Fender Jaco Pastorius fretless: why Pao Ferro?

[MobileHolmes]

I have a pau ferro/maple neck getting finished right now (and I can't wait for it). As others have said, it is good for fretless because it is very dense. Tonally, it is supposed to be a little darker than maple but much brighter than other rosewoods. I believe that Morado is another name for it. A number of builders use pau ferro/morado for boards. Sadowsky does, ken smith uses it for body tops, as well as boards, etc.

FWIW, rosewood is kind of a bogus term anyway. 60s fenders (including Jaco's) were brazillian rosewood, which is hard to source and very expensive (I believe it may be illegal to harvest from the wild now). It is denser and brighter sounding than Indian rosewood, which is a different species. I'm not sure that the different rosewoods have much in common beyond a general color.
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[need4mospd]

What's another name for Pau Ferro - Bolivian Rosewood- for all intents and purposes - it is Rosewood!!

I'd just like to note the scientific names of each wood.

Pau Ferro (Machaerium scleroxylon or Machaerium villosum)

Palisander Rosewood (Dalbergia baroni)

Indian Rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia)

Brazilian Rosewood (Dalbergia nigra)

Although Pao Ferro is called Bolivian Rosewood(among a few other names), it's only relation to rosewood is it's looks....and of course it's a wood.

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

Well I was saying for this purpose there is no real difference and most people wouldn't even notice!

 

[bigtexashonk]

My SRV Strat has a PF board. It's ok, lighter in color and has a harder surface finish (seems almost waxy at times).

Fender substituted PF due to availability and cost. Brazilian Rosewood is at a premium, but it's still my favorite.