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I was reading in the lates Fretboard Journal article on Geoff Muldaur an interesting passage where he describes his choices for his signature Martin. I applaud his aiming for affordability and considering more available/sustainable woods etc. What most intrigued me though was the part where it noted he had talked with Mark Knopfler about the inherent instability of Indian Rosewood and so he opted for mahogany instead. Can anyone elaborate or provide some insight on what the instability factors of East Indian Rosewood might be?

Its 'not dried out' when guitar is built from it? .........

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Here is what a Parlor Guitar is for!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEa8PkjO6_I

I thought he was talking about inconsistency in the quality of the wood. I also thought it was kind of silly, because mahogany is plenty inconsistent these days as well.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

Instability of Indian Rosewood. Hmmm, that's news to me.

Indian Rosewood, latifolia dalbergia, when properly dried and seasoned is as stable as anything out there. It is less likely to crack than say Bocote or Ziricote and finishes beautifully. Currently it is still available and affordable.

I remember our little 110 set order coming directly in from India. It weighed some 900 pounds along with fingerboards and bridges. On the manifest I noticed another order that weighed over 5 thousand pounds, headed for Auburn California.

So there are just a few guitarmakers that feel Indian Rosewood is still a great tonewood. This may just be an personal preference or "old wives tale" that somehow got repeated? Martin Guitar uses mahogany and indian in piles each. They build a great number of guitars with both.

If there were a drawback for Indian Rosewood I'd say it's use as a fretboard is a weak point. Stable enough, but not as tough as some other woods. And like anything else, there are some pieces that are much better than others for hardness and durability we like to see in fretboards.

Sometimes we must take articles like this comment, "with a grain of salt." I don't recognize the names, but I'm sure they are smart folk.

Hey Todd, simultaneous posts. Couldn't sleep either ay?

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

maybe by " unstable " they mean rosewoods tendancy to crack, I just strung up my first honduran mahogany , no side braces . built the whole guitar no cracks , still very sturdy and light. just started a E I rosewood OLF S-J the side split with just a minor bump.I repaired it and right away installed side bracings about 3" apart. Jody