Rosewood vs Mahogany

[wesb]

These two back and side woods seem to be two of the most common. What is the big difference between the two? Where does one have advantages over the other? Which is more suited for a picking on the couch at home. Or is the most important difference personal preference? Which do all of y'all prefer?

[BoneDigger]

I think you might be well suited to do a search for mahogany versus rosewood. There have been a LOT of threads on this. I own one of both and like them both for different reasons. I'm not good at describing sounds, so I won't try. I'll just say that they each have positives and negatives, but mostly positives. I generally enjoy strumming my rosewood guitar more and flatpicking my mahogany guitar. But, they are both good for either task. When I record, I tend to use the D28 (rosewood) for the rhythm and the Blueridge BR140A (mahogany) for lead. But, it also has a lot to do with nut width and general overall sound.

For front porch picking or playing on the couch, or even for professional recording or live shows, either one will work just great. I recommend going to a music store and playing each and buying the one that calls your name. You'll know it when you hear it. You should also check out some comparisons of the D28 versus D18 or other rosewood/mahogany comparisons on Youtube.

Todd

[Brucebubs]

I have a Rosewood 12-string and a new Mahogany 6 string so the direct comparison is slightly out of whack but I find the Rosewood tone darker, deeper and more lush, a big chord on the 12-string is one beautiful tone where the Mahogany is drier, clearer, more pronounced mids, more like 6 individual strings working perfectly with other. They are both great tone-woods individually and compliment each other superbly when played together. Think Mahogany for the intro on "Stairway To Heaven" and Rosewood for the 12-string, it doesn`t get any better than that.

[TokyoNeko]

I actually have two nearly identical guitars, one with rosewood and the other with mahogany, which allows me the luxury of an apples-to-apples comparison.

Rosewood tends to have more overtones and pronounced bass/treble, whereas mahogany has a more "fundamental" tone with emphasis on mid-range frequencies. They're often thought of as "bookends" of the tonal spectrum, with many woods being benchmarked somewhere between the two.

For couch playing, it really depends on what type of tone you prefer. You might want to go to a local guitar shop that has two identical models except the back/side woods and do an A/B comparison to determine what you like. Personally, I think rosewood is better suited for fingerstyle and mahogany for strumming in general, although there are always exceptions.

[j3ffr0]

Originally Posted by TokyoNeko

Rosewood tends to have more overtones and pronounced bass/treble, whereas mahogany has a more "fundamental" tone with emphasis on mid-range frequencies. They're often thought of as "bookends" of the tonal spectrum, with many woods being benchmarked somewhere between the two.

I've done some comparisons myself and the above mirrors my own limited experience. Every guitar is different, but generally spruce with rosewood back sides provides a lot of bottom end and a lot of top. This combo can also be driven hard. This is probably the most popular combo in the world overall for a good reason. You can't really go wrong choosing this combo. A spruce topped guitar without that rosewood just doesn't seem to punch as hard in the low end to my ear. But I'll admit that there are many combos I haven't heard.

I feel like cedar pairs real nicely with mahogany. My DY61 is a really dark sounding steel string guitar with a rich voice. Great for fingerstyle. I don't have a guitar with spruce/mahogany, but I would definitely be open to buying one. These are all great combos and the differences are subtle (but quite noticeable)

[DesertTwang]

rosewood = piano

hog = growl

[brencat]

I have two Sitka over Rosewood guitars (the AJ and the OM-35) and they both sound quite different, owing more to builder/design differences than the wood. The Martin has deep bass and crystaline highs but lacks in the midrange (typical of Martin Rosewood guitars) whereas the Gibson is nicely balanced across the tonal spectrum yet still has that peaking midrange we all love in a good Gibson.

Meanwhile my all-hog OM-15 is an incredible instrument...very clear, very sweet tone, and records extremely well. Normally I'd say Rosewood is better for smaller bodied guitars to help add bass, but the 15 series as well as the small bodied Huss&Dalton T0014 (Sitka/Hog) are two examples that have no issues in that dept.

I like variety and all 3 guitars complement each other nicely depending on my mood.

[GibbyPrague]

Originally Posted by DesertTwang

rosewood = piano

hog = growl

I would build on that.

rosewood = piano

mahogany = guitar

I normally buy a guitar to sound like a guitar.

[MICHAEL MYERS]

I don't know, my D-28 sounds nothing like a piano.

[Turp]

I would add to the above observations, of which I agree, that guitar construction can blur the lines a little between these combinations. The builder's execution of design will have significant on how the woods he chooses sound. Regardless, my impression is mahogany is more fundamental and rosewood has more overtones.

I prefer mahogany in more contemporary forms where there is balance through the guitar's tonal spectrum. The best example for me is cedar/mahogany, but use a light to medium attack.

[JanVigne]

Since wood is an organic material* there are at times vast differences between the tonal characteristics of any single slice of any single log taken from various locations on a single tree. To think of this material having just "this" tone is somewhat ignoring all the factors which go into building a fine musical instrument. How the tree has grown, fast or slow, the environmental conditions it was subjected to, including infestation by parasites which gives us some of the most visually attractive woods, will alter the mineral content of any one log. Tight grain patterns vs more open ring patterns will have an obvious effect on the tone, sustain and projection of a guitar. How the log was dried - sinker logs have a very different density than fresh cut - and transported are important aspects of tone. Two logs cut from the same geographic area but simply a mile apart can have very different qualities when it comes to building a fine instrument.

Grading the wood for defects and issues which might affect tone will be done by any manufacturer and this makes some guitars simply more pricey than others due to the scarcity of top grade lumber. You might read about guitar manufacturers doing a tap test to determine how to shape a piece of wood based on what they hear from the wood itself. Additionally, many woods are within the generic species of, say, rosewood or mahogany, but the dwindling supply of certain varieties of those woods has become so small that new types of trees are being included in the general categories. Morado is a good example of a rosewood type which is fairly new to the guitar world yet is included in the overall species of rosewood. So you first need to know which wood you are actually describing when you say "rosewood" or "mahogany" and then take into account no one definition of that generic wood species will include all varieties of woods used under that single broad umbrella term.

That said, here's some advice from a respected instrument builder; http://www.pantheonguitars.com/tonewoods.htm


I would suppose it is fair to ask whether you understand the concepts of fundamentals and harmonics or overtones. Hardwoods and softwoods? Flat sawn and quartersawn?

[Dreadful]

Much of the tone depends on the build of the guitar. I have a D-15S all hog 12 fret, the bass is like thunder, the D-18A hogs also have tremendous bass and volume. I also have two rosewood Martin custom shop dreads that have great midrange because of the build.

As mentioned earlier, mahogany has more of a fundamental tone with a dry woody sound, rosewood has more overtones, chime, and reverb, a more complex sound that I like. The balance between bass, midrange, treble depends on the build.

Various rosewoods will sound slightly different. Cocobolo is more reflective and bold compared to east indian rosewood.

For couch picking, entirely personal preference. I prefer rosewood.

[corlay]

I had the opportunity to play a new Martin OM-21 (rosewood) and Martin OM-18 Custom (mahogany) recently. Not side-by-side, but within a week of one another.

Both are fantastic guitars, and built very similarly, if not identically, with regard to scale length, neck profile, body size, bracing pattern, etc.

The 21 had much more overtones and a "scooped mid", with bottom end (bass) and highs (trebles) very pronounced. It's a very interesting sound, and fills a lot of space, in my perception. I, personally, found it too "reverby", for lack of a better word; especially when strummed.

The 18 has that "fundamental tone" that people talk about - less overtones, with a more even bass/mid/treble. It's a more direct sound than the 21.

Approaching this purchase of a Martin OM from the standpoint of a current Gibson owner, I opted for the 18 as I felt the 21 was just too drastic a change from the sound I've grown accustomed to and comfortable with.

But really this all boils down to personal preference and playing style.
Great guitars are made from either tonewood, there is no argument to be had there..

[Mtn Man]

This is a tough one, but always fun to talk about. Conventional wisdom says that rosewood has pronounced bass and trebles and a scooped midrange, while mahogany is strong and balanced across the midrange, without the emphasis on the upper and lower end of the spectrum. I’ve found this to be mostly true, but the back and side wood is only one (relatively small) part of the equation so it’s often difficult to isolate the differences based on back and side wood alone. I will say that nothing produces a thumping G run like rosewood. That’s why most of the old school bluegrass guys prefer it. They understand that the guitar’s role in a bluegrass band is primarily rhythm, and rosewood gives them the bass they need. A lot of the newer guys are gravitating towards mahogany because it’s thought to deliver better leads. A lot of contest players like mahogany as well because of its balance.

Regarding overtones, I believe those actually come more from the top than the back and sides. I’ve played several mahogany guitars that were very rich with overtones. The one thing they had in common was scalloped bracing. For that reason, I believe top construction is a huge factor in selecting a guitar, possibly even moreso than back and side wood. Generally speaking, I believe a straight-braced D-28 (rosewood) will deliver a stronger fundamental tone than a scalloped D-18 (mahogany), and vice versa. Scalloping the braces has the potential to drastically alter the tone of the guitar because it opens the top up to more (and different) vibration.

Another oft-overlooked aspect is the neck. I believe a bigger, thicker neck more efficiently focuses the vibrational energy of the strings into the body of the guitar, aka the sound chamber. In other words, a chunky neck often equates to more volume and a “bigger” sound.

Finally, there’s the top. Adirondack spruce tends to be harder and stiffer than Sitka, which means it has a higher volume ceiling and a quicker response, but can come across as cold and anemic if not properly driven. But you can definitely get overtones out of Adirondack if the braces are scalloped properly, and not all spruce is equal, so it’s possible to find Sitka that’s stiffer than Adirondack. This is where you kind of have to trust that whoever built the guitar knows what they’re doing when they select the wood.

[Glennwillow]

It's possible for a really good luthier to make a mahogany B&S guitar sound very similar to a rosewood B&S guitar. Larry Pattis posted some sound samples of, if I remember correctly, Woolson guitars he had for sale a few years ago. He played the same instrumental piece on each and the similarity in sound was uncanny.

However, most of the time, the difference between rosewood and mahogany is like the difference in sound between a Martin D-28 and a Martin D-18. Most people can hear a big difference in sound between these factory made guitars.

Rosewood --> deeper bass, more bass overtones, chiming, glassy-type trebles.
Mahogany --> clear bass but not at quite as low a frequency as rosewood, with clearer trebles, less of the chime and glassiness of rosewood, strong midrange presence.

Neither is better, they are just different pallettes and what you use is a matter of preference. Pete Huttlinger, an instrumental player, tends to like the Collings OM1A (red spruce/mahogany). If you listen to Pete's playing, he has a wonderful clear tone with no lack of bass. Al Pettaway who plays a lot of DADGAD stuff, tends to like guitars with rosewood. His stuff is very lush sounding.

I have guitars with both woods because I like variety. I have tended to mostly like rosewood over the years, but then I play my Collings OM1A for a while and realize how much I like that sound, too.

- Glenn