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LEXIS

Dense, durable tonewood with brillant overtones and dark basses. It produces somewhat softer sounds than ebony. As many species of rosewood face extinction, trading with some species such as Dalbergia nigra (Brazilian rosewood) has been completely illegal, whereas in 2016, protection was extended to all species. In November 2019, however, these trade restrictions on musical instruments, their components and accessories were repealed (with a few exceptions such as Rio rosewood).1) One kind of rosewood is cocobolo.

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Amazonas rosewood
(Dalbergia spruceana)
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Rio rosewood
(Dalbergia nigra)

East Indian rosewood
(Dalbergia latifolia)
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Cocobolo
(Dalbergia retusa)

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Appraisal

For almost two hundred years, rosewood has been the wood of choice for the majority of luthiers for backs and Zarges. Both its acoustic properties and its beauty are hard to beat. There are many species of the Dalbergia family, of which the best known are the Rio rosewood (Dalbergia nigra) and the East Indian Rosewood (D. latifolia). It's hard for me to develop a preference for either, since both have their own merits.
(…) If I was forced to generalize, I would say that Rio rosewood brings a slightly more brilliant, more metallic tone, while East Indian rosewood adds a little more warmth and intimacy to the timbre.
However, I consider the quality of each piece of wood to be at least as important as its type. It must be well cut, dried and stored. The risk of cracking is generally slightly greater for Rio rosewood than for East Indian …

Sebastian Stenzel: Tonhölzer

Indian rosewood is much harder, heavier, and stronger than mahogany. Guitar sets seldom show much figure, but we're all accustomed to looking at it that Indian rosewood just looks „right“. Sanding this wood clean takes more effort than mahogany, but a good random orbital sander relieves most of the grief. Indian rosewood is extremely compliant. I once accidentally bent a side into a tight cutaway, having forgotten to plug in the heat blanket. I was quite surprised when I removed the wood from the Fox bender and it sprang back halfway to straight. No other wood of my experience would have survived such a trial. If it weren't for the allergy I am developing toward rosewood, I would have nothing bad to say about it.
The most trying wood that I have used to any extent is Brazilian rosewood. The stuff loves to warp while it is sitting on the shelf, and, once installed in a bender, is capable of almost anything. Brazilian can be so squirrelly that an occasional side may have to be discarded, since trying to sand out the ripples would leave the wood paper thin. We might expect this from the dregs of Brazilian that are left today, but I bought wood thirty years ago that was just as bad. Once made into a guitar, Brazilian rosewood frequently checks and cracks for no apparent reason. If it wasn't for the incredible premium that the wood demands, I don't believe anyone would use it today. The stuff is grossly overestimated.

John Calkin: The Heretic's Guide to Alternative Lutherie Woods

When struck, a properly cut sample rings like a plate of glass. This quality contributes to sustain and projection in a guitar, because those are the chief functions of the back. Sustain, because it rings a long time; and projection, because the back’s movement can be coupled in vibrating activity to the movements of the face, boosting the directional power of the activity of the guitar. Because of its high „Q“2), Brazilian rosewood is both vitreous and brittle, and therefore prone to cracking and checking. East Indian rosewood, the alternate wood of choice, is comparable to Brazilian rosewood but simply not as beautiful nor as „live“, by a factor of some 10% to 20%. This is not a huge difference, and there are plenty of excellent sounding East Indian rosewood guitars around. Also, East Indian rosewood is an attractive choice because it is much less prone to cracking and therefore generally less problematic to work with.

Ervin Somogyi

Heavy koa, mahogany and walnut are all comparable in their tone. Everything else being equal, it is generally recognized that mahogany and koa will produce a „warmer“ sound in a guitar than the more brittle rosewoods can.

Ervin Somogvy

Brazilian Rosewood has a botanical name of Dalbergia Nigra, but is no longer legally available. The only wood we have remaining is from legally salvaged lumber purchased before laws were changed. It is now rare and retained for our higher end custom Ko'olau models. Another species is Dalbergia Latifolia, or more commonly called Indian Rosewood. But both Nigra and Latifolia seeds were planted in many different lands throughout the past 500 years.
As botanists sailed in the 1700′s to 1800′s they carried different Dalbergia seeds, distributing and planting them in many different continents and islands. The name Dalbergia is derived from Carl Dalberg, a botanist who did much research on the Rosewood. When tree seeds are transplanted to other climates they “mutated” in characteristics. Grain patterns, color, density, and weight changed due to soil PH, temperature, and the amount of moisture in its new environment.
Dalbergia Latifolia is the most classic example of migration. But the changes have been beneficial and add to the artistic beauty of the art and craft industry.
One Rosewood that we now commonly use on Ko'olau and Pono models is a slight variation of Indian Rosewood. This Rosewood is named Java Rosewood, or Indonesian Rosewood. Although the same species, Dalbergia Latifolia, characteristics changed when Dutch botanists planted the same seeds on the next continent over, in Java Indonesia. Colors changed from reddish purple to reddish brown and orange. And tonal changes also were modified. Both have great tone and projection, but different.

Pono-FAQ


2)
Qualität.