Can this fingerboard be brazilian rosewood?

[El Gringo]

If you have to ask what difference would it really make ?

I owned several Gibson guitars BR IMO this has little bearing on tone IMO .

So sad yet very TRUE .

 

[El Gringo]

BTW and FWIW, I own several Brazilian board guitars from the early era (2003, Stinger, etc.) and yours does not have the distinctive choclately threads and swirling grain that mine have going on. This doesn't mean anything conclusive, it's just an indication. When I look at it, I say, mmm, nice dark consistent board but not Brazilian. The later era ones might prove different, and some might say yours has the look, like Charlie. Just more to ponder.

To my eyes , the BR that Gibson Custom used in the 2002-2003 run was a bit lighter . Versus the BR used from 2017 -2018 which is very dark

 

[GreenBurst]

I've got the same question here, and I figured: why make a new thread? Would be nice to have one big megathread for brazilian identification and comparisons.

With no other context, what do you folks think?

Feedback has already confirmed it's impossible to conclusively determine type of rosewood from photos.

Maybe further details on your guitar might yield some possibilities. Looks like it has been refretted.

 

[delawaregold]

Apart from the very characteristic odor, (which should roughly separate it from most non-Dalbergia species), Brazilian Rosewood
has another characteristic that can be leveraged in order to help distinguish it from other rosewoods:
its heartwood extractives are not water soluble, and will not fluoresce under a blacklight.

Before you get scared off from performing this test, be aware that with a simple blacklight bulb available in any hardware store
for only a few dollars, and a few minutes of your time, you can perform both water extract fluorescence and ethanol extract
fluorescence tests at home!

For suspected samples of Brazilian Rosewood, take a small test tube or other small transparent container and fill it with some shavings,
and then fill the remainder of the container with water and shake it up for a few seconds.
Bring the container under the blacklight and observe the results: true Brazilian Rosewood (Dalbergia nigra) will not fluoresce or show
any appreciable change of color under the blacklight, while most other rosewoods will glow a pale blue/green color.

 

[gmann]

If you have to ask what difference would it really make ?

I owned several Gibson guitars BR IMO this has little bearing on tone IMO .

It would make a difference on resale, not on tone.

 

[sumitagarwal]

Yea, definitely no tonal difference on an electric. On an acoustic with full Brazilian back and sides (like one I have)? Sure, but even then there are much more important factors.

I don't feel comfortable taking shavings off of my fretboard to test =(

I suspect people don't want to speculate on woods based on photos both because it's not an ideal test, but also because so few people have Brazilian on-hand to compare to. I have about a half dozen instruments with Brazilian rosewood in them, and I know what I think but I really was hoping to get some more perspectives

 

[Subliminal lanimilbuS]

You are very knowledgeable ! It has been over 20 years since I heard the small fish bone reference (Lark Street Music )

I heard the fish bone reference years ago from someone, but never believed it. Thought it was some word of mouth thing that got out of control. I guess someone could call Mazzucchelli in Italy and ask them for fish bone inlay and see what kind of response you get.

 

[roxrob]

I heard the fish bone reference years ago from someone, but never believed it. Thought it was some word of mouth thing that got out of control. I guess someone could call Mazzucchelli in Italy and ask them for fish bone inlay and see what kind of response you get.

I believe it was fish scales that were used in the original material note fish bones. Fish scales exhibit a reflection similar to mother of pearl.