Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi Folks!

For your viewing pleasure, I have just published a profile on Ziricote as part of my ongoing tonewood database. Any improvements, corrections and additional information/ your own experiences are much appreciated- I'll update the profile citing you and linking back to you! If you have an experiences or data to share, I would be very grateful.

I can't link pics directly to here so do pop by to
http://www.guitarbench.com/2010/05/05/z ... profile-3/

for the full Visual presentation. As always, I present the text portion of the article for your consideration- although I do highly recommend popping by to see the pics!

Warmest regards,
Terence
http://www.guitarbench.com

Cordia dodecandra | Tonewood Profile | ”Ziricote”

Please email with any corrections/ additional info
We aim to keep each profile as complete as possible & your help is appreciated!

Quick Facts
Scientific name: Cordia dodecandra
Trade names: Ziricote
Janka: 1750 approx
Uses: Back and sides veneer
RIYL: Rosewoods
Bling factor: Spiderwebbing is common
Availability: Rare
CITES status: Not listed. No restrictions
Note: (RIYL) Recommended If You Like

Natural History
Ziricote is a deciduous tree native to the Yucatán Peninsula thriving in calcium-rich soils with outcropping rocks where it attains hights of up to 30 meters. The trunk is straight and short, with a large, rounded, dense crown. It produces bright orange flowers.

Physical properties
The timber has a similar appearance to Brazilian rosewood in olive green and black shades. It is often found with spiderwebbing and is heavier than most rosewoods. It is said to be comparable to ebony when worked and can be brittle. The janka of Ziricote is around 1750 and it has a specific gravity of 0.85

As a tonewood…
It is used for back an sides for guitars, in particular classicals but it has found favour with Michael Bashkin and Gerald Sheppard for it’s beauty and tonality. Tim McKnight is a real fan saying:

“Personally I find Zircote to be one of the most visually appealing woods on the planet. It has wonderful colors that intertwine vivid black ink lines with grays, golds, browns, olives and rust colors. It is one of my most favorite woods to build with. I find the wood has a more rosewood-ish tone, although it is not a member of the dalbergia family. It has excellent low dampening qualities similar to most rosewoods with a clean resonant reverb-ery characteristic. Zircote pairs well with almost any top to bring a wide tonal variety to the builders pallet.

This wood has a reputation for more tangential movement and can therefore be at risk for cracking if certain conditions are not adhered to. If the builder seasons the wood well and builds when the wood is between 6% – 8% MC in a controlled humidity environment then delivers it to a customer who can [accurately] maintain a 40% – 55% RH range in their home then I have not found it to any more unstable than other woods. However, if the builder rushes the build or can’t accurately control his shop’s humidity or the end user can not accurately control their humidity then perhaps another tone-wood should be considered.”

Subjective tone…
I would broadly characterise the tone of Ziricote as falling between Indian rosewood and Macassar Ebony- it has more clarity than Indian but provides more overtones than Macassar.

Availability
Good stocks of Ziricote are limited.

©2008 Terence Tan.

Pictures copyright individual holders.

In addition to backs and sides, Ziricote can work well for bridges and FBs, too, as on this guitar I recently completed. As soon as the Newport Fest organizers get the videos of mini-concerts online, I'll post a link to Paul Asbell playing this guitar, which will give you some idea of how it sounds.

_________________
Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

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

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

Backs and sides, fingerboards and appointments, yes, bridges well... It is quite brittle, so may it not be the best choice for a bridge. They call it "Mexican crackwood", after all...

_________________
Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Working with ziricote, I haven't found it to be all that brittle. No problems so far with making bridges or having them in service, and I know of other makers with a lot longer history of using it than myself (e.g. Sergei de Jonge), who continue to use it (including for bridges) without hesitation.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

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

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

Nice guitar Todd, can you say more about it? More pics?
I've used ziricote as bridge material without problems, I find it more problematic for B&S at the thicknesses I use. It is brittle, no doubt.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

Thanks, Laurent! I don't want to hijack this thread. I'll have some more pics of this guitar soon (and hopefully a link to the video of Paul Asbell playing it at Newport), so I'll start a new thread then.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

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

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

OK, I admit I only made one ziricote bridge which soon cracked, and that could have been for many reason I'm sure, so if you guys say it usually does not happen, I believe you. Still, many people have found this wood to be quite prone to cracking, why would this not lead to more cracked bridges than usual? I too am a big fan of ziricote, BTW, I think it both sounds and looks terrific. I'm building a 00-12 fretter with it now, and here's a slightly larger one I made a while back.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin