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- Part 1: Countless Untold Secrets
- Part 2: New Jacaranda
- Part 3: The Rare Rosewoods Shining Behind the Scenes of New Jacaranda
- Part 4: Post-Rosewood
There’s Jacaranda, the pinnacle of rosewood, and Indian rosewood, which is currently the mainstream choice due to its relatively affordable price.
It’s used by various high-end guitar makers, including Martin!
In this installment, we’ll introduce the high-end rosewoods known as “New Jacaranda”—which have emerged as potential replacements for Jacaranda—from renowned brands both in Japan and abroad!
There is Brazilian rosewood (commonly known as “Hacalanda”; hereafter referred to simply as “Hacalanda”), considered the pinnacle of rosewood, and the relatively affordable Indian rosewood, which is currently the mainstream choice.As discussed in Vol. 1, while Jacaranda possesses excellent sound characteristics, its use has become extremely difficult due to soaring prices and the depletion of available stock. The much-talked-about high-end rosewood varieties known as “New Jacaranda,” which have emerged as a replacement for traditional Jacaranda, are now being adopted by renowned brands both in Japan and abroad for their high-end guitars.
Martin currently stores its stock of Brazilian rosewood and Madagascar rosewood in separate locations because, if mixed together, they would become indistinguishable.
That is how closely the grain pattern of this Madagascar rosewood resembles that of Brazilian rosewood among all rosewood alternatives.
In terms of sound quality, it offers a tone closest to that of Hakalanda, with a response rivaling Brazilian rosewood, as well as a wide dynamic range, well-defined low-end, and clear high-end projection.
Although it was initially used as an alternative, due to issues such as illegal logging by criminal gangs, the Madagascan government banned logging in protected areas in 2000, and regulations were also imposed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), making it difficult to obtain.
It is used in Martin’s premium models, which recreate pre-war specifications from the Jacaranda era, as well as in high-end models from other luxury brands.- Martin D-45
- Martin’s flagship model, the D-45.
In recent years, various reissues, custom models, and limited-edition models have been released.
Martin actively incorporates Madagascar rosewood into its top-tier models. It plays a crucial role in crafting high-quality instruments—it’s no wonder it’s considered the “top-tier model in the current lineup.”
- This is the 2012 D-45 Madagascar Anaheim. It is a model limited to 20 units for sale in Japan, announced at the 2012 Anaheim Guitar Show.
- The fact that the word “Madagascar” is included in the model name speaks to the value of Madagascar rosewood.
Featuring a vertical logo, snowflake inlays, and WEVERLY open-back tuners, its luxurious appearance faithfully recreates the classic vintage design.
The Madagascar rosewood is generously used in the two-piece back. This guitar offers a variety of visual textures, ranging from a fine-grained, straight-grained pattern to a more undulating grain.
The sides feature distinct black resin lines reminiscent of Jacaranda. The ultra-dense grain produces an attack and tonal range that are distinctly different from Indian rosewood.
- Greven Vintage D
- Many renowned workshops, primarily based overseas—such as Collings and Bourgeios—are currently active in crafting high-end Martin-style guitars.
Among them, Greven Guitars, led by master luthier John Greven, has a particularly strong reputation for crafting pre-war Martin-style guitars.
In addition to using Brazilian rosewood for their top-of-the-line models, they incorporate Madagascar rosewood, Honduran rosewood, and various other hard-to-find types of Brazilian rosewood to produce guitars with an ideal sound.
- This is the 2007 “The Oshio D Vintage.”
- It is a rare model that combines the specifications of Greven’s popular “Vintage D” model with those of Kotaro Oshio’s signature model, “The Oshio D.”
High-quality Madagascar rosewood is used to reproduce the “rich, resonant sound” characteristic of vintage guitars. The result is a sound with substantial, powerful depth.
Compared to Jacaranda, most Madagascar rosewood specimens have a whitish-brown hue, but this particular piece features a distinctive grain with strong reddish tones and faint black lines. It also exhibits a color similar to that of Honduran rosewood.
As with Jacaranda, it’s clear that each piece has its own unique character.
Honduran rosewood is so representative of the “New Jacaranda” category that it is often referred to as such. Compared to Madagascar rosewood, it has a stronger reddish-brown hue and a more uniform appearance, with fewer of the exotic, resin-rich grain patterns found in Brazilian rosewood.
It certainly produces a drier sound than Indian rosewood, and in terms of both dynamic range and definition, it possesses acoustic characteristics that make it a worthy substitute for Jacaranda.
Although it is named “Honduras,” it actually originates from Belize, a country located at the base of the Yucatán Peninsula, across the Gulf of Honduras.
In addition to guitars, it is used in high-end furniture, pianos, and xylophones; however, it is currently difficult to obtain due to regulations under the Washington Convention. In fact, some luthiers even claim that its acoustic properties surpass those of Jacaranda.
While Madagascar rosewood is widely used by overseas brands such as Martin, Honduran rosewood is frequently favored by independent workshops in Japan. It is commonly referred to as “Honrose.”- HEADWAY
- Diviser Co., Ltd., with its factory in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, is led by master luthier Yasuo Momose and currently operates various brands, including momose, Bacchus, and HEADWAY.
HEADWAY, an acoustic guitar brand, suspended production in the 1980s after its factory was destroyed by fire, but rebuilt its acoustic guitar production line in 1999.
Today, in addition to Indian rosewood, the company uses many rare woods, including New Jacaranda, to create a diverse lineup of models with rich character.
- The HO Series is one of HEADWAY’s most popular lines. Unlike the 000-type HF Series, these are OM-type models with a longer scale.
- This is the HO-450, a limited-edition, high-grade model manufactured in 2003.It features densely grained Honduran rosewood.
Compared to other types of rosewood, it has a reddish hue. While it is less prone to resin seepage than woods like Jacaranda or Madagascar rosewood, it still exhibits a richly textured, undulating grain despite its dense grain structure. Its excellent response and tonal range deliver a sound befitting New Jacaranda. The luster of the finish also differs from that of Indian rosewood, giving it a character similar to Madagascar rosewood.
- Terry’s Terry
- Terry Nakamoto, whose real name is Terumi Nakamoto, was with Yamaha during the early days of the Japanese acoustic guitar industry and introduced numerous folk guitars to the world, including the FG series. High-end FG models crafted by Terry Nakamoto are now traded at high prices.
He has since launched his own brand, Terry’s Terry, and despite being high-end guitars, it is so popular that waiting several years for an order is the norm. The brand has earned a reputation as Japan’s premier acoustic guitar.
While he occasionally uses materials like Jacaranda, he is also known for preferring Honduran rosewood for his regular models.
- This is the TJ-100, T’sT’s flagship model from 1996. It features outstanding sound across the entire frequency range, with unparalleled volume and harmonics.
- Unusually for Honduran rosewood, this instrument has a deep color and a blurred grain pattern, giving it the appearance of a darker Indian rosewood.
At first glance, it may not look like typical Honduran rosewood, but many of the Honduran rosewood pieces used by T’sT have this type of grain pattern. It may be that when selecting wood capable of producing T’sT’s unique, overwhelming harmonic richness, the resulting pieces naturally take on this appearance.
Afterword
In this post, in addition to Martin, we introduced rosewoods used in various high-end models both domestically and internationally!
From top-tier manufacturers to independent workshops, New Jacaranda is widely adopted in high-end models!
New Jacaranda is no longer merely a substitute—each variety has its own value and is highly prized!
And riding this wave, various leguminous rosewood species have been appearing one after another in recent years…! To be continued...