Rosewood vs Mahogany

[SFCRetired]

Interesting mahogany is up by 100%. I never would have thought that. I prefer mahogany myself.

[pf400]

Put a cedar top on mahogany or rosewood back & sides, then compare to s spruce top and you'll probably hear a big difference. I've played many different combinations of tonewoods including maple. It's hard to generalize on this. I'm loving my nylon string guitar with spruce top and rosewood back & sides, as well as my steel string with spruce top and sapele back and sides. Must say though that "all mahogany" guitars don't sound great to me now although they used to....

[SpruceTop]

Maple, as done by the new Taylors, is now my new everything.

[ChuckS]

I don't have a rosewood guitar right now (although one of my guitars is made from a high density, low damping wood, and is kind of in the 'rosewood camp').

As far as mahogany, I prefer a dense Cuban Mahogany. It's bass tone is a bit towards rosewood, but the trebles are all mahogany.

[cmd612]

I thought it was going to be rosewood until I tried singing along with some. My new mahogany/adirondack guitar arrived on Wednesday.

[woodbox]

Long ago, just shy of 50 years now, I got my first guitar--Mahogany/Sitka (0-18)

Played and preferred Mahogany till I bought my Maple/Sitka (J-65M) twenty years later.
Many Mahogany followed and I called myself a "Mahogany Guy".

Then Rosewood/Cedar came into play (714CE)

But my Rosewood/Sitka Martin M36 Custom--1 3/4 nut-- was a game changer. It's my main player these days.

In the last decade I've had Koa, Sapele, Walnut, another Maple, a half dozen more Rosewood, a dozen more Mahogany, blah blah blah.....
I used to think it mattered.

Silly said it--"different tool for the job".
Steve Stills did too--"play the one you have".
As many like to say these days..whatever.

Didn't vote in the poll, but did I even come close to answering the question?

[Gardman]

I have been playing for 50 years, now... mostly for my own enjoyment and relaxation. I play a somewhat eclectic mix of classic/contemporary folk and cowboy music, with fingerpicking and strumming.

For 30+ years, my only guitar was a mahogany bodied dread that I bought when I was 17. About ten years ago, I had the means and inclination to acquire a small collection of dreads... with the express purpose of sampling different tonewoods. At the height of my collection last fall, I had nine Sitka-topped dreads, all from the same maker, spanning years from 1971-1995, with B&S made from 5 different tone woods:
2 mahogany (1 flat backed, 1 arched back);
1 pearwood;
1 maple arched back;
1 ash; and
4 rosewood
Each had there own distinctive voice, even the four rosewoods, and I played them all... different guitars for different songs, or different moods.

However, the first guitar I reached for when I sat down to play each morning before heading to work was rosewood... and after some soul searching, I decided it was time to downsize my collection. The five guitars I kept were: my original mahogany (both for sound and sentiment), ash, and 3 of the 4 rosewoods. All get played each week... (I keep two in alternate tunings,DADGAD and CGCGCE), but I find I gravitate more towards the sound of rosewood...

I have purposefully not indicated the maker of my guitars (all the same factory-built)... For those who don't know me from the other forum I frequent... can you guess, based on the descriptions?

[Ed-in-Ohio]

I have owned a D-28, an HD-28, and a 000-15. I still own the 000-15...As a matter of fact, it is sure to be listed in my Will.

[jaymarsch]

Who needs either/or when you can choose both/and? I am a both/and gal all the way. I perhaps have a slight preference for rosewood, but if you have a good builder, both mahogany and rosewood can give a lot more than than the stereotypes would have you believe.

Best,
Jayne

[Earl49]

I prefer mahogany for its crisp taste and crunchy celery-like texture, but rosewood has a nice spiciness and finish and doesn't hurt my teeth as much.

On a more serious note, I have guitars in several woods - rosewood, mahogany, koa, cherry, maple, laminated "whatever" wood, and some in carbon fiber. I worry WAY more about the overall tone and voice produced by the guitar than what it is made of. Koa can be spectacular looking, and I play a lot of Hawaiian slack-key, so that might be my favorite - both visually and tonally.

[JayVek]

Originally Posted by Treenewt

Well, I voted mahogany. I like rosewood, and would love to have a really killer rosewood dread someday. But if I had to choose one, it would be my Martin D18 (cue Norman Blake "Thank You Mr Martin right about now).

Yeah that D-18 is the best.. IMHO

[GibbyPrague]

Originally Posted by SFCRetired

Interesting mahogany is up by 100%. I never would have thought that. I prefer mahogany myself.

Indeed.
Sign of the times. Look at the results some 3-4 years ago and rosewood would still be leading by a mile.

Seems spending time here has opened a few old minds in the process.

[kydave]

[rmyAddison]

My last 5 Martins literally had 10 different woods!

That's my answer, fine guitars with different tone woods for different flavors of sound.....

[k_russell]

Given a choice of the 2, I would pick mahogany. I'd select paduk over both.