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Rosewood was imported to Florida many years ago and is considered an invasive species here. We are fortunate to have a very good luthier who is aware of this and uses this local rosewood for his fretboards. Also, uses locally grown Cypress for the bodies and builds a very nice early Precision style bass called the Crackercaster. I'm don't know if these rosewood trees were originally imported from India or Brazil or both. So I think a safe prediction would be that Indian or Brazilian Rosewood becomes sourced from Florida once any remaining stockpiles are gone and people will call it "Florida Rosewood".
Crackercaster Guitars & Basses
Guitar Repair of Tampa Bay | Crackercaster Guitars
Crackercaster Guitars & Basses
Guitar Repair of Tampa Bay | Crackercaster Guitars
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The closest in look and density is Madagascar Rosewood and unlike many of the others mentioned, it is a true rosewood, dalbergia baronii.
in the future = probably not wood at all: right now we have options like ebonol. other 'man made' choices are likely to surface and be great, lightweight, usable fb's. or, at least i hope so. i play fretless so i just want something reliable. fretted instruments = looks mostly, right? IMO!
You should check this video. Pat suggested me this alternative for the Brazilian rosewood.
As for the other question. I think Pau ferro will be the one.
I Googled 'Brazilian versus Bolivian', and all I got was a crummy soccer synopsis...
... a cut, above the rest, indeed.
Roger Sadowsky really digs Bolivian rosewood (Pau ferro). There are a couple of videos of him talking why.
Maple fretboard lover here. No problems for me. I like that Wilkins bass though. Sounds amazing.
I thought maybe roasted maple would work for me - I was in the "fingerboards probably don't matter all tha much camp" until..... I got that neck - same wood, same profile, same graphite reinforcements as my other necks, just a different (roasted maple) fingerboard. I keep that neck on a bass, partly in case I never need to travel across borders, and it's OK, though it's never quite what I want to hear. I am on a quest trying to find strings that really work on the bass I have with that neck, and haven't found the magic combo - with rosewood fingergoards, lots of strings seem to work OK.
Michael Tobias started using Florida rosewood (that's what he called it) a few years ago. I'm not sure how he has responded to the latest CITES developments in terms of his building habits.
IMO a very good idea! I would like to try that on a fretless
Using local resources is clever. It has been done in the past. So why not in the future?
and maybe Spidey will like soccer in the future? Who knows?
may the future be with us
Wise(b)ass
I would not have guessed that was maple from a distance - but look at that flame!
There is a vocal and snarky crew on TB who feel that wood type is of little importance, and certainly that one cannot in a consistent way attribute tonal characteristics to different kinds of wood.
They're favorite study is the one where concert violinists could not discern actual "old Italians" from high-end modern copies of old Italians.
I think that wood does matter, but to what extent compared to pickups, electronics, other hardware, etc. I cannot say. I also realize that confirmation bias is a fact of human behavior.
