Madagascar Rosewood Back set

[twg1996]

Hi,

So I just wanted to ask some of your opinions on what you though about this set of Madagascar rosewood for a custom build... Let me know you honest opinions!
Also, I read that the grading of madagascar rosewood is dependent on what the current supply of the quality of the wood is like...is this true?

[twg1996]

IMG_3735 by Juhan Song, on Flickr

IMG_3727 by Juhan Song, on Flickr

IMG_3725 by Juhan Song, on Flickr

[EverettWilliams]

That's a pretty good set - off quarter in the center of each sheet, but mostly quartered. I suspect the color would be reasonably nice. It's not going to be that stunning LMII stuff red color with spiderwebbing, but it's better than what Martin has been using and selling at a premium.

How does it look under naphtha? Any word on how it taps?

[twg1996]

Originally Posted by EverettWilliams

That's a pretty good set - off quarter in the center of each sheet, but mostly quartered. I suspect the color would be reasonably nice. It's not going to be that stunning LMII stuff red color with spiderwebbing, but it's better than what Martin has been using and selling at a premium.

How does it look under naphtha? Any word on how it taps?

Im not sure on how it looks like with naptha and taptone as i just recieved the pictures a couple hours ago...with spider webbing, wouldn't it be a lower grade(not that this is too important)? Because it shows that it is not from 'old growth' trees; rather quickly grown in plantations?

[TokyoNeko]

That's about as good a Madi back as I've seen in a while.

[woodbox]

I'll take it!!
Who do I send the check to?

[twg1996]

Originally Posted by woodbox

I'll take it!!
Who do I send the check to?

hahaha sorry! Already reserved

[WindChaser]

I like how it looks. It'll probably look real pretty once glossed up and all.

[mercy]

Its a very good set for Madi. You just dont see quartered all the way across like you do with Indian. Anyway the small section that isnt quartered wont effect the sound. The builder will determine how it sounds, the wood just moves the sound in a certain direction, in Madi's case a good direction. Do you know which Madi it is? Baronii is the best known but Greveana is the more likely to be available. Yes go with it, it will be beautiful.

[twg1996]

Originally Posted by mercy

Its a very good set for Madi. You just dont see quartered all the way across like you do with Indian. Anyway the small section that isnt quartered wont effect the sound. The builder will determine how it sounds, the wood just moves the sound in a certain direction, in Madi's case a good direction. Do you know which Madi it is? Baronii is the best known but Greveana is the more likely to be available. Yes go with it, it will be beautiful.

I've recieved a message back from him telling me that it's baronii!

[Brendan @ Heartbreaker Guitars]

Madagascar is very popular right now and we sell a lot of it. I find it to be something between Indian rosewood and Brazilian. Great projection and sustain. Wonderful "woody" sound.

I could certainly live with a back like that one.

That said, I do see a lot of confusion regarding the cut of back sets as well as the definition of flat, quartered, rift, etc. This one is dead flat sawn, demonstrated by the heart of the log right inside the waist. You'd know more by looking at the end grain, but for the purposes of internet discussion, that much is pretty clear. The wood is flat sawn, with the "flattest" portion being inside the waist, and the grain getting closer to quartered as you move away from that point. If you could look at the end grain, I'd bet that no more than 20% of that finished back will have a grain orientation greater than 45 degrees.

[twg1996]

Originally Posted by Todd Yates

I could certainly live with a back like that one.

That said, I do see a lot of confusion regarding the cut of back sets as well as the definition of flat, quartered, rift, etc. This one is dead flat sawn, demonstrated by the heart of the log right inside the waist. You'd know more by looking at the end grain, but for the purposes of internet discussion, that much is pretty clear. The wood is flat sawn, with the "flattest" portion being inside the waist, and the grain getting closer to quartered as you move away from that point. If you could look at the end grain, I'd bet that no more than 20% of that finished back will have a grain orientation greater than 45 degrees.

Ahh I see... Are Madagascar rosewood often large enough to be quartersawn? If so, why are they flat sawn at all? For aesthetic purposes? Or perhaps, they just saw it to whatever salvages the most amountt of wood from the log and this piece is just being used for an instrument? Sorry, I may be asking too many questions... Im really not at all experienced with logging or wood working haha