the showdown...

[suprswd]

I'm just interested to see which people prefer more. I know mahogany kinda has a bad rap, and people look down on it compared to rosewood, because it is used so frequently in cheaper guitars, but i think they both have their good and bads.

Let me know what you guys think, also leave a little reply saying why you voted that way.

"I like the shimmer and highs of a 'hog guitar"

"I like the low end on rosewood guitars, and deep sustain"

"I like the crisp attack on a 'hog guitar"

"rosewood smells nicer."

thanks for your opinions!

~Logan

[suprswd]

i went ahead and gave my opinion...

i picked mahogany because its ability to cut through the mix, and really stand out. (opinion).

~Logan

[Ratishna]

I prefer rosewood for bass, and maple for cutting through the mix.  But that's just me.

E. Shoaf

[sixpickn]

I like the way rosewood looks, especially the 9-10 grade, the way the extra natural oil in mahogany helps it to hold up to dryer air, the way walnut "honks" in the midrange, and the way blackwood makes people turn and ask "what is that guitar?!!" 

[roknroll]

stuco, where did you hear that mahogany has a bad rep and that people look down on it compared to rosewood? Rosewood does smell nicer.  Mahogany has actually increased in price because it is becoming extinct.  Don't be surprised if mahogany costs more than EI rosewood in a few years.

[jmhyer]

I think suprswd is right about the typical person's bias against mahogany...but I think a lot of it is out of ignorance.  There's just a general misconception that rosewood is superior.  I don't think that's generally true about the members of this forum.  While there are many rosewood fans (see my sig), mahogany gets plenty of praise around here.

As for me, I like mahogany for solo fingerstyle stuff and rosewood for serious strumming and flatpicking.

[Daysailer]

"I like the shimmer and highs of a 'hog guitar"

"I like the low end on rosewood guitars, and deep sustain"

"I like the crisp attack on a 'hog guitar"

"rosewood smells nicer."
~Logan

Sounds like you are describing a Blackwood Guitar    :GRN>

Drug enhanced tone wood     :TON>

phill      :mellow:

[danijoe]

Rosewood for looks - I've always preferred the look (except for Koa!) I also am partial to the sound of rosewood (possibly because I've always played rosewood Larrivees so I know what I'm listening for (that's why I got rid of my maple 09 - I wasn't hearing that familiar sound). Maybe if I was more acquainted with the sound of mahogany, I would like it better - Is it an acquired taste?

Just my .02

Joe

[expatCanuck]

I'm a guitar fan.

At the end of the day, a skilled luthier can make a fine sounding instrument out of most any tonewood.
I had a Beneteau mahogany for 15 years.  Then I decided I wanted a change, sold it and got a maple L-09.
Now I have 2 rosewoods (Larry L-09 & 00), one brazilian and a maple archtop.
Who knows -- perhaps I'll come full circle.

But all of the guitars have had appealing tone and good playability.  Had I been able to keep them all, I would have.

- Richard

[Calvin]

L05 (mahogany) is probably the perfect do it all guitar (and might I add, it does it all very very well).

[dcarey]

Mahogany...bad rap?
Not around here! Not at all!

Yes, I'll admit a preference for rosewood in certain circumstances, but I also admit a preference for mahogany in others.

Guess that means I'm wishy-washy???

Dan

[suprswd]

i just meant that alot of people consider mahogany a "cheaper" wood, and rosewood is more...exquisite.

where in reality, since mahogany is used so frequently, it will soon be the more exquisite of the woods.

again, just my opinion.

hell, in a few hundread years, who knows if there will even be wood guitars!

theyre already starting to replace alot of things with plastic (or composite wood, made out of plastic and resign), to make fences and houses soon too probably.

anyways, keep the opinions coming, i wanna see which wood ends up on top.

~Logan

[paralentor]

You need both.  Mahogany for warmth and the rosewood for clarity.  As far as the smell comment
my OM-03r never had any sort of woody distinctive smell that my Martin DM still has each time I
take it out of the case.  The Martin predates the OM by about 2 years.  But the smell of that OM case
still has a a nice new car smell though.  Yes you need both.

[whiskeyjack]

hell, in a few hundread years, who knows if there will even be wood guitars

Ya never know. . . .  I think though there'll always be guitars made of wood.  There's a lot of hype right now about alternate materials, endangered woods, save the trees, etc. etc.  'Thing is, wood used for musical instruments represents a tiny slice of the natural resource pie.    Furniture - now there's manufacturing apetite for nice wood.

I know mahogany kinda has a bad rap, and people look down on it compared to rosewood. . . .

Well. . . .not really.  (I'll assume you're talking about guitars made of solid wood here, OK).  Mahogany guitars have been less expensive than guitars made of rosewood largely because mahogany has been cheaper to get and it's easier to work with.  Mahogany is not as dense as rosewood.  The bad rap comes from plywood guitars with mahogany veneer that have poor bracing.

I like mahogany guitars because of the crisp, clear and sometimes 'glassy' projection.  With the right strings, they are in a class all by themselves. 

I like rosewood guitars for their depth, overtones and responsiveness to pull-offs and hammer-ons.  Again, this has a lot to do with strings.  But there are some songs in open tunings that sound so much better on rosewood than any other tone wood largely because of the overtones and depth.  The low end is typically more chocolate than mahogany, koa or maple.

Where maple guitars sound tight and rigid (to my ears: ymmv), mahogany sounds crisp, clear and warm.  Where koa is a nice change from mahogany and rosewood, it offers not enough of either tonewood to satisfy my ears for very long.  (It's voice is somewhere inbetween rosewood and mahogany - IF you can find a koa guitar that isn't all flash and glitter). 

I much prefer rosewood for my fingerstyle folk songs.  But I do like mahogany also for different reasons.

Larrivee OM-03R (rosewood
Larrivee OM-03R twelve string (rosewood)
Martin 000-15S (all mahogany)
Martin J16C-RGTE twelve string custom (rosewood)
Taylor K12C six string (koa)

[prof_stack]

I like the shimmer and highs of a 'hog guitar"
"I like the low end on rosewood guitars, and deep sustain"
"I like the crisp attack on a 'hog guitar"
"rosewood smells nicer."

You obviously haven't played an SD-50 yet.   ^_^  It's got it all. 

The smell test is hard for me to measure because my rosewood dred is over 30 years old. 

For the price of the 03 series, you should look at getting a used one of each.  Have fun deciding.

[suprswd]

out of all the -03 series, the most versitale is the L, right?

i was thinking an OM, but it lacks bass. i played a few larrivees side by side.

L-03 seems like a good deal.

[suprswd]

bump for tomorrow morn'  :POL>

[Steve]

"I like the low end on rosewood guitars, and deep sustain"

I think for me rosewood is my favorite.  It just has that mellow, deep sound and played fingerstyle it's great, IMO.

Although if your a little bluesy, my MT gets with it better.

[Calvin]

BTW, rosewood for OM and dread.  Hogs for L and SD.  Maple for Jumbo.

[rounder]

I really like that deep-echo and metallic-ring that rosewood has, but when it comes down to it..... I BUY mahogany. :huh: