ROSEWOODS     HOME ORDER ONLINE PRODUCTS REGISTER CONTACT US        There are several hundred rosewoods, but fewer than a dozen are used in instrument-making.   From time to time we will have some of the other lesser known rosewoods available to try out as tonewoods, but it is important to us that the wood we're offering is available both with consistency and in good quality.  Some of the traits of the various rosewoods we offer: Cocobolo archback by Michael Hemken

Amazon rosewood (Dalbergia spruceana): Amazon rosewood is hard and heavy—the same density as cocobolo, but easy to glue, and doesn't clog sandpaper. Excellent tap tone, and requires no CITES docs, as do most of the other Central and South American rosewoods. It does have a tendency to end check, and because of that we air-dry it rather than kiln dry it. Indian rosewood: considered the best value in rosewoods and probably in backs and sides altogether. Became the replacement wood for Brazilian as Brazilian became scarce. Most stable of rosewoods. Easy to work, to bend, to glue, etc.  years. Considered sustainable: used to shade coffee and tea fields. Madagascar rosewood:  there are many species and subspecies of Madagascar rosewood. The trees of the various species are small and rarely yield quartersawn 2-piece backs. During my tenure at LMI, wide bass fingerboards were resawn by many to make 4-piece quartersawn backs. With enough spider webbing, given similar color, and with good joining, it's virtually impossible to tell whether the back is of 2 or 4-pieces. Similar to Brazilian in stability once dry, about the density of cocobolo (at least the variety we have)  perhaps a little less porous, Madagascar rosewood makes great sounding guitars. Cocobolo rosewood: grows from Mexico through Central America. Harder and heavier than the three previously described rosewoods, Cocobolo can also be waxy and difficult to glue. However, for several of the hand builders (e.g. Jose Oribe) it has taken the place of the previously hard-to-get Brazilian rosewood. Available in quartersawn sets, Cocobolo often displays some  spider-webbing,   but the norm is straight, fine grain.

its great tap tone. It is typically rather plane looking, like the image at left, however once in a very rare while, one finds dark violet, and heavily figured wood. Hard and heavy, often waxy, it is very fine grained, stable when dry, and bends readily. is used. It's very difficult to get 2-piece back sets, quartersawn or otherwise, as the logs are voluted, gnarled, short and full of defects. We are offering sets with 4-piece backs just to be able to offer the material. Soundwise, Jeff Elliott and Cyndy Burton in an effort to confuse me, used the simile, "Blackwood is to Brazilian, as Brazilian is to Indian." Honduran rosewood: from Central America, Honduran rosewood is the preferred wood for marimbas, which attest to  African blackwood: hardest and heaviest, and rarest of the rosewoods used in guitarbuilding. It's not easy to process, it dulls edge tools, and it drys slowly. But it makes wonderful sounding guitars and is very rich looking, especially when sapwood Soundboards Backs & Sides Electric Woods CONTACT US  Fingerboards Neck Blanks Kerfing Bracewood Bridgeblanks Headplates Binding   Laminates Purfling Fretwire Plans  Truss rods Bone/Shell Bridge & End pins Rosettes/Veneers

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