Custom Guitar: Brazilian Rosewood
I am currently making a 00 acoustic guitar out of Brazilian Rosewood. The wood was cut a long time ago and looks quite dull; but with a finish on, its rich chocolate browns are accentuated. I love the look of this sapwood, as I really like contrasts. Brazilian tends to have a thin black pencil line between the heart and sap, which makes the sap stand out even more. Beautiful. It has a bell-like quality when tapped, and I think it’s going to sound pretty good.
Often cited as the holy grail of guitar making, Brazilian Rosewood (Dalbergia Nigra) is highly sought after. It can be stunningly beautiful, but it is most prized because of it’s tone.
It is impossible to pin down woods and tones: no two pieces of wood are the same, and all guitar makers make their guitars differently. You can open yourself up to criticism by stating what a piece of wood will sound like, based only on species – because you also have to take into account that everyone listens to tone differently.
It seems to me that when it comes to wood, the only subject upon which many of us are in agreement is that Brazilian Rosewood is the best possible choice for the back and sides of an acoustic guitar. It is certainly true that my three favourite guitars have been made from Brazilian Rosewood. (I’m not including guitars made by me here, because I find it impossible to be objective about them. I’ll sit there thinking, “Is this guitar too quiet?” when it is deafening. I suppose being hypercritical is a good thing, but it doesn’t help my nerves…)
The problem with Brazilian is that it is illegal. Let me explain. It has a conservation status of “vulnerable” and although this is the lowest grade in the “threatened” catagory, it is still sufficiently endangered for it to be CITES listed (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). As such it is illegal – not to mention unethical – to trade in the stuff.
Having said that, I am a great fan of recycling, and am concious of my moral responsibility as a woodworker to make sure that every material I use is ethically sound. Such scruples can prove difficult and expensive, but it is possible to buy recycled (or “reclaimed”) timber. If the timber was cut before the wood was banned, you can make guitars from it. It is likely that many guitars out there made from Brazilian Rosewood were once used to clad the interiors of hotels in the 20s and 30s.
