Emergency! Rosewood: Uncovering the Truth Behind the Regulations—Part 4

Alongside New Jacaranda and other Jacaranda varieties
,
numerous rosewood species have come to be treated as rare woods. In response,
a new group of “Post-Rosewood” woods has emerged as potential alternatives to rosewood!
From woods that have long been widely known to those that make you wonder, “What is this…?”—
manufacturers are now recruiting a wide variety of these woods!
In this installment, we’ll introduce some of these
Post-Rosewood woods—which, while not true rosewoods,
are vying to take the place of rosewood!

• Although it belongs to the same legume family as rosewood, this wood is not from the Pterocarpus genus—which includes rosewood species—but rather from the Gibotia genus.
  With its high specific gravity and excellent stability,
  it is often used for electric bass bodies and fingerboards. Also known as “African Rosewood,” it produces a sound similar to rosewood and, since it is not listed on the Red List, many brands have been adopting it as a substitute for rosewood in recent years.
  Thanks to its beautiful grain, stability, and resistance to wear, it has long been used in furniture and other applications.

  

  Yokoyama Guitars

  Tadashi Yokoyama, a former Morris craftsman known for developing the Morris S Series, has established a workshop in Nagano where he crafts each instrument by hand. His guitars are highly regarded by technically skilled players, particularly
  fingerstyle guitarists. Crafted with exceptional woodworking skills, each guitar possesses its own unique character and exudes a warm, inviting feel. The brand is characterized by a wide range of models featuring rare woods that other manufacturers rarely use.

  

  This is the AR-GBU from Yokoyama Guitars’ most popular AR Series. It features a compact size combined with a cutaway, adopting specifications that follow in the footsteps of the Morris S Series—which is highly favored by
  fingerpickers. It is a beautiful instrument with bubinga for the sides and back, displaying a
  vivid, pale reddish hue and a sparkling, quilted-like grain.

  True to bubinga, the wood is hard and resilient, producing a tight sound that feels substantial rather than light—a perfect match for Yokoyama Guitars.

• 

• Next is Obankol, a legume family wood that, like Bubinga, belongs to the Gibbia genus.
  Compared to deep-red rosewood or Bubinga, it is characterized by a yellowish-brown color. Its grain pattern resembles that of rosewood.
  The contrast between the dark grain lines and the lighter, yellowish sections creates a vivid and beautiful effect.
  Its tonal quality is also close to that of rosewood; it offers good tonal balance and a well-defined texture, but compared to rosewood, it lacks that “wet” quality and often produces a slightly harder, brighter sound with good body. With its quick attack, it offers an attractive sound that strikes a balance between rosewood and koa. It is also well-known for being used in Taylor’s 400 series, such as the Taylor 414ce.

  

  K.Yairi

  K.Yairi was launched in 1965 as a “Made in Japan” brand. From the 1970s to the present day, these guitars—meticulously handcrafted by a small team—have earned the support of many players in every aspect, including precision, tone, and value for money.

  

  This guitar comes from K.Yairi—a brand that enjoys worldwide popularity as a Japanese-made guitar maker—and is part of the “JAPONE” series, a “Cool Japan” collection produced on an irregular basis. This is the fourth model in the series: “The Tale of Genji: Shukuki.” The distinctive artwork on the top is created using a technique called “woodburning,” in which a heated pen is used to char the wood, creating shades of light and dark. It is said to have been painted by an artist living in Gifu Prefecture, a friend of the late Kazuo Yairi.This is a beautiful instrument featuring bright, lovely Obanコール wood on the sides and back. Its unique sound—which is
  attack-driven and bright yet possesses a sense of depth in the body resonance—reflects the combination of handcrafted K.Yairi guitars, known for their warm, woody tones, and Obanコール wood.

• 

  It is a species of wood belonging to the genus Macarielium, which is in the same legume family as rosewood and closely related to the genus Tsurusai-kachi.
  It has many trade names and common names, including “Purplewood,” “Morado,” “Bolivian Rosewood,” and “Santos Rosewood.” Hidden behind these various names, it has long been used in the musical instrument industry for acoustic guitar sides and backs, but its popularity has surged even further as a substitute for rosewood amid rosewood trade restrictions.
  Although there is variation depending on the individual tree, the wood ranges in color from a chocolate-like brown to a slightly purplish hue and is characterized by large, blurred stripes similar to those found in Indian rosewood.

  

  Morris

  When discussing Japanese-made folk guitars, Morris is often cited as one of the most familiar domestic manufacturers.
  Its predecessor brand was founded in the 1960s, and in 1972, it officially adopted the brand name “Morris.”
  Its technical expertise and pricing have been highly regarded by many players both past and present,
  and it is said that, starting around the late 1970s, Morris was instrumental in dispelling the “cheap and shoddy” image often associated with Japanese products at the time.

  

  Morris has long utilized a wide range of woods for its sides and back, including Brazilian rosewood, Indian rosewood, mahogany, nato, maple, and chestnut. This is the M501, Morris’s affordable Dreadnought model. Under the “Purplewood” designation, it features Perferro for the sides and back.

  It’s a dynamic and beautiful instrument with a wide, sweeping grain pattern. While the color is hard to capture in photos, in person it has a slightly lighter, purplish hue—a clean, uncluttered tone that isn’t overpowering.

• 

• It features a grain ranging from a bright, bluish-brown to a deep, chocolate-like brown. It has a texture somewhat similar to alder. Since it spans a wide range of weights—from heavy woods like
  mahogany to lighter ones—the sound varies significantly depending on the cut and the individual piece of wood.
  Also known as “California Walnut,” “Black Walnut,” and “Claro Walnut,” Claro Walnut includes specimens with exotic grain patterns such as curly, burl, and crotch. It is a widely recognized wood that has long been used in furniture and other applications.

  

  Gibson

  Gibson is a brand that, along with Martin, forms one of the two giants in the acoustic guitar world and is indispensable to any discussion of the instrument.
  Since the 1930s and 1940s, Gibson has shaped the history of acoustic guitars and established various industry standards—for example, by using mahogany for the sides and back, ebony for the fingerboard, and maple for the sides and back, a material other manufacturers were not actively adopting at the time.Depending on the era, rosewood-type woods were often used as the primary material; however, in recent years, due to material shortages, Gibson has begun incorporating not only traditional woods but also new ones that were not previously used.

  

  This is the J-15,
  a round-shoulder model in the Gibson tradition that includes the iconic J-45. Compared to the main regular models like the J-45 and J-50, it has been marketed in recent years as a more affordable option.
  Unlike the main mahogany models, this guitar features a walnut back and sides and a maple neck.
  It’s a delightful instrument with a bright, crisp, and deep attack that really hits the spot. You can experience the smooth, unobtrusive response of the walnut.