Image Courtesy: tjweb.org, receptiondesks.com. Which do all of y'all prefer? Hardwood is the wood that comes from an angiosperm tree. Mahogany. The builder's execution of design will have significant on how the woods he chooses sound. Conventional wisdom says that rosewood has pronounced bass and trebles and a scooped midrange, while mahogany is strong and balanced across the midrange, without the emphasis on the upper and lower end of the spectrum. It's possible for a really good luthier to make a mahogany B&S guitar sound very similar to a rosewood B&S guitar. Tight grain patterns vs more open ring patterns will have an obvious effect on the tone, sustain and projection of a guitar. 142 40. Rosewood vs. mahogany. Mahogany … How the log was dried - sinker logs have a very different density than fresh cut - and transported are important aspects of tone. Much of the tone depends on the build of the guitar. The use of rosewood to make furniture date back hundreds of years, with many examples of antique rosewood furniture being available for viewing in museums today. When rosewood is used for guitars, it will most likely be sanded and polished before being sold. I own a fine AJ (advanced Jumbo) Solid Rosewood acoustic guitar, and love it very much. Rosewood refers to the wood of different trees, including trees from the Tipuana, Pterocarpus and Dalbergia genera of trees. Mahogany first became a popular material for guitars due to the attractive appearance and the fact that it was cheaper than rosewood, according to the World Resources Institute. Mahogany is also a type of tropical hardwood. Hello all! Think Mahogany for the intro on "Stairway To Heaven" and Rosewood for the 12-string, it doesn`t get any better than that. Larry Pattis posted some sound samples of, if I remember correctly, Woolson guitars he had for sale a few years ago. Many people prefer the color of rosewood to that of mahogany… This allows the woodworkers to create furniture from a single board without any seams or joints. Where does one have advantages over the other? Jul 24, 2020 #1 I made a short video to compare the sound of rosewood back & sides to mahogany. The following text is from a reprint of an 1889 Washburn Catalog that I bought on EBay awhile back. This has in turn led to CITES listing Swietenia mahagoni on its endangered list, while S. macrophylla King, and S. humilis Zucc are listed as vulnerable. This gives rosewood a more finished look. Hence, the wood is used for making furniture, especially cabinets. These types of seeds allow birds and insects to be attracted to the flowers of the tree and be able to carry the pollen to other trees. A deciduous tree is a tree that loses its leaves annually. Rosewood is best known for its dark brownish and/or reddish hue with darker veining. It is kind of amusing/interesting to read given the current opinions on Brazilian Rosewood and Mahogany. The Martin has deep bass and crystaline highs but lacks in the midrange (typical of Martin Rosewood guitars) whereas the Gibson is nicely balanced across the tonal spectrum yet still has that peaking midrange we all love in a good Gibson. Acoustic Guitar Tonewoods | Mahogany vs. Rosewood is essentially a type of hardwood. This is a tough one, but always fun to talk about. A lot of the newer guys are gravitating towards mahogany because it’s thought to deliver better leads. They are both great tone-woods individually and compliment each other superbly when played together. Rosewood is best known for its dark brownish and/or reddish hue with darker veining. Two logs cut from the same geographic area but simply a mile apart can have very different qualities when it comes to building a fine instrument. The real difference is not in the kind of furniture you can use the woods to create, but on the differences between the two wood essences. Due to this, most hardwood is dense. This is a type of tree that has seeds that are enclosed, be it in pods, a shell, a covering or in a fruit. I don't know, my D-28 sounds nothing like a piano. ---I am also not sure if the Mahogany wood in … Most rosewood family timbers have a fast sound transmission speed and almost no internal dampening. Regardless, my impression is mahogany is more fundamental and rosewood has more overtones. Difference Between | Descriptive Analysis and Comparisons, Counterintelligence Investigation vs Criminal Investigation. Other models at the time, like the high-end Martin D-28, came with rosewood sides and back. These two back and side woods seem to be two of the most common. Joined May 22, 2011 Messages 7,410 Reaction score 167. I will say that nothing produces a thumping G run like rosewood. Since wood is an organic material* there are at times vast differences between the tonal characteristics of any single slice of any single log taken from various locations on a single tree. Rosewood to my ears does sound fuller and I get more sustain. The rose wood has close, dense grain, which makes it strong and durable. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Copyright © 2020, Difference Between | Descriptive Analysis and Comparisons. I have two Sitka over Rosewood guitars (the AJ and the OM-35) and they both sound quite different, owing more to builder/design differences than the wood. Ultralight123. Some types of rosewood, such as Honduran rosewood, have an excellent resonance that makes them ideal for musical instruments like guitars, pianos and marimbas. It is quite popular for the backs, sides and necks of acoustic guitars. I play only with my fingernails, and even when strumming, I just use my nails though I just started experimenting with some picks. I have a Rosewood 12-string and a new Mahogany 6 string so the direct comparison is slightly out of whack but I find the Rosewood tone darker, deeper and more lush, a big chord on the 12-string is one beautiful tone where the Mahogany is drier, clearer, more pronounced mids, more like 6 individual strings working perfectly with other. The sound differences of using mahogany or rosewood back and sides on acoustic guitars. This translates into an overtone-rich, almost saturated kind of sound, and gives rosewood its tonal identity, featuring a bell-like attack and a rich, high-fidelity ring. This is also the reason that hardwood is expensive, as it takes longer to grow. In addition to furniture, mahogany is also used for boat building. The wood is known for its unique pink coloring, which tends to take on a deeper reddish-brown hue over time. Ultralight123. Hardwood trees are also slower to grow, taking their own time. Due to the demand of mahogany, these trees are also grown on plantations located in Asia, specifically in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Fiji. For example, apples or nuts and seeds like acorns and walnuts. To think of this material having just "this" tone is somewhat ignoring all the factors which go into building a fine musical instrument. It is also known to be strong and durable. These genera contain various types of tropical or subtropical leguminous trees that are most commonly found in Central and South America, Africa, Madagascar and southern Asia. Rosewood vs Mahogany I base this conclusion on the 2 rosewood guitars and the 2 mahogany guitars I have. This is due to the fact that mahogany has the ability to produce a very deep, warm tone, similar to maple or birch. This is also the reason why hardwood trees are not often bunched together but are spaced apart and often have other trees in-between them. I also have two rosewood Martin custom shop dreads that have great midrange because of the build. This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. The rose wood has close, dense grain, which makes it strong and durable. Rosewood is also used to make handles, flooring, billiard cues, chess pieces, etc. Registered Member. Furthermore, mahogany is popularly used to make musical instruments, such as wooden drums, and acoustic and electric guitars. They understand that the guitar’s role in a bluegrass band is primarily rhythm, and rosewood gives them the bass they need. Maple vs. Rosewood A lot of contest players like mahogany as well because of its balance. Most hardwood trees are also deciduous is nature. However, due to the high demand for mahogany, has led to overlogging of the trees. As nouns the difference between mahogany and rosewood is that mahogany is (countable) any of various tropical american evergreen trees, of the genus swietenia , having a valuable hard red-brown wood while rosewood is the fragrant wood of , a brazilian tree in the legume family, which has a sweet smell. Dreadnoughts for fingerstyling - Mahogany vs Rosewood Dreadnoughts for fingerstyling - Mahogany vs Rosewood. In fact, many Martin D-15 and Gibson Les Paul models use mahogany. These trees are native to the Central and South America. I do think Rosewood is a step above Mahogany re price points, mostly. Mahogany is quite easy to sand, cut and turn on a wood lathe. Or is the most important difference personal preference? Post Oct 13, 2019 #1 2019-10-13T05:20. I actually have two nearly identical guitars, one with rosewood and the other with mahogany, which allows me the luxury of an apples-to-apples comparison.