingly in fine violin bows and high-end audio applications.

🔊 Sound Characteristics of Snakewood Body for Shure V15:

🎧 Subjective Listening Impressions:

• Hyper-detailed – every microdynamic and texture is laid bare.

• Lightning-fast transients – sharp attacks, especially in percussion or plucked strings.

• Leaner tonality than warm woods like mahogany or pear.

• Some may perceive the sound as a bit dry or analytical — ideal for those who want ultimate clarity, but not for those seeking romance or warmth.

Snakewood removes excess resonance so effectively that it can almost feel like listening with a microscope — which may be a dream for some, and fatiguing for others.

🪵 Snakewood vs. Other Woods for Shure V15:

✅ Best Use Case:

Choose snakewood if:

• You want maximum resolution and transient speed.

• You listen to jazz trios, chamber music, or electronic music where detail matters.

• You have a warm-voiced system and need a more revealing cartridge match.

• You enjoy a "monitor-like" reference sound and can tolerate a leaner tone.

Snakewood is not forgiving — it shows both the strengths and weaknesses of your phono setup, records, and tonearm. But when paired correctly, it makes the Shure V15 feel like a high-end moving coil, even though it's a moving magnet design.