DougM
Poster Extraordinaire
Anderton's has a new video on YouTube comparing two LPB Classic 60s Strats, one with rosewood, one with pau ferro. As Arte Johnson used to say- "Very interesting".
New Anderton's video comparing rosewood and pau ferro
- Thread starter DougM
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links like Ebay, Amazon, and others.
rze99
Doctor of Teleocity
To save you all watching it (it is a good vid though and some interestingly facts about pay ferro snuck I'm there for the more OCD types).
1. Looks different. More streaky. Some will like that others not.
2. Not perceptibly different feel.
3. Not perceptibly different sound.
1. Looks different. More streaky. Some will like that others not.
2. Not perceptibly different feel.
3. Not perceptibly different sound.
radiocaster
Doctor of Teleocity
Haven't watched it, but your conclusions are very predictable.
burntfrijoles
Doctor of Teleocity
No perceptible difference in feel or sound? How shocking.
I thought rosewood would breathe easier.
I thought rosewood would breathe easier.
LutherBurger
Poster Extraordinaire
I'm not familiar with Pau Ferro, but its pores must be just as oily as rosewood's if they, you know, absorb the stray overtones at the same rate.No perceptible difference in feel or sound? How shocking.
I thought rosewood would breathe easier.
DougM
Poster Extraordinaire
Wow! No difference in sound? The pau ferro sounds noticeably brighter and punchier to me.
LutherBurger
Poster Extraordinaire
I haven't heard it, but I definitely agree.
TimothyC
Tele-Afflicted
Which one is more 'musical'?
3-Chord-Genius
Poster Extraordinaire
I predict that some will swear that rosewood sounds better, and you'll be able to sell those guys your rosewood-fretboard Squiers for $800 next year.
notmyusualuserid
Poster Extraordinaire
Whooooooooooo, I'm rich!
you've obviously not played one. The feel is different. Pau Ferro is much tighter grained and will generally feel a lot smoother than rosewood, which tends to be very open grained and porous.
The sound difference is arguable. I tend to think PF has a slightly sharper attack, closer to Maple or Ebony, compared to RW. This may seem strange as PF is technically a 'Rosewood' species.
Are people already biased towards rosewood, somehow thinking PF is inferior because it's replacing RW boards? Given the choice, I'd take PF over RW, personally.
rze99
Doctor of Teleocity
I thought it was obvious.
For the avoidance of doubt, all I did was summarise a 30 min video's findings, not give my own opinion.
I have never played a Pau Ferro board guitar.
Mart the Hat
Tele-Holic
Usually the one you can't get any more!
AAT65
Doctor of Teleocity
Don't think so, what I have heard and read is that although it is sometimes referred to as "Bolivian rosewood" Pau Ferro is not a rosewood species (and so is unaffected by the new CITES regulations). https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libidibia_ferrea
I've never noticed ANY sound difference in fingerboard wood. At least not that I can identify as such. There are so many variables. I like the standard ingredients, where possible, because I think most have at least some minor tonal effect, and taken together make the difference between a Tele and a Les Paul, for instance. But comparing a couple of guitars, where the only listed difference is fingerboard wood? What about the cut of the body grain. Density? Moisture content? What about the variation in pickups of the same name? And on and on. If I want a new sound, I'll try a different pick first.
These guys are just entertainment, but not really...
Mr. Ferro, Paul to his friends, has been on my radar since I first looked at a SRV Strat a long time ago. I never felt it was inferior, or a substitute for the real thing. Certainly not like toasted maple.
These guys are just entertainment, but not really...
Mr. Ferro, Paul to his friends, has been on my radar since I first looked at a SRV Strat a long time ago. I never felt it was inferior, or a substitute for the real thing. Certainly not like toasted maple.
gitold
Poster Extraordinaire
I had a custom tele in the early 80s that had a bubinga body and a solid pau ferro neck. It was a wonderful guitar but I was 27 with 3 young kids and had to get a better car......................yeah.
Outcaster
Tele-Holic
AAT65 is correct, Pau Ferro is not a rosewood. Thats the main point of using it now as it's unaffected by CITES.
And as Moosie points out, Fender has been using it as a fret board wood since something like 1992 on the SRV strat. You may have played a PF board without ever knowing it.
If you are curious about wood, tons of info on wood-database.com. here's the Pau Ferro page http://www.wood-database.com/pau-ferro/
Rosewoods are Dalbergia which are all effectively banned now.
And as Moosie points out, Fender has been using it as a fret board wood since something like 1992 on the SRV strat. You may have played a PF board without ever knowing it.
If you are curious about wood, tons of info on wood-database.com. here's the Pau Ferro page http://www.wood-database.com/pau-ferro/
Rosewoods are Dalbergia which are all effectively banned now.
Count
Friend of Leo's
PF has been in use as a fretboard wood for a long time so there is plenty of data on it and nearly as many opinions.[emoji3] I think we are going to see a lot of experiments with alternatives to Rosewood fingerboards, could be quite interesting.[emoji15]
