Mahogany vs Rosewood | Differences you need to know! 

Thanks. I listened with headphones. I sort of bought both a Martin D-28 but went with a Gibson J45 for the mahogany. Different voices for different songs. What about sinker redwood on top of cocobolo?

Agreed

quigley 45-100 Oh my, that was the best comment

Me too! What's the last tune that Paul played? Very french! Love it!!

Nevermind - got it! Autumn Leaves!

Jane M mahany is more relaxed and rosewood is more articulate. Both are beautiful, I want both

Jane M 😂😂

I don't think you meant playing but player. Am I right?

I actually like rosewood on smaller guitars because of the deep bass. Hogs on dreads. To keep that bass tight but still have s deep sound

I have a beautiful OM with padauk B/S and it’s very rosewoody in terms of bright highs and overtones. Love it for solo fingerstyle but I will be getting a 00 in mahogany at some point. It’s just a fun woody sound for some fingerstyle too like fingerstyle blues. Then I’ll get a D in both cause why not.

@@adamricard9410 totally. I tried the bourgeois touchstone last week. One with rosewood, and one with mahogany. I was surprised by the mahogany. And it looked amazing too! But after an A/B test i still went with rosewood. I have 3 sitka- rosewood OM's, but they still all sound very different

Erik Russo Note that the woods used in the comparison are the ones at the sides of the guitar, more or less look the same

we have to keep in mind that these are two different brands and tops were tuned differently. More fair to compare two martins or two collings having rosewood and mahogany.

Disagree - the mahogany is much-better balanced across the midrange - rosewood does give those nice bell-like overtones high and low, but the overall result is "boomy" at each end of the audible spectrum and too "hollow" in the middle. OTOH, that's why quality guitar makers have models in both mahogany and rosewood, to suit different tastes, ears, and purposes. I can see how the midrange "scoop" of rosewood might go well with a guitar accompanying a vocalist.

You should see my Eastman AC522. Beautiful Mahogany :)

@@TheNcmore that's exactly my feeling too. As well, different guitars tend to be more versatile with either. But all factors equal, a hog is better for the strong midrangy fundamental and the rosewood better for a big Strummer. Because mahogany is so light, using it for top gives a compressed sound that can also be very good for a intimate Strummer.

Really man😂

Well I love it! He put in the time and love.

A good "rosewood" (many different types with different end results) guitar is truly better. But most of them are muddy while most hog guitars have more clarity. In general a smaller body size and shorter scale will make a rosewood guitar have more clarity than usual.

I play on rosewood finger style and it lacks in the mid and doesn’t have much definition in delicate finger picking. Very fun for strumming however and sounds deep and rich that way.

You heard exactly what I heard for sure. I did like the mahogany also, but the rosewood was much clearer and articulate.

Hog>

Buy an Eastman. They are very affordable and handmade with solid woods

@@kamenridergeiz9490 I second this...I own 2 Martins with master grade wood, a vintage OM-28V (Indian rosewood/Sitka) and a customshop D45 with Madagascar Rosewood and Adirondack top...and while I don’t actually own an Eastman, I have played them a few times and been utterly floored with how good they sound and feel. If it wasn’t for the fact that I already have so many guitars, I would own one for sure. I’ve still been tempted even though it wouldn’t make any sense for me lol. It’s hard to pass up such a killer instrument for that price. I highly recommend.

I literally just noticed that I have 48 acoustic guitars and not ONE is comprised of rosewood back and sides. Obviously it’s a brand and tonal thing... I have been in “rock / AC” genre for my entire career. But I also think it’s a price thing as well; after spending the last 12 hours looking at guitars w rosewood. They are considerably more expensive. I hear you.

@@JonathanLukeAvery I just got turned on to Eastman in the past few weeks. Normally pros just ignore Chinese guitars truth be told - No one even speaks of Guild anymore for example. But plenty of players have told me lately “dude go check out Eastman”. Interesting. Been listening. PS - you can never have too many guitars bro 😊.

Mahogany is the muddier sounding one precisely because it lacks the overtones. So it doesn't sound as bright. Rosewood is just easier to sound messy if you're not careful with the style and technique, it's not muddy though. It can for sure sound messy though, especially when you're not playing in an open tuning, those overtones of the open strings will mess up any clarity you're going for, but many people learn to manage that because the Rosewood has so much to offer. It's a great lead style or for solo folk artists who don't have a full band while the Mahogany is a great back up instrument that wont flare off overtones that conflict with the other band members, and stays fairly neutral. That's what I got from it at least.