Peruvian Rosewood
 

I just purchased a Bourgeois OMC with Peruvian Rosewood back and sides. In the process of buying this guitar I learned a bit about this wood species.

I'd like to know if anyone else has a guitar with Peruvian Rosewood and what they think of it.

Up until pretty recently it was known as Sacha wood. The "Rosewood" tag that it has acquired is purely a marketing gimmick as it is not a Rosewood of any sort. That said, it is a good looking wood and the two guitars I've played with it sounded nice. Much closer to koa or even Mahogany than to a Rosewood but definitely nice.

As long as you like it, and the guitar, that's all that really matters...


duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher

How about a few pics?

I have owned a Collings OM made from Peruvian Rosewood, aka Sacha Rosewood, aka Higuerilla — Micandra spruceana — for about 8 years. One of the very best OMs I’ve owned or played.

https://i.imgur.com/v7LLleO.jpg

I've built with it - picture below. When making this guitar, this very nice set of Higuerilla reminded me of light weight Honduran Mahogany. Therefore, I think it is an exceptionally beautiful and great tonewood choice for a Mahogany-esque sound. The Rosewood tag is definitely misleading in terms of tonal quality. I would happily build with it again !!!

http://www.fayguitars.com/Guitars/Ga...lres_25184.jpg

When I bought the guitar I was aware that it wasn't rosewood. Apparently a large hunk of it showed up in the Bourgeois shop and they liked it for sound and looks and made a few guitars with it. I haven't seen a guitar newer than 2013 that uses it.

May I assume that your guitar was bought used and thus it is a 2013 or older? If so, I would contact Collins and ask them.

It is very possible that the Peruvian rosewood they used is not the very same Sacha or Higuerilla as others have suggested. Yes, often wood terms are misleading. But I would assume there were many different types of Peruvian Rosewoods in Peru as well.

The difference in color between Simon Fay's guitar, and Haasome's guitar is quite different. You never know until you call the manufacturer. Of course...there is also the possibility that even Collins will not know for sure. As what the seller says, and what the woods are in reality, can sometimes not be the same. Wood identification is not always an easy subject matter.

The guitar was made by Bourgeois in 2012 and I did speak with representatives of the company. I also did additional research on-line. I made sure I knew exactly what I was getting before I spent $5K.

I'll post a photo this evening, my guitar doesn't look much like those shown above.

Here's some photos with the Peruvian Rosewood. THe guitar has a sweet smell. It's new to me so I don't know where that would have come from.

Attachment 78817Attachment 78818

All three guitars in this thread are beautiful. I also think the wood in all three guitars has the same distinguishing features.

Oh my RichardN, that is absolutely beautiful! I love contrast in woods. The black lines really gives that guitar character!

Please, tell us what your feelings about the tonal character of this wood.

The vast majority of this wood came from Lance Peck and his wife, they were known as Terra Tonewoods, they would make regular trips to Peru and harvest all of their woods responsibly. It is unclear if they are still in business.

We ordered several Sacha guitars from both Collings and Bourgeois, they were always distinctive and very sweet sounding, on the soft side. We hear the sound as somewhere between rosewood and koa. We built several guitars from it at our shop, too, and had nice results. Still saving about a half dozen sets for a rainy day!

https://scontent.fagc1-2.fna.fbcdn.n...8w&oe=6319C6D1

So, how do you like the guitar?

To me it sounds like exactly what I've been looking for. I'm still too new to acoustics to be able to compare to rosewood or mahogany or any other wood. Compared to some other guitars I own it has a fuller more rounded tone and plenty of volume.

What I really like is how easy it is to play.