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Topic: What Kind Of Wood Is This?? |
Bob Muller
From:
Oregon, USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2010 8:32 am |
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Does anyone know what kind of wood the black wood is??Does not appear to have a stain, and the finish has yellowed, but it looks like black ebony to me.There are several inlays with differant woods also.Does anyone know??
 The overlay for the fret board is clear,showing the wood below.The wood is black with brown stripes in it. |
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Richard Damron
From:
Gallatin, Tennessee, USA (deceased)
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Posted 5 Jun 2010 8:47 am
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Looks suspiciously like a variety of rosewood. Don't beat on me if I'm wrong but I believe that Constantine has photos of these woods.
Anyone have a better suggestion on pics?
Respectfully,
Richard |
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Rick Barnhart
From:
Arizona, USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2010 8:50 am
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That's what I thought, too. But I didn't want be the first to say it. 
_________________
Clinesmith consoles D-8/6 5 pedal, D-8 3 pedal & A25 Frypan, Pettingill Teardrop, & P8 Deluxe. |
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Martin Weenick
From:
Lecanto, FL, USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2010 8:51 am Wood
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Looks like Cocobolo to me, Martin.
_________________
Several custom steels. NV-112 Boss DD-7 |
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Stu Schulman
From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
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Posted 5 Jun 2010 9:47 am
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My guess is either Brazilian rosewood,or cocobolo? 
_________________
Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952. |
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Barry Gaskell
From:
Cheshire, UK
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Posted 5 Jun 2010 10:35 am
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Custom Sho buds had the option of coco bolo, which is. I think, related to Rosewood. I personally think it's Brazilian rosewood due to its wide figuring.. I have a Grammer G10 that has very similar colour and wide grain. Either way it's a superb piece of wood.
Barry |
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Stu Schulman
From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
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Posted 5 Jun 2010 11:07 am
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My friend has a very small pipe made from Cocobolo and it also looks like that. 
_________________
Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952. |
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Bob Vantine
From:
Freeville, New York, USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2010 11:32 am
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2 DIFFERENT (I BELIEVE TO BE) ROSEWOOD CUSTOM SHO BUD GUITARS
_________________
EQUIPMENT:
"TEAK" ZUM STAGE-ONE Steel / C6th Lapsteel
Peavey NV112 , CLASSIC and EFX112 amps
Peavey Guitars |
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Bob Muller
From:
Oregon, USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2010 12:01 pm Wood Type?
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Would that make these two Sho-Buds made from the same kind of wood?? The single neck appears much darker to me.
Last edited by Bob Muller on 5 Jun 2010 12:33 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Bob Muller
From:
Oregon, USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2010 12:14 pm Wood Type
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This is an end shot of the cabinet that I just took in natural light.
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Rick Collins
From:
Claremont , CA USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2010 12:31 pm
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| ...possibly Zanibar Ebony |
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Richard Damron
From:
Gallatin, Tennessee, USA (deceased)
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Posted 5 Jun 2010 3:31 pm
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An observation concerning Brazilian rosewood versus East Indian or other types.
Brazilian rosewood has - typically - dark grain patterns which appear to be "written" with a draftsman's pen in India Ink. The contrast between Black and Brown coloring is quite distinct and sharp.
East Indian and other types do not have the delineation between bands in the grain. They are mostly "washed out" - little definition. Some varieties of East Indian rosewood also have a purple hue.
As an aside - the Brazilian government decided against exporting raw Rosewood some 40+ years ago except in fabricated goods such as furniture. Has their policy changed? I don't know.
I do recall the C.F. Martin Company buying up all of the available Brazilian Rosewood in the New York City area at the above mentioned time. It left "hobbyist" builders like myself having to make do with lesser desirable woods.
Other suggestions made by a couple of posters deserve to be looked into.
Respectfully,
Richard
Rick - Do you mean Zanzibar? |
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Rick Collins
From:
Claremont , CA USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2010 5:27 pm
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Right you are, Mr. Damron __ Zanzibar ebony.
Thanks for the correction.
Take a look at the D-10 Carter on their website on the Custom Laminates and Mica page.
I know it's mica, but the Zanzibar ebony on the D-10 is gorgeous. |
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Rick Barnhart
From:
Arizona, USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2010 5:48 pm
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Here's my Carter with Zanzibar ebony mica.
_________________
Clinesmith consoles D-8/6 5 pedal, D-8 3 pedal & A25 Frypan, Pettingill Teardrop, & P8 Deluxe. |
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Scott Shipley
From:
The Ozark Mountains
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Posted 5 Jun 2010 6:09 pm
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It's definitely Brazilian rosewood. It was very plentiful in Gnashville back then. Almost nobody was using cocobolo in the early '60's.
GORGEOUS guitar!!!
_________________
Scott Shipley Facebook |
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Richard Damron
From:
Gallatin, Tennessee, USA (deceased)
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Posted 5 Jun 2010 6:21 pm
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I gotta agree - That Zanzibar Ebony is BEAUTIFUL! Saw it on the Carter site some time ago.
Is anyone using the wood itself - as opposed to the mica?
Zanzibar Ebony for the sides - Beautifully figured maple for the top, anyone? Perhaps some tasteful Abalone/Mother of Pearl inlay instead of the "rope" variety?
If I had such an instrument then I'd have to build a glass cage to put it in.
Respectfully,
Richard |
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Bobby Burns
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2010 6:42 pm
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I have handled a lot of Brazilian, and other rosewood variations over the years as a luthier. I can tell you that Brazilian comes in just about every shade and grain pattern that you can think of in a piece of wood. Some of it is very dark with a lot of contrasting colors, and spider web ink lines, and some of it looks like the most bland piece of steamed kilned walnut that you have ever seen. Some times the only way to tell for sure is to smell it. Brazilian is rosy smelling. Cocobolo and honduran and all the others have very distinct smells also.
I have used some rosewood from madagascar that I guarantee most folks (me included) would positively identify as brazilian, if they didn't know where it came from, Black spider web lines and all. I also bet there is a lot of "brazilian" floating around these days, that isn't really what it's supposed to be, but it looks good enough that it gets by.
I've also heard that some of the big guitar companies of old had rosewood that all looked alike from guitar to guitar, because they dyed it all the same. This way they could use the sapwood edge, which can be very white. I personally like the look of a very figured piece of brazilian, with the white sapwood showing, but you'll never see it in an old Martin.
I also don't think it was that uncommon to see an apron of one rosewood species on a Sho-Bud that had fingerboards of a totally different looking rosewood species.[/i] |
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Bob Muller
From:
Oregon, USA
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Posted 5 Jun 2010 7:54 pm What Kind Of Wood Is This??
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| So Bobby,I tried the smell test,smells like wood to me.I well be the first to say that I don't know a lot about wood types.Why do you think it is more likley to be rosewood than cocobolo?? I am just judging by the look of my other Sho-Bud, you can see it above.It has a much redder look to me,the single neck is very black looking. |
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Scott Shipley
From:
The Ozark Mountains
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Posted 5 Jun 2010 8:06 pm
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Bobby is right about the rose smell, but you're probably not gonna be able to smell it on a 50 year old guitar unless you do some sanding. Prolly not a good idea. And Bobby is also correct in that Brazilian rosewood can be almost any color. I've seen Brazilian with everything from green to purple stripes in it, as well as almost solid black with very little color.
_________________
Scott Shipley Facebook |
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Bobby Burns
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 6 Jun 2010 6:59 am
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I agree with Scott that on an old piece of wood, you may not be able to smell it without a little sanding. Although I have seen 60 year old Martins that just smell like old dirty well worn guitars, until you put your nose up to the sound hole, and then you can still smell it loudly. Not all them are this way. Some pieces are oilier than others, and the smell is in the oil. But all of it has a distinct smell on some level when sanded.
Bob, I was not trying to say that is is or isn't one species or the other. I was just simply saying that I think it's a little of a stretch to positively identify a species of rosewood based only on how it looks to the naked eye. Someone more qualified than me could positively identify it with a microscope, but from a picture, I think it's a stretch. It's easy to be fooled, I have been a few times.
Whatever the rosewood (cocobolo is considered a rosewood), It's a beautiful guitar, and I'm jealous.
At one time I don't think folks cared so much what kind of rosewood was in their guitar. As long as it looked good, they were happy (some brazilian rosewood can be very ugly, unlike what you would look at and even think was rosewood). It is the political and environmental situations surrounding brazilian rosewood these days that even makes us think about it as a valuable commodity instead of just a thing of beauty. I really think it's a shame that two equal sounding guitars, of equal beauty and craftsmanship, made by the same maker, can be valued differently because of the species of wood in them.
I'm sure this guitar is rosewood of some variety, I'm just not going to say which variety based on a picture on my computer screen. |
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Richard Damron
From:
Gallatin, Tennessee, USA (deceased)
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Posted 6 Jun 2010 7:43 am
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I must apologize if my description of rosewood was too narrow in scope. My experience was limited to the choice varieties as carried by Monteath and Constantine of some 40+ years ago. The black, "spider-web" variety was the material of choice.
My classic guitar, crafted by a NYC builder in 1964 has a "page-matched" back that any of us would give our eye teeth to have incorporated into a PSG.
Regardless, the wood shown in the photos, above, smack of pride on the part of the builder - no matter the type or variety.
Respectfully,
Richard |
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Bob Muller
From:
Oregon, USA
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Posted 6 Jun 2010 9:18 am Wood Type?
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Bobby,Richard,and everyone else Thanks for all the info about the wood types.I have been trying to figure how to Id woods for a long time.I am still not sure how it is done,looks like there are a lot of possible answers.I am always trying to learn more about these guitars so all information is good.
Thanks
Bob |
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Bob Vantine
From:
Freeville, New York, USA
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Posted 6 Jun 2010 9:29 am
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to BOB M.....
 I figured out all "I" needed to know years ago.2 kinds of wood 1)GREAT LOOKING & 2)NOT-SO GREAT LOOKING. And those(any) ShoBuds fit into #1
****Bob V****
_________________
EQUIPMENT:
"TEAK" ZUM STAGE-ONE Steel / C6th Lapsteel
Peavey NV112 , CLASSIC and EFX112 amps
Peavey Guitars |
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Bobby Burns
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 6 Jun 2010 9:54 am
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| No need for Richard D to apologize. Bob V. I couldn't agree more! |
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David Kellogg
From:
Tualatin, OR
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Posted 6 Jun 2010 10:05 am I know this for sure
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I can tell ya one thing, it's not this kind of wood.
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