I guess I just don't like Rosewood

Bonneville88

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Prefer mahogany or maple, most of the time. Owned three D55s and a D50,
sold them all. That said, very fond of my JF55 and AF50RE!

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HeyMikey

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Just noticing: It appears, as we all get more seasoned, most of us grow a serious appreciation for mahogany as a main tonewood. This is really interesting.

I’m not sure that generalization is actually true. I think preferences are all over the board. There are so many factors to consider no different than choosing a guitar based on the the size of the guitar, the shape, the construction, builder, etc.

I find a small guitar benefits from the added bass and harmonics of rosewood lacking from the size. Whereas a dread is often played louder sounds great to me with mahogany for a balanced, lass muddy sound. I like maple on a jumbo because the size provides the natural bottom end to complement the brighter clarity of the maple.

Song selection and playing style matter as well. A lot. Is it slow and melodic and needs
some lush overtones to bind it together? Rosewood. Is it a strong rhythmic rocker or blues tune or to accompany vocals? Then maybe you want mahogany. Fast finger or flat picker - maybe maple is better for the immediacy and clarity.

Since I don’t play dreads or jumbos, but rather small- mid sizes; and I’m not a fast picker or finger picker - more of a balled and pop player, it makes sense that rosewood and some mahogany are what suits me. YMMV.
 

bobouz

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Guitar generalizations are made to be broken - even in the world of tonewoods. Although the only thing I do is fingerpick (with an occasional strum thrown in), I have acoustic guitars ranging from jumbos to small-bodies, which include a serious mix of the three major tonewoods. What I need for my playing style are notes that decay rather quickly, and the array of instruments that remain with me can all do that. Those with too much sustain or too many overtones have eventually been moved out.

And although these various bodies & tonewoods all adequately meet the quick-decay criteria, the variations of tone from one guitar to the next are often what inspires me to develop a new tune - I suppose because I’m hearing the notes produced uniquely by each instrument, creating different sonic opportunities.

So for me, it becomes a matter of discarding the generalizations & assessing the key qualities of each instrument, piece by piece - and any of the major tonewoods, given the variety of build formats that exist, is capable of perhaps surprisingly producing the right stuff. It’s one of the coolest things about guitars, imho!
 

beecee

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Hey beecee, what model Wechter do you have?

 

beecee

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- and any of the major tonewoods, given the variety of build formats that exist, is capable of perhaps surprisingly producing the right stuff. It’s one of the coolest things about guitars, imho!

Keeping my fingers crossed!!
 

donnylang

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In my limited experience w/ Rosewood, it sounds off to me. Mahogany sounds like "home" ... maybe just too used to it. Rosewood sounds too ethereal and doesn't have enough thump.
 

Br1ck

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Here's my take on the above, at least for me. When all I could do was strum, a rosewood guitar put out a huge resonant tone, and it hid my less than good technique. As I progressed, and could rip through changes, add bass runs and bluegrass fills while I was singing, I began to notice rosewood covering up or smearing the notes. Mahogany guitars sound crisp and clean, distinct if you will. Now I'm able to get a clean sound out of rosewood, well, kinda. The big boys and girls can really do this. They draw on the tone of rosewood without the smear. I stated recently how much better my Guild D 35 is for a rhythm track. With a rosewood dread, I have to play two or three note chord voicings, and palm mute to cut the smear.
 

Westerly Wood

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Rosewood was my favorite tonewood as a young buck. I think itches due to a friends Martin D-35. And D-45.

But like Brick says above, I want and need more clarity as I got older. Wait, we still talking about guitars, right? 😀
 

mushroom

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Interesting thread.

For those who moved preferences from R to M, is that consistent across 6 and 12 strings?

I have only ever had one decent guitar being a DV-52 so I have no reference on other woods (or decent 12 strings).
 

PittPastor

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I think what happens is we get used to a sound. I'm convinced one of the reason I just don't like Taylors (and I mean I have never played one for a minute that I liked at all) is that they don't sound like a guitar to me. It sounds... off. I can't really put my finger on it.

But I played one guitar, and only one guitar, for over 30 years my Guild D40C. I think that after years of playing, that shaped my ear. It's what I expect a guitar to sound like when I play, and anything else just sounds a little wrong. If I had played a Martin all of my life, the Guild's low end might sound weak to me. If I played a Taylor, maybe I'd like the heavier treble sound... if I played a Gibson... oh... Well, who am I kidding? I kind of have. Ren Ferguson is Ren Ferguson...
 

dreadnut

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I will say this: although I gave the nod to my D25M for overall sound and projection, the DV52 was much more even in its presentation across all six strings, where the D25M generates more volume and especially bass.
 

Br1ck

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When I pick up my Martin D 35 after a week or two, it sounds so overblown, and it is the driest rosewood dread I've played. It takes a while for my ears and technique to adapt. Play it for a week, and my Guild D 35 sounds sterile until my ears adjust. After two days it's what was I thinking. Pick up my 00 15 and think, why do I own this? A day or so later the incredible midrange get through to the brain cells. My Texan seem impervious to this phenomenon. If my Texan sounds off, it's string change time. It takes me months or longer to know a guitar. I rotate through four very different guitars, a week or two at a time. Rarely back and forth on the same day. I play some songs on a particular guitar. Some songs are played on all of them, but differently. This is one of the big advantages to having a diverse collection. When I got my Martin D 35, I suddenly was playing Eagles and Niel Young a lot. When I got my 00, it was Jimmy Rodgers, Guild D 35, classic country back to Hank Williams, Porter Wagoner, etc. The Texan lead me to Towns Van Zandt and Guy Clark, Steve Earl and more. The 00 get Willie Nelson too.

The same thing applies to my songwriting. Guitars lead me in different directions.
 

plaidseason

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I was on a quest for a "sleeper" rosewood dreadnought. I went through two different Simon & Patrick Pro Rosewoods. The first was damaged in the shipping. The second was definitely a "player" and had some issues. So I returned that as well. The funny thing that happened is that it made me miss owning an arched back mahogany dread like my old DCE1 (sold off over a decade ago). And so I shopped and found one for $400. Also a "player." But it was exactly what I needed. It turns out my favorite dread sound is a D25/D4/DCE1.

I do love rosewood on 000/OMs. And owned an F30rls that I'd put up against any Santa Cruz or Collings.
 

plaidseason

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When I pick up my Martin D 35 after a week or two, it sounds so overblown, and it is the driest rosewood dread I've played. It takes a while for my ears and technique to adapt. Play it for a week, and my Guild D 35 sounds sterile until my ears adjust. After two days it's what was I thinking. Pick up my 00 15 and think, why do I own this? A day or so later the incredible midrange get through to the brain cells. My Texan seem impervious to this phenomenon. If my Texan sounds off, it's string change time. It takes me months or longer to know a guitar. I rotate through four very different guitars, a week or two at a time. Rarely back and forth on the same day. I play some songs on a particular guitar. Some songs are played on all of them, but differently. This is one of the big advantages to having a diverse collection. When I got my Martin D 35, I suddenly was playing Eagles and Niel Young a lot. When I got my 00, it was Jimmy Rodgers, Guild D 35, classic country back to Hank Williams, Porter Wagoner, etc. The Texan lead me to Towns Van Zandt and Guy Clark, Steve Earl and more. The 00 get Willie Nelson too.

The same thing applies to my songwriting. Guitars lead me in different directions.

That's a solid point. My four six strings (Guild F44, Guild DCE1, Simon & Patrick Songsmith Folk, Art & Lutherie parlor) all offer very different things. Even the S&P and A&L which are both fairly inexpensive guitars with laminated cherry back and sides have totally different tones and vibes.
 

Cougar

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I had a hog-backed F212XL built in New Hartford. Beautiful thing. Couldn't compete with my JF30-12, so I unloaded it. And the rosewood Oxnard F512 is a touch above the JF30-12, so.....
 

Rayk

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I had a hog-backed F212XL built in New Hartford. Beautiful thing. Couldn't compete with my JF30-12, so I unloaded it. And the rosewood Oxnard F512 is a touch above the JF30-12, so.....

F212xl couldn’t compete with the JF30 !? depending on what sound you want , ya think ? Apples to oranges ? Lol 😂
My 212xlce is a outstanding guitar she has it all overtones , balance , clarity , sustain .
She’s a tone machine!!!!
Great see what you did now, now I got to play her . 🤣🤣🤣
 

Aecon13

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O want to like rosewood soooo bad. It literally makes a guitar sound like it has natural EQ, kind of like Yamaha's TransAvoustic series, which if you have not tried, I highly recommend. However, for a heavy handed strummer like me, Rosewood is like my worst enemy. The notes are all over place
There is just far to much note separating, but if you are a fingerstylist, or doing lead work, with a softer touch, Rosewood probably sounds like magic to you.

For a Rhythm player like me, I'll stick with Hog, Maple, Walnut, and in a perfect world, Blackwood!!!
 

adorshki

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F212xl couldn’t compete with the JF30 !? depending on what sound you want , ya think ? Apples to oranges ? Lol 😂
My 212xlce is a outstanding guitar she has it all overtones , balance , clarity , sustain .
She’s a tone machine!!!!
Great see what you did now, now I got to play her . 🤣🤣🤣
Sound clip? :devilish::geek:
 

Rayk

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Sound clip? :devilish::geek:
Here’s the beast side of her .

 
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