Topic: Guitar.......Mahogany or rosewood????

[simonjandrews]

which do you guys recomend to play blues on a guitar made of mahogony or rosewood to give you an authentic blues sound.cheers

[slidnslim]

I think you have to figure really wich is better sounding for
 you,weather you play bare-back or use picks,

 Myself the nicest sounding blues guitar Ive tried was a late forties
 all Mahoghany o-15

 Kenny

[Parlor Picker]

I agree - you should try different guitars and get the one that suits you (and that you can afford, of course).  Theoretically, mahogany might have a "bluesier edge", but then again maybe not.  Ultimately, you should aim for one of each(!).

Having said that, my guitar that offers the most "authentic" blues sound has maple back & sides.  And an old cherry-bodied job is currently with my luthier friend for refurbishment and I'm looking forward to hearing what it sounds like.  They all have characteristics of their own and I don't like to say that one is better than another - rather that they are different.  Some days I prefer my rosewood guitar and others it's the maple one - or the mahogany one I've had for years.  I know I'm lucky to have them and really appreciate them.

As I say, whatever you go for, make sure it suits you in terms of playability, sound and looks.

[GhostRider]

Hey, SimonJ:

It's hard to compare woods, as between guitars ther are so many other variables (scale length, body size and shape etc.).

That being said, to my ears mahogany is a lttle less "bright" than rosewood, which may be better for CB.

And I suspect that very few if any '20's and '30's players recorded with a rosewood guitar.

The best sounding guitar I have ever heard CB played on is Mary Flower's 1936 Gibson L-00, which has mahogany back and sides.

Alex

[Don Miller]

I think body shape, and perhaps scale length are as important as body wood...you're apt to sound "bluesier" on a smaller bodied guitar than on a big booming  clear as country water banjo killer dred....

As others have pointed out, there are a number of variables,,,and what really counts is what the guitar sounds like under your fingers...picking an acoustic guitar is kind of like falling in love...you know when you have the right one...

Technique comes in too..I usually flat or hybrid pick...which tends to accent the "country" end of things...and a bareback fingerpicker is apt to sound "bluesier" than I ever would.

That said, my current flat tops are a mahogany J-45...which almost forces you to play something bluesy...and a Rosewood Yairi "small jumbo"...which  is too "sweet" to be a decent blues guitar...the overtone-harmonics are wrong..it does better with lighter, airier stiff...maj 7th sus4th stuff...new agey DADGAD but  would get stomped out in a juke joint.

A very capable and versatile player told me once that a good picker can make a cigar box sound the way he wants...while that might be a little exaggerated its true that much of your tone is north of the instrument....

BTW this is my first post..someone at the Gretsch forum mentioned this place...Ive been looking for material and inspriation to work on my rather clumbsy and limited finger-travis picking skills...I downloaded a couple of the lessons here and was intrigued by the detail and description in those lessons....

Don

[Slack]

Welcome Don!  Glad you found some useful stuff to improve your picking.

I believe it was I who suggested the WeenieCampbell forum to you...  There are a couple of us weenies who lurk on the Gretsch forum for the rockabilly content (good forum btw) ... but don't tell anyone, they may not let us live it down!

[Johnm]

Hi Simon,
This strikes me as a question where no one's opinion but your own matters--it's like a taste test, who cares if 60% of the people prefer Sprite over Mountain Dew if you happen to prefer Mountain Dew?  Suffice it to say that there have been great Country Blues players on most of the commonly encountered tone woods.  Late period Bill Broonzy and Josh White on rosewood bodied guitars,  Rev. Davis in his J-200 era on maple, and people too numerous to mention on mahogany, as well as more exotic woods in the Stella era.  In terms of Blues, I think it is much more important how you play than what you happen to play it on, and that goes for guitar design as well as the wood used.
All best,
Johnm

[outfidel]

From what I've read about luthiers and the guitars they build: the chef doing the cooking matters more than the ingredients he uses. So it's really hard (if not impossible) to generalize how rosewood or mahogany might sound on guitars built by Martin, Gibson, Taylor and every other builder. Ya gotta taste before you buy.