Rosewood

A dense, open-grained tropical hardwood, traditionally used for guitar fingerboards and for the backs and sides of acoustic instruments.

Its hardness resists the wear that string contact causes on a fingerboard, and its oily character means it needs no finish, which gives a warm, slightly tactile feel under the fingers. On an acoustic body it contributes a warm, deep and complex voice with a strong low end, which is why it remains the reference for fingerstyle instruments. Its trade status has made documentation a routine part of shipping instruments made with it across borders.

Example: a spruce-topped instrument with rosewood back and sides has the deep, ringing bass that has become the standard sound of solo acoustic playing.

Rosewood

See also