Hello all, I was shopping wood today and found a great piece of ziricote, good quarter sawn, and probably large enough for 2 B&S sets. I was wondering if anyone has ever seen or played a ziricote Negra and what were your impressions. Thanks and Happy Easter John
Me personally, this is my favorite wood species and I would love to own a ziricote flamenca negra. I have no idea how it would sound like either, but man I just really love the pattern of the wood, and especially with some sapwood in it, kind of like this one here:
That's a double top classical, but it's just to see how pretty the wood can be.
I like it very much. I have a few sets. It works well for steel string but I've been afraid to build a nylon with it. Maybe too dense. One day I'll attempt a negra with it.
Yes Anders, I am afraid that I worry about the weight issue as well. That's why I decided not to purchase the wood. Any ideas for an alternate wood for a Negra? I have built 2 with EIR and was happy with the sound but not much visual appeal. Macassar Ebony perhaps, or does that suffer from the same weight problem? I am going to build this one for myself. Also building a blanca for which I have the cypress already. Happy Easter John
Hi Tom, I did some research, a cubic foot of ziricote at 12% m.c. is 54 lbs. EIR weighs in at 57 lbs. Brazilian rosewood weighs 52. Either these numbers are screwed up or ziricote is not much heavier than the commonly used rosewoods for a Negra. I got the data from www.wood-database.com. I searched the Internet and saw afew ziricote Negras. They looked great but no mention was made of weight or sound. Any more thought?
That's good to know. The one thing that I have heard is that it can be difficult to bend. Seeing how this wood is usually expensive, I would hate to have it crack while bending. When I do get around to using it, I will work it as thin as I can and be very cautious while bending. It is beautiful wood and I really like the figure. Especially with the lighter sap wood running down the center.
Here's a set I will eventually get around to using.
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Sean -> RE: Ziricote Negra (Apr. 10 2012 4:12:33)
It's definitely heavier than EIR, I used it for a fingerboard and bridge once. I do like the glassy brittleness and ring of the few sets I've handled. The wood is expensive and unless well quartered prone to snapping when bending, I think its nickname is Mexican Crackwood.
