Interesting Opinion by Paul Woolson Re: BRW

[gstar]

I came across this on his site today in search of information regarding an adjustable neck he was said to make and thought it was interesting.

Some of you will immediately notice that I do not have Brazilian Rosewood as a tonewood option. This is intentional. Personally, I believe the expense related to Brazilian rosewood does not enhance the sound or value of the instrument in a justifiable way. I firmly believe that a well-built East Indian Rosewood guitar of high-quality wood and craftsmanship will sound every bit as good as one built with Brazilian Rosewood.

When you combine this with the fact that all Brazilian Rosewood will eventually crack and require expensive and complex repairs and that this species is endangered and listed on the CITES treaty, I see no compelling reason to exploit this wood further by building with it.

I am not interested in any discussion about the ideological part expressing his opinion about the ethics of working with (exploiting) wood from an endangered species.

I'm interested in discussion about the statement that all BRW will eventually crack and necessitate costly repairs and the statement that EIR when properly utilized will sound every bit as good as BRW.

I've never come across any luthier as well known as him stating that all BRW guitars will eventually crack, although I certainly have read opinions that highly figured examples can be somewhat fragile.

Also, although I've read many luthier statements that EIR produces wonderful instruments, I've never come across the opinion that BRW produces no observable improvement in sound. I have read statements to the effect that the improvement isn't worth the additional cost.

Maybe Paul will chime in and shed some additional light on these statements.

[HHP]

Two things, builders will differ in terms of evaluating the benefits of and material they choose to use. Some get more out of some materials than others.

Second, anything you don't offer in a business would tend to be dismissed in favor of something you do offer.

[gstar]

I understand that the tone part of the comment is highly subjective regarding the tone potential of EIR compared to BRW.

My main interest is in the statement that ALL BRW will crack. There's not any wiggle room in that wording and it comes across as a statement of fact and not opinion. Having one and another being built I'm wondering if anyone else has found this to be his/her experience.

[justonwo]

I think I saw this post years ago and, not surprisingly, there were a wide variety of opinions on Brazilian rosewood.

[KevinLPederson]

I would think if the guitar was well taken care of it would drastically reduce the potential for cracking. Although, as the guitar seasons over the decades, the resins do crystallize and moisture (or lack of) most likely affects it differently during these times.

People want Brazilian because of its rarity and beauty.

I think it has low dampening so its going to "reflect" sound waves quicker...it really does have a chimey tap. If you drop a small chunk of it on your bench it has a crisp ring to it. Is this highly perceptible in the tone of the guitar? - maybe, maybe not.

I think in the hands of the right builder, a certain satisfaction in sound, look and feel will delight the owner.

It's my opinion that the desire for Brazilian Rosewood is economically driven for both the upgrade the luthier charges, and the value added to the guitar for the purchaser - because of its rarity.

Kevin.

[justonwo]

Here's the old thread. It's an interesting discussion. I guess my comment on the subject would be - if I think I guitar sounds great and is from a reputable builder, I'll buy it. If the Brazilian cracks in 20 or 30 years, I'll have it repaired. I'm operating under the assumption, of course, that most cracks aren't that big a deal and can simply be repaired. I could be wrong on that?

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=111691

[fazool]

I wonder if some of the builders might comment. I know Tim McKnight did some work with Paul and probably several others know him. Maybe they've had conversations about wood.

I am surprised - I never thought of BRW as being more "crack prone".

[Kent Chasson]

Most (certainly not all) old guitars with Brazilian back/sides have a split. Unfortunately, most old guitars also have splits in the tops. This is not strictly related to wood species. It’s because guitars are built contrary to what everyone learns in Woodworking 101; don’t glue one piece of wood across the grain of another and always allow for humidity related expansion and contraction. Guitar builders ignore this because they gain a huge stiffness/weight advantage at the risk of a long-term cosmetic defect. Cracks along the grain are usually only a cosmetic defect. They rarely have any impact on function.

I don’t want to imply that my guitars are defective and will split. It hasn’t happened even once yet, that I’m aware of. A track record I'm proud of. But it’s only a matter of time.

Brazilian is more brittle than many other species but that brittleness is characteristic of other woods that have a similar bell-like ring to them (Honduran Rosewood, African Blackwood, Ziricote, etc). Whether that characteristic is a tonal benefit or not depends on what you want in a guitar. But I don’t think it’s only marketing that has made Brazilian a standard by which other woods are judged.

Ethical conversations about wood use do tend to go south fast here but I’m interested in having that conversation privately with anyone who’s interested. It’s a discussion worth having.

[LouieAtienza]

Well there are many Martins, and may of them made of Brazilian rosewood. I don't know of any cracking epidemic with them. I've never built with it only because it's out of reach at the moment. I suppose Martin had a god supply of straight grained well quartered stuff in the day. Mr. Woolson may be referring to the current trend of stumpwood and flatsawn boards, which do have phenomenal figuring but maybe not as stable?

[Mark Hatcher]

This absolute statement that all BRW cracks, like all absolute statements, is absolutely wrong

Mark

[gstar]

Thanks for that link Juston.

I guess the way that was worded on his site 7 years ago caught someone else's eye too. I see he modified the language slightly but sticks to the same basic arguments on his current site. I posted the whole section and tried not to take him out of context. I enjoyed reading his additional explanation in the old thread.

I think most people agreed that the declaration that all BRW guitars will crack goes a bit too far. Very interesting that in his experience that has been universally true though without exception. I find it a little scary but won't lose sleep over it.

Thanks again for the link.

[The Bard Rocks]

Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher

This absolute statement that all BRW cracks, like all absolute statements, is absolutely wrong

Mark

Did you just write an absolute statement? (grin)

Much of what is discussed about BRW can be explained by supply and demand.

[ChuckS]

Originally Posted by gstar

...[snip].....
My main interest is in the statement that ALL BRW will crack. There's not any wiggle room in that wording and it comes across as a statement of fact and not opinion.


Having one and another being built I'm wondering if anyone else has found this to be his/her experience.

I had a BRW guitar, but only for 7 years. It was structurally sound; no cracks.

I didn't worry about it then, and I'm not now either. I no longer have the BRW guitar, but one of my guitars is built with very dense, brittle, chippy wood (Pernambuco). That didn't stop me from getting it built. I do however, try to take care with it.

[Tim McKnight]

Originally Posted by fazool

I wonder if some of the builders might comment. I know Tim McKnight did some work with Paul and probably several others know him. Maybe they've had conversations about wood.

I am surprised - I never thought of BRW as being more "crack prone".

We all have opinions and thankfully we have a right to do so. Isn't America great? Paul and I are friends but sometimes friends have differing opinions and with all due respect to Paul this is one topic we don't agree on.

I don't consider BRW any more prone to cracking than any other tonewood, especially if adequately maintained. We all have seen 100+ year old vintage BRW guitars that are free of cracks so draw your own conclusion.

[Simon Fay]

I seriously question whether any of those older guitars were always kept at the proper relative humidity levels during their lifetimes. Personally, I feel that most cracks are the result of improper care. I definitely think most builders would agree that Brazilian RW, Ziricote, and a few others aren't quite as stable as Indian RW and certainly not as dimensionally stable as Mahogany -- but with proper care, my opinion is that it is a moot issue. It is also a non-issue with improper care because even the most stable of woods will crack with RHumidity shifts.

And yes, wildly figured Brazilian RW stumpwood is generally not going to be as stable as unfigured, quartersawn Brazilian RW. However, I wouldn't hesitate to use a nice set of figured Brazilian RW on a guitar -- it is my opinion that Brazilian RW falls well within the boundaries of acceptability regarding stability.

**BTW, my difference of opinion on this matter in no way reflects negatively on Paul Woolson -- he is an incredibly nice guy and an even better builder.