Brazilian vs Indian…REALLY?
There's no question which one is prettier to look at but is there really a difference in the tonal qualities on a piece of wood as small as a fingerboard? Many think so.
Seth Myers does a bit on SNL that essentially answers stupid or misguided premises with the answer “Really?” It was funny once but it got pretty tired pretty fast. That said, I have one more. “I can hear the difference between Brazilian rosewood and Indian rosewood…” REALLY? You might be able to convince me that you can hear the difference between ebony and rosewood or maple and rosewood but between rosewood and rosewood? I don’t think so. Anyone who thinks they can usually will respond with “well you’d have to test them on the same guitar and/or the same neck..” which no one is going to do. Anyway, it isn’t my intention to discredit folks who have such discerning ears, it’s merely my intro into the topic of fingerboards. The use of Brazilian rosewood as a fingerboard material goes back a long way. In the beginning, ebony was the preferred wood on stringed instruments but it was expensive and difficult to come by. Brazilian rosewood was cheaper and easier to get. This was 100 years ago, however. Now Brazilian rosewood is illegal to import. Gibson has had some trouble in this area but I don’t know what the outcome of the “raid” was other than Henry Juszkiewicz, The Gibson CEO stepping down from the board of the Rainforest Alliance. Legalities aside, the ES-335 and 345 used Brazilian rosewood in its fingerboards from the very beginning. Gibson supposedly switched from Brazilian to Indian rosewood during 1966. It seems that a lot of ’66s are Brazilian. I don’t think I’ve seen a 67 with it, so the transition must have been complete at some point in 66. Again, the way I picture it, there was a big bin full of fingerboards for each model and the worker would go and grab however many he needed for that day’s run of necks, paying no heed to whether it was Brazilian or Indian. It made no difference to the worker as far as I know. And, while I’m sure some woods are easier to work with than others, these 2 are quite similar. Most of us agree that Brazilian is the more interesting and attractive of the 2 woods with its swirly and interesting grain and figuring. Indian rosewood is generally straight grained and homogeneous. It’s completely clear why Brazilian is the preferred wood from an appearance standpoint. From the tone side of it, I don’t hear any-at least not from a piece of wood as small as a fingerboard. If the entire guitar is made of rosewood and is an acoustic? Well, maybe but I’d have to hear them for myself and decide on that basis. But an audible difference between an Indian rosewood and a Brazilian rosewood board? How about Patagonian rosewood and Madagascar rosewood? I don’t think so. Really.
Hey:
Good points here. I can see Braz Rosewood being
a bigger deal on acoustic sides and backs where the wood is a big
component of the sound as opposed to a fingerboard.
Yeah the stuff looks great but it gets too cork sniffy for me.
I get a chuckle out of guys who say the they can hear
Braz Fingerboards on Pre CBS Fender necks.
When I saw there was a comment on this post, I thought, “oh, no, got to be someone who thinks they can hear the difference between the two rosewoods on a fingerboard”. But no. I agree that Brazilian as the major tonewood can be perceived in the tone of an acoustic. I’m not sure I could hear it (and I have good ears) but I don’t doubt that there are those who can. This wood did not become the gold standard of guitar tonewoods without good reason. On the other hand, there’s a reason why acoustic tops aren’t made out it. Adirondack spruce gets the nod for tops because of its superior ability to vibrate sympathetically with the strings. I’ll bet I could tell a spruce top from a rosewood top with one ear tied behind my back.
Thank you for a great post.
Slightly off topic, but related. As an overseas member I get caught up in the CITES restrictions associated with Brazilian rosewood, which sort of limits me to looking at buying ES-355’s.
It may be interesting to other readers to do a post on CITES and how collectors and musicians deal with the export/travel restrictions. Recently there have been some horror stories in the local press (I live in Switzerland) about professional musicians having their instruments confiscated at the airport for CITES infringements.
I had an experience with CITES myself. I had bought a really great stoptail ’65 (yep, there were stoptails in ’65) from a gentleman in Guadalajara Mexico and it got held up in Customs for more than a week because they thought the guitar was made from an “illegal” wood even though the shipping documents said mahogany. It was clear that the guitar was older than the treaty and returning to its country of origin. That, apparently, wasn’t good enough in this post Homeland Security USA.
It seems like a market opportunity for someone .. do the legwork to provide CITES documentation for non-resident purchasers. Most dealers I have spoken to just avoid the whole issue. I sure a lot us here in Europe would pay a reasonable sum for this service.
It may be interesting to other readers to do a post on CITES and how collectors and musicians deal with the export/travel restrictions. Recently there have been some horror stories in the local press (I live in Switzerland) about professional musicians having their instruments confiscated at the airport for CITES infringements.
thank you
This wood did not become the gold standard of guitar tonewoods without good reason. On the other hand, there’s a reason why acoustic tops aren’t made out it
nice Post!@ …Brazilian rosewood was cheaper and easier to get. This was 100 years ago, however. Now Brazilian rosewood is illegal to import. Gibson has had some trouble in this area but I don’t know what the outcome of the “raid” was other than Henry Juszkiewicz,
I had an experience with CITES myself. I had bought a really great stoptail ’65 (yep, there were stoptails in ’65) from a gentleman in Guadalajara Mexico and it got held up in Customs for more than a week because they thought the guitar was made from an “illegal”
Slightly off topic, but related. As an overseas member I get caught up in the CITES restrictions associated with Brazilian rosewood, which sort of limits me to looking at buying ES-355′s.
That shouldn’t be the case. It’s easy to prove a vintage guitar is pre Cites.
Good point here, I can see is a huge management Braz Rosewood acoustic and elements that do not sound as opposed to a finger. But what looks good. However, given tap too bad for me, I hope to get a laugh out of men who say they can hear fingerboards Braz on CBS Fender neck.
That shouldn’t be the case. game It’s easy to prove a vintage guitar is pre Cites.
Actually, they don’t care. CITES says if it’s Brazzy, you need a permit. PreCites means you still need the permit.