Murph Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Noticed this thread in the Lounge. I had no idea it was getting this stupid. http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/135259-latest-on-the-new-cites-rosewood-laws/ I guess if I was a young man, I'd probably lean toward Walnut, being it's mostly American and plentiful, and I still have a Walnut '79 SG that I like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Very interesting. Especially the Reverb article posted by RAB. Just one more thing to worry about. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 It's not surprising that the initial reaction is to shut down ALL rosewood supplies across borders; a knee-jerk reaction, mostly due to the irresponsible harvesting for use in the flooring industry. If people who build guitars with rosewood allied themselves with people in the position to dial in the regulations, things may ease up a bit. If not, would the sound of music played and recorded change much? Or would it maybe go with the flow, with guitar builders moving to more readily available woods, or perhaps with help from plant geneticists, use varieties developed to grow in other climates, and/or to bring out varieties that look and sound like rosewood. Personally, I am just leveling off from a major Gibson rosewood jag, and am now, like some others here on the forum, getting more interested in maple. Arguably, walnut can match rosewood in its beauty, but ultimately, and thankfully, a guitar is more than just the sum of its parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 * Poof * Henry, was that you? Peace in the valley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zentar Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Rosewood and Ebony achieved desirability because they will hold a fret in place a hundred years.....literally. Frets in the future may have to be made differently so that they seat deeper into wood varieties that aren't as grabby and durable as Rosewood. But then when you do a refret youre gonna pay heck getting them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhanners623 Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 * Poof * Henry, was that you? Peace in the valley Henry, like God, works in strange ways.... (Of course the irony is I was just quoting, verbatim, what was said to me, but that post has somehow survived.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 You got maple and walnut to try, sycamore, others....plenty of sitka... Even if you can have rosewood, you won't be able to leave your new Wall to get it... BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 27, 2017 Author Share Posted January 27, 2017 sycamore, Man, I've got 30 acres with lots of Sycamore. Surely that's too soft for fretboards ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Man, I've got 30 acres with lots of Sycamore. Surely that's too soft for fretboards ? Got any maples? Sycamore back and sides, maple neck like my Tele. Didn't Gibson make some like that recently? BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-200 Koa Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 It will be interesting to see how the big companies respond in the long term to a lack of rosewood: 1. Martin's inventory is heavily-weighted to rosewood guitars. I'm sure they also have a huge supply that will last for at least a few years. 2. Taylor utilizes a lot of different woods and also probably has a huge cache of rosewood at their disposal. 3. Gibson has fewer rosewood bodied guitars in their lineup and might be able to transition to a no-rosewood inventory fairly easily. I wonder what the market for rosewood guitars will be ten years from now? Should we start buying them as investments (i.e. Brazilian) or will they simply become the outdated tonewood that was popular "back in the day"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 28, 2017 Author Share Posted January 28, 2017 I wonder what the market for rosewood guitars will be ten years from now? Should we start buying them as investments (i.e. Brazilian) or will they simply become the outdated tonewood that was popular "back in the day"? Interesting train of thought. Who would have thought a 1966 Mustang would be worth 10 / 20 times it's new price in 50 years? A Rolex? A Mullard vacuum tube? An 8N Ford tractor? I would have to think Rosewood guitars might very well be a good investment..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mz-s Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Bob Taylor did an interview on YouTube a while back (can't remember with who) and talked about how he was interested in Hawaii - it's tropical, but it's in the US. Mahogany, possibly even rosewood, etc., can potentially be grown there specifically for the guitar trade. Of course a venture like that wouldn't bear fruit (or lumber, as the case may be) for a generation or more but it is on the guitar maker's radars. In the meantime? What will be interesting to me is to see what Martin does with the D-28, D-45, etc., in a world without rosewood. That may happen sooner than people think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 The situation is not as dramatic as many have characterized it. International shipment of rosewood has not been banned, or even limited. Because it's nearly impossible to differentiate one rosewood from another, the CITES member states decided to include all 300+ species of dalbergia in order to protect the 6 or 8 that are threatened. The result, again, is not a ban or limitation, but simply a requirement that international shipments be accompanied by a permit. Yes, it will take longer to arrange a shipment and the shipper will have to pay a fee ($75 in the US) to get the permit. But, that's all. Here is my podcast on the topic for Fretboard Journal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-200 Koa Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 The situation is not as dramatic as many have characterized it. International shipment of rosewood has not been banned, or even limited. Because it's nearly impossible to differentiate one rosewood from another, the CITES member states decided to include all 300+ species of dalbergia in order to protect the 6 or 8 that are threatened. The result, again, is not a ban or limitation, but simply a requirement that international shipments be accompanied by a permit. Yes, it will take longer to arrange a shipment and the shipper will have to pay a fee ($75 in the US) to get the permit. But, that's all. Here is my podcast on the topic for Fretboard Journal. Thanks for the insight JT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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