@Al: Have a look what CITES tells: They have Granadillo as "Platymiscium spp.", not Dalbergia.
In fact they're both in the fabacea (pea) family which includes both genus dalbergia
and the platymiscium:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platymiscium:
"Platymiscium is a genus of legume in the Fabaceae family, and was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic Pterocarpus clade within the Dalbergieae."
Anyway, the names Granadillo or Grenadillo or Grenadill various versions seems to be mixed up wildly depending on Spanish, Portugese, English or German.
Ralf
Right, not saying it
can't be the platymiscium, just seemed more likely to be the D. melanoxylon given its known history of usage
in '74.
It was historically very popular for woodwind instrument construction.
There's also a listing for D. Granadillo on the CITES list, specifically named "Granadillo"
https://www.fws.gov/international/plants/current-cites-listings-of-tree-species.html
And yes the spelling of name thing is a confusing factor but you made me dig deeper on the Platymiscium and now I see that in fact P.pleiostachyum
is an equally if not even more viable candidate:
From
here:
"P. pleiostachyum: Granadillo that carries the reputation of being the best quality in the Platymiscium genus. Unfortunately, this reputation as also caused pleiostachyum to be severely exploited over the last few decades and consequently is now listed as endangered in the IUCN Redlist of Threatened Species including being CITES Appendix 2 Restricted. Due to this CITES status, we do not sale or ship this species outside the United States. If you’re looking for the absolute best in granadillo material, then this is it. Originally indigenous to Costa Rica, it is now virtually extinct in this country due to illegal logging and exploitation. It can still be found in El Salvador and Nicaragua and legally sourced from these countries....
Granadillo responds very well to turning and
emits a caramel like scent when worked. It is also an excellent alternative to cocobolo for those who do not wish to deal with the excessive oil and potential allergic reactions that true rosewoods sometimes induce. Typical straight grain patterns with some irregularity..
Tone Qualities:
In South America, it is highly regarded as the best tonewood choice for marimba and xylophone bones and is often referenced as “La Madera Que Canta” (“wood that sings”). Granadillo has been said to have a ringing, bright tap tone and is gaining popularity amongst American instrument makers."
In fact given my earlier humorous reference to that guitar looking like a mariachi instrument, that reference to marimba usage seems pretty relevant!
Also we know Guild had connections for Honduran mahogany so perhaps they got wind of this stuff through the same sources?
Whatever it is, since it appears to be something other than the traditional EIR or Braz, or cocobolo, I just see it as evidence that Guild seemed to be testing out alternatives to the cut-off supply of Brazilian rosewood at the time.
It would be an interesting footnote in Vol 2 of the Guild Guitar book.