Rosewood or Pau Ferro?

bassbourne

bassbourne

Nov 20, 2019
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#1
Is this Rosewood or Pau Ferro?

So, I bought a 2016 American Pro Jazz today. It’s secondhand and the fretboard was very dry as the bass hadn’t been played much since it was purchased back in 2017. I put some lemon oil on it and it’s looking a lot better now.

Anyway… Even with the oil it still looks very light. Almost like Pau Ferro. As far as I know, Am Pro fretboards only came in Rosewood and Maple and it’s obviously an Am Pro neck, as it has the truss rod at the base, US serial number on the back of the headstock and “Corona, CA” on the front.

It got me wondering if it could be a factory mistake (however unlikely), and they used Pau Ferro instead of Rosewood? Or are there any wood enthusiasts out there who can confirm this is just a lighter shade of Rosewood? I suppose the pores would indicate Rosewood?

Thanks!

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#2
It's a trick question really. Pau Ferro is also known as Santos Rosewood or Bolivian Rosewood. Then there are a bunch of other "rosewoods". What we think of generally with the term "rosewood" is from the family of Dalbergia. It includes Indian Rosewood and even Dalbergia frutescens, which looks like this:

upload_2023-3-17_11-48-47.png


So - your fretboard is likely a rosewood, but which kind is a matter of speculation.
 
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#3
Turnaround said:
It's a trick question really. Pau Ferro is also known as Santos Rosewood or Bolivian Rosewood. Then there are a bunch of other "rosewoods". What we think of generally with the term "rosewood" is from the family of Dalbergia. It includes Indian Rosewood and even Dalbergia frutescens, which looks like this:

View attachment 5002187

So - your fretboard is likely a rosewood, but which kind is a matter of speculation.
Click to expand...


Ah! You learn something every day.

And would you say this particular fretboard looks unusual for “Rosewood” as Fender calls it? I’m curious as to whether it looks more like the “Pau Ferro” they use on the current Mexican basses or the “Rosewood” they use on the American ones.
 
#4
The grain of Pau Ferro is quite different from that, and is much less porous, so I'd agree that is likely some sort of Dalbergia. I have a couple of boards that were sold as South-east Asian Rosewood by LMII years ago that have a very similar stringy grain to your picture although they are darker and redder. There are many species besides the common trade ones, and sometimes they get mixed in.
 
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#7
Thanks for the replies.

I googled the Am Pro I RW bass and found another similar to mine (see below). I guess, as some of you pointed out, there’s just many variations of types and shades and I got a lighter one.

It’s actually grown on me. It just took me by surprise when I first saw it, as I hadn’t seen one like it before.

77AD0932-62BE-49A6-997E-1EB62886A7FA.jpeg
 
#10
bassbourne said:
Thanks for the replies.

I googled the Am Pro I RW bass and found another similar to mine (see below). I guess, as some of you pointed out, there’s just many variations of types and shades and I got a lighter one.

It’s actually grown on me. It just took me by surprise when I first saw it, as I hadn’t seen one like it before.

View attachment 5003987
Click to expand...
I'm still trying to darken/moisturize my MIM.
IMG_20230305_103939_kindlephoto-278814299.jpg
 
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#11
IIRC, the move to Pau Ferro on the sub-American instruments was in response to the CITES restrictions on Rosewood, which also IIRC have since been rescinded. But Pau Ferro remains.

Builders will tell you that it's a fine wood for fretboards, with a hardness that is desirable for guitar construction, but people won't accept it because it's not the uniform dark brown color they've been conditioned to expect. People will even make a fuss over rosewood that's got grain that isn't uniform or which has natural but unusual color variations... most choices are superficial
 
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#12
majbass said:
IIRC, the move to Pau Ferro on the sub-American instruments was in response to the CITES restrictions on Rosewood, which also IIRC have since been rescinded. But Pau Ferro remains.

Builders will tell you that it's a fine wood for fretboards, with a hardness that is desirable for guitar construction, but people won't accept it because it's not the uniform dark brown color they've been conditioned to expect. People will even make a fuss over rosewood that's got grain that isn't uniform or which has natural but unusual color variations... most choices are superficial
Click to expand...
The CITES restrictions were not rescinded, and are still in force AFAIK. However, an amendment was added that made an exception for musical instruments.
 
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#13
More on "Rosewood". All the following pics are from the rosewood family, i.e. they are all from the genus "Dalbergia". There are other woods called "rosewood" that are not from the genus Dalbergia, but include Machaerium, Aniba and Metopium. Purists say only Dalbergia are true rosewoods, but as you can see in the pics, there's quite a variety of Dalbergia. So anyone building basses could use any of those woods in the pic and be perfectly correct in calling it rosewood.

upload_2023-3-23_16-14-50.png
 
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#14
majbass said:
Builders will tell you that it's a fine wood for fretboards, with a hardness that is desirable for guitar construction, but people won't accept it because it's not the uniform dark brown color they've been conditioned to expect. People will even make a fuss over rosewood that's got grain that isn't uniform or which has natural but unusual color variations... most choices are superficial
Click to expand...

I used to have a 5-string ESP bass with rosewood fretboard, with beautiful light/blonde streaks. It was unusual and very nice to look at.
 
#15
majbass said:
Pau Ferro has only ever been on the MIM instruments if I remember correctly, except the SRV strat, which was designed at a time when people considered Pau Ferro an upgrade. It is normally distinguished easily by its lighter coloration.
Click to expand...

It was used on the U.S. Stu Hamm Urge bass as well as the Jaco Jazz. It's a beautiful wood, great for fretless as it's harder than ebony.
 
#18
All true..... Just how much did you hydrate your board. I'll usually loosen the strings and raise them (supported by a rolled up towel). Then I'll put the oil on thick and leave it there to soak in for an hour or so. Come back every once in a while and respread it with your finger as it starts to soak it up and show dry spots. Then wipe up the excess with a shop towel and put the strings back on. I've even made Pao look good doing that.
 
#20
DrBnz said:
All true..... Just how much did you hydrate your board. I'll usually loosen the strings and raise them (supported by a rolled up towel). Then I'll put the oil on thick and leave it there to soak in for an hour or so. Come back every once in a while and respread it with your finger as it starts to soak it up and show dry spots. Then wipe up the excess with a shop towel and put the strings back on. I've even made Pao look good doing that.
Click to expand...

This is a good thing to do if you want soft, squishy wood for a fingerboard, and frets that fall out easily.
 
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