Guitarists know that superior wood is one of the prerequisites for high-end guitars. Hong Kong’s premier handmade guitar artist Johnny Lau has more than 20 years of work experience and is a musician in itself! He is highly acclaimed for Martin’s acoustic guitar. He said: “The guitar must have a good sound. It must use good wood. The guitar worth 100,000 or a million dollars is made of Brazilian rosewood. However, this kind of timber is already a local banned export timber, and its value has been rising unless it is specifically permitted or early bought (there is a rumor that a businessman has entered the illegal black market). ”
The precious thing about Brazilian rosewood is that the more you play, the more pleasant the sound is. The principle is that the guitar is the same as other instruments that use the resonance inside the speaker to produce a tone. The speakers made of Brazilian rosewood can emit thicker and rounded bass and survive the years. The lukewarm of the guitar string and the rebound of the sound when playing, will make the sound of the speaker resonate not only thick, but also smooth, more pleasant. It’s not as harsh as it was when you played it. Therefore, the more expensive the acoustic guitar is played, the more the price will be, and the price will only rise and will not fall
The first question we think of when we buy another guitar is: What wood guitar do you want? There is a tendency to think that Brazilian rosewood is the best. But in this article I want to explain why this is unfounded. It is not that Brazilian rosewood wood is not suitable for guitars, but other factors are taken into account. If someone asks me: “Do I buy a guitar to buy Brazilian rosewood or Indian rosewood?”
Answer this question briefly: “It depends on which guitar maker’s guitar you choose.”
The explanation for this issue is more extensive and I try to clarify here. First, guitar makers have different preferences for various woods. There are several factors that result. I know some great guitar makers who like the effect of some kind of wood on the guitar. We can say that years of experience and knowledge, special production methods, systems and different talents lead them to choose a certain kind of wood when making high quality guitars.
Many guitar producers who have been very important in history are more inclined to choose Indian rosewood instead of Brazilian rosewood when they are making. For example: Daniel Friederich, Ignacio Fleta or Paco Santiago Marin and so on. All of their guitars are almost Indian rosewood, not because they don’t get high quality Brazilian rosewood, but because they prefer Indian rosewood. They prefer the sound quality and effect of Indian rosewood on the guitar.
My conversations with famous guitar makers often have the following positive content: “I like the match of Korean pine and Indian rosewood.” But when my panel is white pine, I prefer Madagascar or Ziricote rosewood. There are guitar makers who like other fixed combinations. Every guitar maker has a very different preference for wood and the effect on the guitar.
These words will only tell you after they have established trust with the producers. If they tell the customer directly, they may lose those customers. If they tell a customer who wants to make a Brazilian Rosewood guitar: “If I choose Indian Rosewood,” they are likely to lose the customer. Customers may want to make a guitar of Brazilian rosewood, so they go to other producers; It may also be thought that the producer does not know how to operate Brazilian rosewood well or without good Brazilian rosewood to persuade himself to use Indian rosewood. In short, the producers will not persuade customers who want to make Brazilian rosewood guitars to do Indian rosewood guitars for many reasons. It takes a lot of time to explain the reason, and the customer needs some knowledge of production to comprehend.
So they made it from Brazilian rosewood according to the order, although they knew that the Indian rosewood would be better. It is undeniable that every producer has his own preferences for wood. Many producers choose which wood to make well. They use their talents and knowledge to make every piece of wood work properly, to achieve the best sound quality, and which wood is the same. But I want to reiterate that although many guitar makers have their own unique preferences for wood.
I think the other factors in choosing wood and my reply: “Depends on the producer” is correct. That is to say, when we make a guitar, we need to know if the producer has a good Brazilian rosewood.
Today, everyone knows that high quality Brazilian rosewood is rare and increasingly rare. So when making a Brazilian rosewood guitar, first make sure that the wood used in the guitar is of high quality. Maybe the guitar is Brazilian rosewood, but the quality of the wood is very poor. So in comparison, high quality Indian rosewood guitars are much better than low quality Brazilian rosewood guitars.
The price of a piece of wood for a single-board guitar is as high as 2,000 euros (about 16,000 yuan) or more. This makes the price of guitars rise. These money are not even enough to buy wood.
Yes, maybe you have a beautiful and expensive guitar. But does this mean that the guitar sound quality must be better than the print? The answer is: No, there is no justification for this idea.
Some producers have good Brazilian rosewood for a reason. Some producers are the producers. The fathers saved a lot of good Brazilian rosewood in the era when the Ba is at their fingertips.
Until today, my father’s generation also used these woods together. Usually the older generation of producers kept the Brazilian rosewood that they bought long ago in the warehouse. Both young and old generation producers have good Brazilian rosewood use for a reason.
There is one more thing, many people don’t know. The producer tells you that it is Brazilian rosewood. Is it true Brazilian rosewood? Is it high quality Brazilian rosewood? Because there are many types of Brazilian rosewood, the quality is uneven. Nowadays, many woods called Brazilian rosewood are actually a kind of wood called Amazonas. This material is hard to distinguish from Brazilian rosewood.
A few producers know that this wood sinks than the Brazilian rosewood. But there is almost no difference. For example, in general, Madagascar rosewood is also sinking than Brazilian rosewood.
In the field of traditional Spanish guitar production, many famous famous producers, such as Santos Hernandez. In the 1920s and 1930s, lighter guitars were preferred because they worked better.
In fact, the quality of Brazilian rosewood is very light, similar to the Indian rosewood. This Brazilian rosewood is the best wood for making traditional guitars. But today, this Brazilian rosewood is very rare. So guitar makers using traditional methods are more willing to use Indian rosewood. Understand that many producers don’t have to use very light wood when using thicker materials to make the guitar better.
Great producers like Daniel Friederich or Daniele Chiesa are also used in another way of making traditional techniques. The wood they use is much thicker, and it is not a problem for them to use heavy wood. For example, Daniele Chiesa believes that Madagascar rosewood and Ziricote rosewood have the same effect as thicker Brazilian rosewood and Indian rosewood. Although the rosewood of Madagascar sinks more than the Brazilian rosewood, it has no effect. How many times is it worth to spend more time in Brazil Rosewood? I do not think so. If I just like the aesthetics of Brazilian rosewood, I will set a base Madagascar rosewood guitar, which is the best in appearance and quality
I repeat, every guitar maker is different. They look at the different angles of guitar making, so the wood they like is different. So it is very important to choose the wood according to the guitar maker. And when you’re customizing your guitar, you need to find someone who knows the producer. This person can fully trust and have a deep knowledge of guitar production. Only in this way can we achieve professionalism and mutual trust.
On the other hand, the Indian rosewood also surpasses the Brazilian rosewood, because the Indian rosewood has remained perfect for many years. Brazilian rosewood can be said to be the victory over Indian rosewood in aesthetics. But it is also more prone to cracks. Regardless of the type of wood guitar, whether it is Indian rosewood, Brazilian rosewood, cedar or maple, the director is required to store them in a suitable humidity environment. But among them, Brazilian rosewood is more delicate and requires more careful care. Brazilian rosewood is more prone to cracks if care is not appropriate.
In this article, I also tried to help many guitar makers to eliminate the prejudice against wood in their hearts, and explain to them rational analysis that Indian rosewood guitars can compete with Brazilian rosewoods, even better. Many of the good guitars I have played in my life are Indian rosewood. A high-quality Indian rosewood and Brazilian rosewood make the same level of guitar. It is believed that the Brazilian rosewood guitar must have better sound quality than other woods (Indian Rosewood, Madagascar Rosewood, Ziricote Rosewood, Maple, Cypress, etc.). There is no basis for this discussion.
Remember, the more important thing is the player’s hands and playing talent. An outstanding performer can make a guitar that is unique in sound and quality with only inferior wood. A master of painting can draw art works with any material. Great guitar makers can also use this magic in guitar making.