Some famous hardwoods include maple, balsa, oak, elm, mahogany, and sycamore. 142 40. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Copyright © 2020, Difference Between | Descriptive Analysis and Comparisons. Rosewood is named as such due to the fact that the older trees have a very sweet and rich aroma, which is reminiscent of roses. This allows the woodworkers to create furniture from a single board without any seams or joints. 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. This is due to the fact that mahogany has the ability to produce a very deep, warm tone, similar to maple or birch. Mahogany back and sides often emphasize bass and treble, with more overtone coloration and a “woody” sound (as opposed to the more metallic sound of, say, rosewood … Hardwood trees are also slower to grow, taking their own time. 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. 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. These two back and side woods seem to be two of the most common. In fact, handles made of rosewood resist shrinkage and are long-lasting. Joined May 22, 2011 Messages 7,410 Reaction score 167. How the log was dried - sinker logs have a very different density than fresh cut - and transported are important aspects of tone. 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. The rose wood has close, dense grain, which makes it strong and durable. Regardless, my impression is mahogany is more fundamental and rosewood has more overtones. The mahogany found in the market can be sourced from a variety of different trees that have the reddish-brown hue which is associated with traditional mahogany. Hardwood is the wood that comes from an angiosperm tree. The wood is known for its unique pink coloring, which tends to take on a deeper reddish-brown hue over time. 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. Due to this, most hardwood is dense. Which is more suited for a picking on the couch at home. I would add to the above observations, of which I agree, that guitar construction can blur the lines a little between these combinations. This is a tough one, but always fun to talk about. 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. I have a D-15S all hog 12 fret, the bass is like thunder, the D-18A hogs also have tremendous bass and volume. Mahogany … Mahogany Vs Rosewood: Which is the Best for Back and Sides? 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. As a guitar top, dense mahogany has a solid, punchy tone with low overtone content and good high-end response. They are both great tone-woods individually and compliment each other superbly when played together. Post Oct 13, 2019 #1 2019-10-13T05:20. I have been considering buying a solid Mahogany AJ acoustic guitar, but I am not quite sure it would be worth the expense. It is kind of amusing/interesting to read given the current opinions on Brazilian Rosewood and Mahogany. 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 also have two rosewood Martin custom shop dreads that have great midrange because of the build. Ultralight123. Rosewood refers to the wood of different trees, including trees from the Tipuana, Pterocarpus and Dalbergia genera of trees. This is especially true for the Brazilian or Rio rosewood. This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. 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. Rosewood vs. mahogany. How the tree has grown, fast or slow, the environmental conditions it was subjected to, including infestation by parasites which gives us some of the most visually attractive woods, will alter the mineral content of any one log. This is due to the fact that mahogany is resistant to rot. I will say that nothing produces a thumping G run like rosewood. Most rosewood family timbers have a fast sound transmission speed and almost no internal dampening. Thats why most of the old school bluegrass guys prefer it. I do think Rosewood is a step above Mahogany re price points, mostly. Mahogany trees tend to grow to huge sizes; this allows the harvesters to process the tree as one and produce large, continuous boards. Maple vs. Rosewood 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. 142 40. This is also the reason that hardwood is expensive, as it takes longer to grow. Ive found this to be mostly true, but the back and side wood is only one (relatively small) part of the equation so its often difficult to isolate the differences based on back and side wood alone. Hence, the wood is used for making furniture, especially cabinets. Due to the popularity and subsequent high demand for rosewood, many species of tree belonging to the genus Dalbergia, from which most rosewood in the western world is sourced are now listed as either endangered or vulnerable by the ‘Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora’ or simply known as CITES. Other models at the time, like the high-end Martin D-28, came with rosewood sides and back. Tight grain patterns vs more open ring patterns will have an obvious effect on the tone, sustain and projection of a guitar. Due to the demand of mahogany, these trees are also grown on plantations located in Asia, specifically in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Fiji. I play only with my fingernails, and even when strumming, I just use my nails though I just started experimenting with some picks. Jul 24, 2020 #1 I made a short video to compare the sound of rosewood back & sides to mahogany. Not side-by-side, but within a week of one another. What is the big difference between the two? 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. However, due to the high demand for mahogany, has led to overlogging of the trees. The sound differences of using mahogany or rosewood back and sides on acoustic guitars. It's possible for a really good luthier to make a mahogany B&S guitar sound very similar to a rosewood B&S guitar. In fact, many Martin D-15 and Gibson Les Paul models use mahogany. 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. A lot of contest players like mahogany as well because of its balance. The sound of a mahogany guitar is considered to be dry, airy, woody, crispy and less complex with a great midrange, while, rosewood is considered to have a more wet shiny lush metallic sound with more sustain and sound. Furthermore, mahogany is popularly used to make musical instruments, such as wooden drums, and acoustic and electric guitars. Rosewood is named as such due to the fact that the older trees have a very sweet and rich aroma, which is reminiscent of roses. For example, apples or nuts and seeds like acorns and walnuts. In addition to furniture, mahogany is also used for boat building. Hello all! They understand that the guitars role in a bluegrass band is primarily rhythm, and rosewood gives them the bass they need. Rosewood is best known for its dark brownish and/or reddish hue with darker veining. 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