Brazilian RW Trim with Mahogany?

[Darryl Young]

Anyone ever seen a Brazilian Rosewood headplate used with a mahogany guitar? If so, how did it look?

I'll be using a BRW bridge.......and I could use a BRW heel cap. The BRW headplate may be on the front and back of the slotted headstock. I'm struggling with how to trim this Cuban 00 build. I don't have BRW binding.....so it might be flamed maple or quarted sycamore or somthing else. Will know more when I get in a few more binding options from the Zootman.

[darren]

Mad Rose can be very close to BRW in color; if you get a handful several are bound to match your heelcap, and just use those for the back bindings. you can be more forgiving with the top bindings. don't forget though, you'll need a matching endgraft. Depending on the size of your headplates you may be able to fit the endgraft from those pieces.

Rosewood trim look great on a Mahogany guitar, IMHO. Also look at Amazon Rosewood for a color match.

What is the fretboard gonna be?

[Darryl Young]

Good question about the fretboard. I hate to spend $60 for a BRW fretboard........and I want a quartersawn fretboard.......so not sure I can find a BRW fretboard. I prefer rosewood over ebony......maybe I could find a Bois de Rose (sp?) fretboard somewhere. I think it darkens to basically black after a short while. Not sure where to find that wood. I'm open to suggestions on the fretboard choice as well.

Can you tell I'm asthetically challenged???

[darren]

I think Madagascar Rosewood is sometimes called Bois de Rose... David L might know, he's our wood quiz guy... otherwise Amazon Rosewood would be a candidate for the FB as well. Check out Allied for examples of both.

[Darryl Young]

I have dye from StewMac at the house. I used it on my last bridge (and wish I had used it on the fretboard as well....but not bad).

Would an ebony fretboard go ok with a BRW bridge and a BRW headplate?

[Herman]

IMO ebony goes with everything.
I used madagascar rosewood on my baritone, but it is very light brown in its appearence. Don't know if that suits next to BRW.
Herman

[tippie53]

martin did BRW head plates for many years

[Darryl Young]

Let me run my latest option by you guys for feedback (recall I'm aesthetically challenged.......and you should help folks like me with special needs! <smile>)

I just got off the phone with Jerry Hibdon at Hibdon Hardwoods in St. Louis. (BTW, he is building his first guitar in a class with a local luthier) He said I should consider Cocobolo with the mahogany back and sides I'm using. He then said he has some really nice looking Cocobolo binding and he has African blackwood fretboards as well. I was at Hibdon Hardwood for the St. Louis OLF gathering last spring and he did indeed have some georgeous Cocobolo sets. In fact, I bought a nice Cocobolo set from Jerry which is fortunate as after I got off the phone I pulled that set out and put it side by side with the Cuban Mahogany and my daughter really liked it. So I may have a winner here. Even better, Hibdon is haveing a Thanksgiving sale Fri. and Sat. and they are offering 10% off all their luthier wood.

So looks like I'm going with the Cocobolo binding and Afican blackwood fretboard but I will probably still use a BRW bridge. So should I just go with a Cocobolo head plate, end graft, and heel cap?.........or something contrasting like BRW?

Somebody with good design sense or a strong sense of tradition, help me!!! <smile>

[darren]

well personally I like the heelcap and endgraft to be the same material as the binding, and the headplate to match the fretboard. that's just me though...

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I like to either match the headplate to the binding scheme, or use the same as the body wood, then match up the fretboard and the bridge.
I think Coco will look awesome with mahogany.

Kevin