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Post by alexkirtley on Sept 23, 2020 11:59:58 GMT
I've recently found myself wanting a Martin again, namely a vintage spec D28, I don't have a spare 40+k lying around for an original pre war one, and the authentics are pretty up there too, so I'm going to make one, an Adirondack top can be found readily, but I'm looking around for brazilian rosewood alternatives, what would anyone here consider to be a good alternative that can be found without too much difficulty, I know a few that I've heard could be considered similar, but I've no experience with them so it would be good to hear from anyone who has
Cheers!
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Sept 23, 2020 15:01:38 GMT
Well, the recent Martin Authentic pre-war D-28 reissues use Madagascar Rosewood as it's meant to be as close to Brazilian as makes no difference. And very nice it is too  |
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colins
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Post by colins on Sept 23, 2020 21:35:33 GMT
Good Madagascan rosewood is getting hard to find now, the wood I bought back in the 90s came from some of the last decent size trees that were cut, even then they has a fair amount of rift to flat sawn wood on the edges. Timberline has some reasonable sets, but the good stuff is hard to find now. I gave Dave the last of my old sets from Madinter that I used for classicals, but they would be up at BRW prices now.  Mad Rose If it's the tone you are after, rather than cosmetics then there are a number of good alternatives. Discounting Mad Rose, almost any of the denser rosewoods will be virtually indistinguishable from BRW, I would say that Honduran Rosewood, or good Cocobolo are up there. But the closest I found was Cambodian Beng, (I gave Dave a set of that too) it can vary in looks but is a good dense hardwood, but is not easy to find. I always paired it with White Spruce, far superior to the Adi available nowadays (as is Lutz, which is a White Spruce/Sitka hybrid), and don't forget they only used Adi because they couldn't get decent Euro  -2.jpg) Beng Another good underrated alternative is Pau Rosa, very similar to Honduran Rosewood, and if you can find a good set, then ziricote is good, if not the easiest wood to work, then there is the superlative African Blackwood, Timberline may some. A really good straight grained Indian Rosewood is as good, and always has been, as BRW. If it's just the tone of BRW that you are after, then Osage Orange is the standout best, or you could consider padauk. As you can see there are an enormous range of alternatives. Me I'd use good EIR and Lutz. Colin Don't forget they only built with BRW and Adi as it was plentiful and relatively cheap, not because it was necessarily the best woods that could be used |
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Post by alexkirtley on Sept 24, 2020 0:03:51 GMT
Thanks Colin, very informative
I think I am going for largely looks, I doubt my ear could tell too much of the difference between Indian and Brazilian, the tops being the same, I do like the look of that Madagascar rosewood, I think I'd like to try and find a set of that if I can find a decent one, I only really plan to use something fancy on this one project, aside from that I'd mostly use indian, so maybe I could get lucky, I think the only reason I don't want to use Indian is I think it looks a bit on the plain side, but maybe as you say it might be a wise option.
The other ones mentioned I will explore, it may come down to cost at some stage, so I will look into options and availability.
I may well explore different spruces too and see what I can find in the UK, I recently built a mahogany slope shoulder dreadnought which I built with some not particularily high end timbers, but it has a european spruce top I bought on ebay of all places, and it really sings, it's an incredible sounding guitar, so I may go for european again if it's giving the big sound I like
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colins
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Post by colins on Sept 24, 2020 8:16:31 GMT
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Post by Matt Milton on Sept 24, 2020 16:06:21 GMT
I always bang on about Recording King guitars, I own three of them because when they get it right they really get it right. Received wisdom is that you can't go wrong with either a Recording King RD-328 or an RD-T16 if you want a D28 copy. Neither are expensive, but if you can buy one secondhand it will be a bargain and you'd get a similar amount for resale if it turned out you didn't like it. Mentioning it in case you want a distraction while guitar making.
Also, this had never occurred to me before until I read this thread but I guess the band Madder Rose presumably took their name from madagascan rosewood.
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colins
Luthier / Guitar Maker
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Post by colins on Sept 24, 2020 19:26:53 GMT
Also, this had never occurred to me before until I read this thread but I guess the band Madder Rose presumably took their name from madagascan rosewood. More likely a corruption from the the 1990s book Rose Madder by Steven King, who of course took the title from the colour Rose Madder which is obtained from the Common Madder plant and used by a lot of artists. Colin |
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Post by matthewj on Sept 27, 2020 14:19:57 GMT
Hi Alex
I have a nice set of Honduran Rosewood that chimes as bright as any wood I've owned. I've also got old growth Cocobolo. Both woods are said to be good and close alternatives to Braz. I don't have any Mad Rose left but agree with Colins sentiments on this wood. I have a nice set of Bocote and this is a very under rated wood.
I also have Lutz Spruce soundboards. I AM NOT a seller just a builder who has a large collection of wood I'll never use. If you would like some pics, I'd be happy to send some.
Mat
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Post by alexkirtley on Sept 27, 2020 18:54:17 GMT
Hi Alex I have a nice set of Honduran Rosewood that chimes as bright as any wood I've owned. I've also got old growth Cocobolo. Both woods are said to be good and close alternatives to Braz. I don't have any Mad Rose left but agree with Colins sentiments on this wood. I have a nice set of Bocote and this is a very under rated wood. I also have Lutz Spruce soundboards. I AM NOT a seller just a builder who has a large collection of wood I'll never use. If you would like some pics, I'd be happy to send some. Mat Hi Mat Yes please, PM me some, that'd be great |
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colins
Luthier / Guitar Maker
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Post by colins on Sept 28, 2020 8:19:42 GMT
Yes I'd go Honduran and Lutz (if you can't get White spruce).
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Post by andyhowell on Sept 28, 2020 10:11:59 GMT
My guitar is built with Wenge which is a pretty good alterantive though I understand not the easyist of woods to work with. The Somogyi classic alternative is wenge with a sitka top I belive (which is what I have).
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Jo whoever he is.
