Double Bass NY Times on Pernambucco

[LouisF]

What Happens if Pernambuco Wood Becomes Illegal in Music?

For centuries, the standard wood used to make string instruments’ bows has come from the pernambuco tree in Brazil. Its future is uncertain.

www.nytimes.com

(If you can't open the link a pdf is attached)

 

[eh_train]

Thanks Louis, most interesting!

IIRC, Ebony from Madagascar has been restricted in the last few years. I really wonder, though, how the average customs official is going to distinguish Madagascar from Indian Ebony, or from other places where Ebony grows.

 

[bass player 53]

 

[flixbass]

I wonder if the larger part of forest depletion occured even before pernambucco became the wood of choice for bowmakers. It was exploited for dye production, so the logs did not just come as ballast on ships.
Anyway, predatory exploitation, ruthless robber loggers, smugglers, sketchy craftsmen - they all serve a demand. I think in the end pernambucco will have to end up in CITES app. I, if we want the species to survive.
And it would serve us right. I reckon during the last 60 years a huge part of pernambucco went into crappy cheap bows. And it still does. Look on Amazon, Ebay or Aliexpress. And people buy them, because it says pernambucco. As if the species of wood means more than the bowmakers skill...
That's what happens when each individual neglects its individual responsibility.

 

[LaFaro01]

Unfortunately the NYT didn't mention projects like Araponga or IPCI, which to get sustainable sources for Pernambucco or Ebony...
There are builders an musicians, who see the problems and search for answers...

Willkommen | Orchester des Wandels

www.orchester-des-wandels.de

 

[LouisF]

They did mention Arcus bows, which are the only bows I use now.

 

[Wez Yo Bice]

Did it mention pernambuco and Brazilwood are from the same tree? Didn't see it.
I won't need a new bow in my lifetime. But they better improve CF bows as far as I see.

 

[Low Main]

An analogous development has happened in the much simpler world of guitar picks.

The favored tortoise shell material from the Hawksbill sea turtle was banned and all manner of other materials came into use.

Various metals and plastics, etc. which resulted in picks becoming cheap, virtually disposable items.

Then, some further materials research and engineering was undertaken which resulted in the making of Blue Chip picks, which have become the favorite of many players and preferred over their vintage tortoise picks. The new picks are produced in small numbers at a much higher cost than plastic.

The best outcome of this sort of work is to produce a result that is actually better than objects made with the prized original materials.

All this to say that the carbon fiber material that is in use today may not be the end of the road for those researching alternatives to pernambuco as bowmaking material. Someone may be testing another material even now.

 

[evanrunyon]

I’ll just say, anecdotally, I have an excellent bow made of Katalox and of the dozens of incredible players that’ve had in their hands, not a one of them has taken it for anything other than a particularly dark piece of Pernambuco.

Beyond tradition, purism, clout, etc. part of the enduring appeal of Pernambuco is that, from a bowmaker’s perspective, it’s incredibly satisfying to work with. Any amateur woodworker can tell you some woods just wood better than other woods.

 

[Neil Pye]

It was mentioned earlier, but should really be emphasised. Pernambuco is not a species. It is the same species as the wood referred to as "Brazilwood", but comes from the Pernambuco region. This distinction is what has driven the price differential and therefore the illegal logging and all the problems associated with that. I find it hard to believe that the demand for bow stock cannot be satisfied by the legal supply of top quality Brazilwood currently? Or am I wrong? Maybe we need to stop obsessing about the name of the wood and pay for the quality of the workmanship?

 

[Mark_T]

I’ll just say, anecdotally, I have an excellent bow made of Katalox and of the dozens of incredible players that’ve had in their hands, not a one of them has taken it for anything other than a particularly dark piece of Pernambuco.

Beyond tradition, purism, clout, etc. part of the enduring appeal of Pernambuco is that, from a bowmaker’s perspective, it’s incredibly satisfying to work with. Any amateur woodworker can tell you some woods just wood better than other woods.

I have a bow made of Bloodwood. In one of the Discover Double Bass courses, David Allen Moore describes bloodwood as a "super-pernambuco". My bloodwood bow is not as nice as some of the better pernambuco bows I've tried in the past, but it's a perfectly reasonable bow that could easily be used by a high level player. I have heard that bloodwood is hard to work.

For instance, this website Bloodwood

Extraordinarily hard, dense, and tight grained. Bloodwood often holds a lot of tension in the wood, making it unstable and prone to twist or cup. It's best used in small pieces. However, woodworkers like the way it finishes and polishes, and the vivid color is always eye catching.

And here: Bloodwood | The Wood Database (Hardwood)

Bloodwood is extremely dense, and has a pronounced blunting effect on cutters. The wood tends to be brittle and can splinter easily while being worked. Those persistent enough to bear with the difficulties of working with Bloodwood to the finishing stage are rewarded with an exceptional and lustrous red surface.

And finally there's this:

Top Ten Most Overrated Woods | The Wood Database

www.wood-database.com

I still think alternative woods are worth exploring and if people can be openminded about it, we can find good alternatives. Ie, people are making good bows of katalox, bloodwood, purpleheart, etc.