#1
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Madagascar rosewood or cocobolo?
Seeking insights on the tone and differences in Madagascar rosewood and cocobolo when used as back and sides on a Grand Symphony? Thanks.
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Blessings, PD |
#2
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Comments on woods relative to my experience with the GA: Mad Rose = deeper, more bass, more overtones, highs tend to sparkle Cocobolo = warmer, less bass, more highs, a bit more balanced (can be viewed as flatter/shallower depending on your taste), similar to Koa from what I read Not sure how much change there would be in a GS, but Taylor highly recommends a GS bodystyle for Cocobolo (as opposed to the GA) in order to reach that full depth. I read this as lack of bass/depth, but to each their own. I haven't played a GS Coco but the GA I played sounded really nice. Just that rosewood is more desirable for my tastes.
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2009 Taylor 714ce Spring Ltd. 2006 Taylor GS Maple 2003 Taylor 414-R Fall Ltd. 2009 Martin LX1 2008 Yamaha FG720s |
#3
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Circa OM-28 (MadRW/Adi) Collings D42BaaaGSB (BRW/GermSpruce) Froggy Bottom: K Limited (EIR/Adi), H-12 40th Anniv (BRW/Adi) Goodall: RS (EIR/ItalSpruce), KCJCK (Koa/Koa), TRD (EIR/Adi) Martin: DM3MD 81/234 (EIR/EngSpruce), 1833 D-45 (MadRW/Adi), OM-42 (MadRW/Adi) Merrill C-28 (BRW/Adi) Taylor: 914-CE-L1 (EIR/EngSpruce), BTO GA-C (MadRW/Adi), DMSM (EIR/Sitka) |
#4
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East Indian?
What about comparing East Indian rosewood with Madagascar rosewood?
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Blessings, PD |
#5
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I have read conflicting information about Cocobolo in comparison to more traditional rosewoods, but here are Taylors descriptions which include a small comparison of Maddie to EIR.
Cocobolo Cocobolo is a dense, stiff tropical hardwood with a fairly bright tone. Sonically, it’s similar to koa, but resonates a little deeper on the low end, although it doesn’t have quite the full low end of rosewood or ovangkol. Fast and responsive, with moderate note decay, it’s articulate with lots of note distinction. We like it on a GS because it really pairs well with what the body shape is doing, blending the low end and midrange of the body with the wood’s brightness. We also like it for fingerstyle on a GC. Madagascar Rosewood Madagascar rosewood tonally is considered a kindred spirit to venerable Brazilian rosewood, boasting zesty, articulate highs, deep lows and ample dynamic range, and rewarding players with rich sustain and complex overtones. Its comparison to Brazilian is reinforced by its often striking visual appeal and limited availability. The tonal distinctions between Maddie and East Indian rosewood tend to be subtle; if anything, Maddie may yield a bit more midrange bloom than East Indian, although it’s typically not quite as full as ovangkol.
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2019 Taylor Summer Ltd. GA Redwood/ Ovangkol |
#6
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You really can't dial in tone predictions that accurately. Each individual set of wood varies in how it performs, combine that with different tops performing differently, the fact that even "identical" guitars sound different....
Bottom line is they are all rosewoods. They all have that "rosewood tone". Having said that, there can be differences..but the differences overlap to the point where you could prefer the tone of a cocobolo guitar to a mad rw when comparing one set of otherwise "identical" guitars, mad rw to coco with a different set, Indian rosewood to coco with a third, mad to IR on a fourth, IR to mad on a fifth. etc. etc.etc. I own guitars built with each of these woods. I tend to prefer Mad RW to coco. My favorite guitar is built with IR. If I was ordering "blind"...no chance to play the guitar to see which I preferred? I'd go with Mad RW.
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"Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best." Henry Van Dyke "It is in the world of slow time that truth and art are found as one" Norman Maclean, |
#7
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2009 Taylor 714ce Spring Ltd. 2006 Taylor GS Maple 2003 Taylor 414-R Fall Ltd. 2009 Martin LX1 2008 Yamaha FG720s |
#8
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Here's something that might help you to a degree.
Guitar A is my 2002 815 East indian Rosewood with Sitka. Guitar B is my 2009 BTO Cocobolo with Adirondack. Side by side comparison, http://www.4shared.com/file/10462393...parison_2.html
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Guitars- some of them 2000 855 2002 815ce 2007 Warwick corvette bass (Double Buck) 4 string 2009 Custom Coco/addi jumbo "Maranatha" 2010 412 Spring LTD Amps- some of them Peavey 100watt acoustic amp (very clean sounding) Roland JC-120 head with 4x12 matching cabinet Praise and Worship dude http://s25.photobucket.com/albums/c6...44369/Guitars/ |
#9
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I've played very nice examples from both woods, but if it were my guitar I'd go with Madagascar. As close as you can get to Brazilian without giving up the extra lettuce.
Although, one of my absolute favorite guitars was a Goodall cocobolo CJ. |
#10
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I'm not diss'ing coco but to my ear, on the one coco GA I owned, it didn't have the range, sparkle, and certainly not complexity of tone that I find in IRW. |
#11
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When I was looking at guitars I was intrigued by the description of the tone of the GS body and the EIR. I have not been disappointed. Nice deep lows and clear highs. According to the Taylor web site description of Madagascar and East Indian rosewoods they are tonally very similar.
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Blessings, Kirk __________________________________________ 2008 Taylor 816CE 2003 Ovation Celebrity Deluxe 197? Sigma Dreadnought (Camp Guitar Extraordinaire) |
#12
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Indian Rosewood is an incredible tonewood.
If the situation were reversed and Mad RW/Cocobolo were used more commonly and IR considered more "exotic" I suspect you'd see people extoling it's virtues much more.
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"Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best." Henry Van Dyke "It is in the world of slow time that truth and art are found as one" Norman Maclean, |
#13
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If I could only choose between EIR or Hog, of course I'd go for EIR; but if other RWs are also options, I wouldn't hesitate either.
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'08 Goodall KCJC (Koa/Englemann) '09 Fujii MD (Camatillo RW/German) '11 Martin J custom(EIR/Sitka w/PA1 appts.) '14 Collings SJ(Wenge/German) |
#14
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madi or coco... definitely yes :)
to my ear, when i compare a 716ceLTD sitka/madi to a 810L10 sitka/coco,
i hear a deeper bass response & more brilliant treble response that is warmer overall with ever-so-slightly compressed mids (from the 716) & a brighter, more balanced overall tone (more controlled bass, open mids & direct trebles) (from the 810) - i preferred the 716 over an 07 GS8 (sitka/eirw) for its more complex articulation & the 810 over an 08 GSceLTD C for its "in-your-face" direct immediacy & overall power ymmv
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it's not about what you play... it's all about why you play |
#15
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last night i got to play some madagascar. the first one was a madagascar j-45, and it sounded clean and crisp and that doesn't really explain it, but it sounded really REALLY good.
then i did a side by side of two different eric clapton martins. one was sitka/east indian rosewood. it was okay, but not my thing. then i played the other one, which was carpathian spruce and madagascar rosewood. i am not exaggerating at all when i say it was THE single best sounding guitar i've heard in my entire life. had i had the money to buy it or steady income enough to lay it away, i'd be the happiest person alive right now. that being said, every mad rosewood guitar i've played sounded amazing. everyone has different tastes. one of my two favorite back and side woods is by far madagascar. |