Rosewood Grain

[Silence Kid]

So I'll at least refrain from calling out the origin of the necks in question, but:

The below necks are both "rosewood;" there is an obvious color difference, but beyond that the neck on the right has a very rough and open grain (that I do not like) and the other has a very smooth finish to it.

Do some makers use some sort of grain filler on necks to smooth them out? Is this an issue of species? Is the more open/rough grain evidence of cost-cutting? I have seen very expensive guitars with the "open" rosewood and quite cheap ones with very smooth fretboards.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Rosewood Grain

Some are counterfeits

Naw there is Brazilian and Somewhere else
Just like Mahogany it has different variants

Some places dye theirs to darken it

Some places sand it smooth

If you oil the rough one it may fill in

If you oil the smooth one it may gain texture

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Rosewood Grain

I have a rough one on a guitar I got re-fretted. I asked the luthier whether it was possible to sand or plane the fretboard for more smoothness, but luthier indicated doing that wouldn't help things in a significant way; which makes sense given the appearance/depth of the grain. I've kept it well oiled and over a decade or so no real change.

In general if I wanted to avoid this sort of wood, how should I describe it in technical terms?

 

[ICTGoober]

Re: Rosewood Grain

Wood is not a manufactured material. It grew that way when it was a living thing. Soil and species makes a difference in the grain. Since there at least a dozen species of rosewood, expect some differences between fingerboards.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Rosewood Grain

I just think there are 1000s of subspecies that everyone calls 'rosewood'. The best is consistent dark color and smooth grain, but that is getting rarer, and you have to apply for a permit to import/export it. You can always scallop it!

 

[ICTGoober]

Re: Rosewood Grain

I just think there are 1000s of subspecies that everyone calls 'rosewood'.

If it's not a DALBERGIA, it's not rosewood. Someone a lot smarter than us named them with Latin for a reason.

 

[CaptainWhizz]

Re: Rosewood Grain

If those two necks were on a desk in front of me, I would reach for the one on the right first.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Rosewood Grain

^Genuinely curious why.

Other than that- guess I'll google pictures of Dalbergia.

EDIT: Both necks above do not look like sample pics of Dalbergia.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Rosewood Grain

Oof... Those frets on the right look to be in pretty rough shape, and I can see how coarse the grain looks as well. Unless the profile on the right is amazing, I'd go for the left one given the choice. Plus, with build quality like that who knows what other problems it may end up having in the long run.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Rosewood Grain

Oof... Those frets on the right look to be in pretty rough shape, and I can see how coarse the grain looks as well. Unless the profile on the right is amazing, I'd go for the left one given the choice. Plus, with build quality like that who knows what other problems it may end up having in the long run.

Hmm....

 

[AlexR]

Re: Rosewood Grain

Every rosewood species has a specific structure, and typical range of colour. But there is so much variability in any natural product as to make this merely a guideline to ID.

Both of those are rosewood (obviously). Additionally both fall well within what I have seen for Indian Rosewood. Where it was grown to the point of what square metre of ground the trunk is located will determine significantly the way the tree's wood looks once harvested.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Rosewood Grain

To be clear that's just a good representative pic of an MIJ and MIM Fender neck. Not the actual necks I own.

I notice a LOT of MIJ guitars have the very open, almost gouged necks.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Rosewood Grain

Hmm....

Those are not the same neck. The third one atleast looks to have decent frets.

I still prefer thinner modern necks and smoother, finished fretboards.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Rosewood Grain

The left one looks almost like pau ferro.

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Rosewood Grain

The right neck is what I think of when it comes to a proper looking Rosewood board. Take a look at a few vintage fretboards and most if not all will have similar grain.

The left neck looks closer to Pau Ferro or Cocobolo, but could just as easily be plantation grown (ie quick) Indian RW

 

[Mincer]

Re: Rosewood Grain

My point is there are lots of people who call it 'rosewood' when it might not technically be rosewood. It isn't like most people check up on these things. Also, old growth looks a lot different (tighter grain) than newer growth.

 

[ICTGoober]

Re: Rosewood Grain

My point is there are lots of people who call it 'rosewood' when it might not technically be rosewood. It isn't like most people check up on these things. Also, old growth looks a lot different (tighter grain) than newer growth.

You KNOW better! People come HERE to find out the truth, because it matters. Man, if you can't stand for the truth, why are you a mod?

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Rosewood Grain

I have a 66 Mustang. It has an AMAZING fretboard. It's not "gouged" but it has some texture and is very smooth and almost ivory to the touch. The guitar has small frets which just means you feel it more on the fingers. I suppose that year should still be Indian, but it's again very different from either of the above or any of my other Rosewood necks.

I have a 68 Yamaha acoustic with a neck almost identical to what comes up when I google "Dalbergia." It is somewhat more textured but very uniform and hard to the touch, vs the Mustang. My last old guitar is a 76 Takamine- that board is again very hard-touch, but very smooth at the same time, more like a piece of granite without any pockmarks or openness to grain.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Rosewood Grain

You KNOW better! People come HERE to find out the truth, because it matters. Man, if you can't stand for the truth, why are you a mod?

Um, what are you going on about?

 

[Darg1911]

Re: Rosewood Grain

I'm guessing that, once again, someone peed in his cornflakes ...