Our search for the world's finest tonewoods is a chance to explore a universe of tonal possibilities. Responsible procurement, careful preparation, and skilled craftsmanship are required ingredients in the guitar building process. Like guitars themselves, wood is our passion.
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Madagascar Rosewood
Madagascar
Limited Editions, Custom Models
Madagascar rosewood tonally is considered a kindred spirit to venerable Brazilian rosewood, boasting zesty, articulate highs, deep lows and ample dynamic range, and rewarding players with rich sustain and complex overtones. Its comparison to Brazilian is reinforced by its often striking visual appeal and limited availability. The tonal distinctions between Maddie and East Indian rosewood tend to be subtle; if anything, Maddie may yield a bit more midrange bloom than East Indian, although it’s typically not quite as full as ovangkol.
Goes Well With
Most applications. Like East Indian, if you favor a guitar with full low end and sparkling treble, Maddie will deliver, and its moderate midrange overtones will give you a broad swath along the frequency spectrum to get the tone you want. It’ll yield a wonderful traditional acoustic sound, and players with “dark” hands will find the brightness of the treble to be a nice complement.
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| What about Brazilian? |
| Over the last few decades, Brazilian rosewood has maintained its reputation as a prized tonewood for several reasons: Its heritage traces back to the much celebrated pre-war era of guitar-building; it often has a striking visual appeal and a clear, full tone with complex overtones and ample dynamic range; and the supply remains scarce due to an export embargo imposed in the late 1960s as a result of overharvesting. “Brazilian is just kind of over, even though, ironically, there’s lots of it in Brazil,” says Bob Taylor. “You just can’t get it out. It’s difficult to obtain the proper legal certification. Even if you pull out fence posts or stumps from long-ago-harvested trees, obtaining them in a perfectly legal, above-board fashion, you’re probably not going to be able to get the legal paperwork to export it.” It’s gotten to the point where guitar companies in other countries, who own legally obtained Brazilian but don’t have adequate paperwork, have found their wood impounded indefinitely by government officials. On top of that, much of what is legally accounted for isn’t of the highest grade, yet its rarity has made it prohibitively expensive. Is it a great tonewood? Yes. Is it worth the current headaches associated with trying to legally obtain it? Probably not.
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