Honduran Rosewood

Costs are rising and times are tough.
Please consider a donation to keep this
place going.

Welcome to one of the most active flamenco sites on the Internet. Guests can read most posts but if you want to participate click here to register.

This site is dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía, Ron Mitchell, Guy Williams, Linda Elvira, Philip John Lee, Craig Eros, Ben Woods, David Serva and Tom Blackshear who went ahead of us.

We receive 12,200 visitors a month from 200 countries and 1.7 million page impressions a year. To advertise on this site please contact us.

Honduran Rosewood

You are logged in as Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >>Discussions >>Lutherie >>

Page: [1]

Message

<< Newer Topic Older Topic >>

JasonM

Posts: 2051
Joined: Dec. 8 2005
From: Baltimore

Honduran Rosewood

Is Honduran Rosewood too dense of a wood for flamenco guitars? Dont see much of it anyway. It ranks a little higher in density in comparison to Indian and it feels like lead!

I have a bridge blank I got for free from the PRS factory which is not too far from me.

Images are resized automatically to a maximum width of 800px

Attachment (1)

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 7 2018 1:35:41

jshelton5040

Posts: 1500
Joined: Jan. 17 2005

RE: Honduran Rosewood (in reply to JasonM)

I bought a big plank years ago. It was heavy and very unstable, of course stability can certainly vary between individual pieces of wood. I had this wood for years and every time I tried to work it the twisting and corkscrewing was amazing. I ended up using it for trim on kitchen cabinets. Hope you have better luck.

_____________________________

John Shelton - www.sheltonfarrettaguitars.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 7 2018 14:33:20

mqbernardo

Posts: 47
Joined: Mar. 26 2012

RE: Honduran Rosewood (in reply to JasonM)

What’s the density of that piece? Honduran Rosewood is a beautiful and very resonant wood, but in my experience is more than just a little above Indian rosewood in weight. I’d still use it for a classical if I could get the weight down, but more mostly because I love the wood.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 7 2018 22:53:45

constructordeguitarras

Posts: 1672
Joined: Jan. 29 2012
From: Seattle, Washington, USA

RE: Honduran Rosewood (in reply to JasonM)

I think Honduran rosewood may be about the same as Bolivian rosewood, aka Pau Ferro, which I use a lot for negras and classicals.

It is true that Indian rosewood makes negras that sound a lot more like blancas. Negras made from Pau Ferro have a mellower tone. But I make negras from Pau Ferro that don't sound like classicals of Pau Ferro.

I haven't had any trouble working the wood. I prefer it for bridges and bindings. It has closed pores and it doesn't bleed color the way Indian rosewood does, so it makes finishing easier.

_____________________________

Ethan Deutsch
www.edluthier.com
www.facebook.com/ethandeutschguitars
www.youtube.com/marioamayaflamenco
I always have flamenco guitars available for sale.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 8 2018 15:49:06

Stephen Eden

Posts: 914
Joined: Apr. 12 2008
From: UK

RE: Honduran Rosewood (in reply to JasonM)

I would have thought it was too heavy for a bridge. It could all come down to design though.

_____________________________

Classical and Flamenco Guitars www.EdenGuitars.co.uk

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 10 2018 7:48:03

estebanana

Posts: 9351
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: Honduran Rosewood (in reply to constructordeguitarras)

quote:

It is true that Indian rosewood makes negras that sound a lot more like blancas. Negras made from Pau Ferro have a mellower tone. But I make negras from Pau Ferro that don't sound like classicals of Pau Ferro.

Are you riffing on Jeff Elliot's famous musing? (Paraphrased)

"African Black wood is to Brazilian Rosewood, as Indian Rosewood is to a Rib Eye steak is to a plate of Tacos Dorados is to a Motoguzzi cycle is to a Krups Delux Coffee maker is to Brazilian Rosewood"

_____________________________

https://www.stephenfaulkguitars.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 10 2018 11:55:02

JasonM

Posts: 2051
Joined: Dec. 8 2005
From: Baltimore

RE: Honduran Rosewood (in reply to constructordeguitarras)

That bridge blank feels surprisingly heavy, but I haven't weighed it yet. I actually like the look of and sound of Pau ferro back and sides to Indian rosewood Negras, although I have little experience with them.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 10 2018 13:36:12

rojarosguitar

Posts: 243
Joined: Dec. 8 2010

RE: Honduran Rosewood (in reply to JasonM)

I haven't seen flamencas made from Honduras RW but I have a classical guitar with Honduras body and cedar top made by Sebastian Stenzel. It's not heavy at all for a classical guitar (1580g incl. tuners; his cypress blanca weighs 1336g).

Stenzel considers Honduras rosewood to be as good as good Brazilian and better than most Braziian you can get on the market these days. It (the one I have) has very straight grain and is perfectly quarter-sawn. He says it has very similar sonic properties without the disadvantage of the tendency to crack easily like Brazil.

So I guess it very much depends on the piece of wood you have to your disposal.

Images are resized automatically to a maximum width of 800px

Attachment (2)

_____________________________

Music is a big continent with different lascapes and corners. Some of them I do visit frequently, some from time to time and some I know from hearsay only ...

A good musical instrument is one that inspires one to express as free as possible

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 19 2018 13:07:11

mqbernardo

Posts: 47
Joined: Mar. 26 2012

RE: Honduran Rosewood (in reply to JasonM)

that´s nice wood, but doesn't´t look anything like the honduran rosewood i have - which is likely to be expected, as wood varies a lot.

Sadly these days it seems almost as hard to get a good honduran rosewood set as a brazilian set. or maybe not sad, just the way it is. RIP rosewood.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 20 2018 0:22:19

sartorius

Posts: 206
Joined: Mar. 7 2017

RE: Honduran Rosewood (in reply to JasonM)

RIP Amazonian forest...

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 12 2018 11:35:24

RobF

Posts: 1611
Joined: Aug. 24 2017

RE: Honduran Rosewood (in reply to JasonM)

I’ve used it for bridges and headplates before and it worked out OK, met my target weights and sounded good. But I have also heard concern expressed regarding its stability. In my case, I had bought some fingerboards that were cut quite thick. After sitting for about five years they hadn’t shifted or twisted in any way, so I decided to cut a couple of them up into bridge blanks with matching headplates. The wood looked a lot like the blank you’re showing.

Alternatively, EIR is a good, safe selection. It works easily, looks great IMO, and sounds great, too.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 12 2018 13:31:30