Tonewood refers to wood used to build musical instruments.
Each wood species has distinctive characteristics related to its appearance and the sound it produces. Rosewood and cherrywood are used to create the back and sides of the guitar, while spruce is generally used for the top of the guitar since its grain is tight and compact. The majority of guitar makers consider the guitar's top to be most important in establishing its tonal quality. Although the species of wood typically determines the quality of sound it transmits, the design of the guitar and skill of the craftsman -- or luthier, a maker of guitars and violins -- is equally important.
Appearance
Rosewood grows as Indian rosewood or Dalbergia latifolia and Brazilian rosewood or Dalbergia negra. Both species are heavy and dense, have a great deal of variable texture and are generally dark brown to deep red with a tint of purple characterized by light- and dark-striped patterns. Brazilian rosewood is nearly extinct and protected by the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species on Wild Fauna and Flora, which is an international agreement that limits the trading of endangered species of plants and animals. Cherrywood is a dense hardwood with a bright, brown color that ranges from a whitish, light to medium color, with a broad, swirly grain.
Tone
Indian rosewood produces a warmer and deeper sound compared to Brazilian rosewood and is known for its broad range of overtones. It broadens the mid-range notes when used for the neck of a guitar. Brazilian rosewood provides mid- to low-range basses and clear, balanced and high-velocity treble notes. The distinctive vibrations and tones emitted from a Brazilian rosewood guitar aren't typically found with any other tonewood, and it is considered the best-quality wood by most luthiers. It increases the tone's sparkle and ring when used to construct the neck of a guitar. Cherrywood emphasizes the mid-range and treble notes while producing a rich, even tone.
Price
Brazilian rosewood is typically set aside for the construction of the highest priced guitar models due to its scarcity. Because of its rich and complex visual characteristics, as well as its matchless tonal qualities, it's generally used to create guitars with a high degree of ornamentation and design, which makes the majority of them expensive. Only a small number of guitar manufacturers use cherrywood due to its high cost in addition to the fact that it's not as visually desirable or showy as other kinds of tonewoods.
Design, Construction and Model
Regardless of whether Indian rosewood, Brazilian rosewood or cherrywood are used to build a guitar, each of these tonewoods responds differently to the transmission of its vibrational frequencies. The sounds it produces vary according to the design, construction and model of the guitar. Although the species of wood used to construct the guitar invariably have a significant impact on the tonal quality of the instrument, the skill of the luthier or manufacturer is as important as the tonewood used to create it.
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