Although East Indian Rosewood had been used for guitar backs and sides for many decades it came into very common usage starting in the mid-1960s when the more well known Brazilian Rosewood became less available in the quantities needed for large scale guitar production. High quality Indian Rosewood logs were plentiful and commercially available to the major markets when the Brazilian government stopped the export of Brazilian Rosewood logs. Fortunately for us all – guitar manufacturers large and small – Indian Rosewood was also found to be an excellent alternative to Brazilian Rosewood both visually and tonally.
The color ranges from red to light brown with golden streaks, but more often runs to various shades of purple-brown (which eventually oxidizes to a rich brown color).
The workability of Indian Rosewood is very good. It is slightly less dense, more evenly grained and more stable than Brazilian Rosewood. It bends well by hand or machine. The vast majority of the higher quality steel string and classical guitars made over the last thirty years have been made in Indian Rosewood. Even many of the top classical guitar makers – Romanillos, Fleta, Friederich, Gilbert – prefer it to Brazilian Rosewood.
We order the best grade available from the mills in India, but the overall quality of all of their grades has fallen noticeably over the last ten years or so with the heavy worldwide demand. We believe that the best way to present this wood to you is to carefully grade every shipment into three general quality ranges and price them accordingly. All of these matched sets are dried in our dehumidification kiln, and we sand both sides of all pieces to better match sides to backs. We usually have several thousand sets in stock at any time, and the grading breaks down like this:PREMIUM GRADE - PLEASE NOTE: PREMIUM GRADE PREVIOUSLY REFERRED TO OUR EXTRA DARK GRADE. Very few sets fall into the Premium category and lengthy backorders are sometimes required to receive wood in this grade. For those requiring a homogenous and distinguished appearance, these sets offer above average darkness, evenness of color and most will have tighter grain lines. We do not offer quantity discounts at this grade.
FIRST GRADE - This is a good grade of wood. The majority of the wood we receive falls into this grade. This is the typical good factory grade, but most high-end luthiers order from this grade as well. Wholesale quantity discounts for 25 or more sets are available (please inquire). The sets are quartersawn, with good matches of backs to sides. These sets vary from the Premium Grade in that they offer more variation in color, attractive color bands, have more medium-wide grain, or the grain is slightly curved. An occasional small, solid knot, or mineral streak, or minor water or end stain are possible in this grade, but are not the norm (let us know if we need to specially select your sets). Because there are so many different types of good-looking sets here, we encourage you to specify what you are looking for when you place your order.
SECOND GRADE - This grade is good wood structurally and tonally, but varies enough cosmetically not to make First Grade. These are quartersawn but the grain may be wider, or the color is lighter/less intense, or there may be (solid) knots or mineral streaks, however these sets usually exhibit only one or two of these factors to downgrade from First Grade. We’ve sold this grade to some factories or more production oriented smaller shops, so it is quite useable - especially considering the lower cost over Premium and First grades. Some have commented that they will order from this grade because they prefer a ’stripey’ look.
EXTRA DARK Those who want to build from exceptionally rare ’EXTRA DARK’ Indian Rosewood, can order these specifically (when available) and can expect to see wood so dark that most builders would consider the appearance to be too homogenous! We do not offer quantity discounts at this grade.
