Is my 2003 Les Paul R9 a Brazillian Rosewood piece?

[Slater529]

Do people really believe this as being gospel? My old Braz R0 that did not give off this supposed unmistakable sweet smell, and yes it was a Braz from within the range.

I've often read this about Brazilian, and I can absolutely verify that my '56 Special DOES smell sweet when I rub it. I tried the same thing on my '65 SG, which I thought was Braz, but 'No Bueno' on that one. After doing a little research on-line I found out that Gibson had quit using Braz by the time my SG was built, so that confirmed why it doesn't smell sweet like my '56.

So that's my story Tim, and that's why I believe it's true.

EDIT: I just pulled out my '56 Special and what da ya know... the fretboard smells sweet without doing anything to it. Just pick it and sniff. Ahhh, the sweet smell of Brazilian Rosewood.

 

[Blue Blood]

Definitely looks like Brazilian rosewood.
Clean that fretboard mister !

 

[L96A1]

I’d say Madagascar. Pretty nice board you have, just need some cleaning.

 

[Sct13]

Ok...

The smell thing isn’t verifiable since its a sense... but steak smells like steak...

Rosewood is called rosewood because it does have a sweet pungent odor but its when its cut or worked. You have to be aware of the kinds of things that were done to it like mineral oil, lemon oil, bore oil, linseed oil ... someone elses DNA ... god knows whats in there!!!

If you want the fragrance to exude you really need to scratch the surface.

I changed the inlays of a 2011 R9 and scraped the board with a razor lightly so I could flush out the surfaces... yep it was rosewood ...

But all you really need to do is scrape with your fingernail a few times...

Indian is sweeter. Braz is pungent ... it has a distinctive “flavor” ... you need several pieces of known different species before you can even begin to ID it this way...

And what Tim says is true, and logical, not every fretboard is going to have an odiferous personality.

And I swear, I hade a beautiful 2014 R8 that had an amazing fretboard, and it nauseated me with its pungent odor just from playing it...

 

[tjphoenix]

Thanks everyone for your comment!

I emailed Gibson on this, they responded that, according to the serial number, this should be Indian rosewood.

Not sure if their record is right

 

[tjphoenix]

Those long, widely-spaced pores with the little shiny crystalline "legs" that span the gap here-and-there and the overall smoothness/waxiness of the wood in between really looks Brazzy to me, as does the intermittent areas where the grain has those subtle, tight stripes that curve around and cut each other off. It looks the part and I'd have a suspicion that it was Brazilian, but the folks saying that only ones in the accepted serial number range get traded w/ a premium are right. OTOH, that's a killer top and an obviously "nice" R9, so it ought to trade pretty high, anyway.

It plays Really nicely! It even rivals my historic Select 59, which is kind of surprising to me, since the latter is almost twice as expensive

 

[L96A1]

Thanks everyone for your comment!

I emailed Gibson on this, they responded that, according to the serial number, this should be Indian rosewood.

Not sure if their record is right

They’ll just give you the answer that’s most safe for themselves. IR my ass.

 

[tjphoenix]

They’ll just give you the answer that’s most safe for themselves. IR my ass.

Hahaha, I love that answer!

 

[PierM]

Thanks everyone for your comment!

I emailed Gibson on this, they responded that, according to the serial number, this should be Indian rosewood.

Not sure if their record is right

Yeah, problem is, according to biology, that’s Braz.

 

[MikeyV]

I see they made Madagascar boards in 2003, and that just doesn't look like MRW. I have quit a few samples (like maybe 20 of each) of MRW and BRW. Mad really never has that chocolate brown color. All varieties of MRW that I have tend to the reddish brown side.

Now BRW can be many colors, from black or nearly so (like the boards from 2018) to brick red (like the stuff from the 50's and 60's, think Martins and Fender/Gibson fingerboards) to pale mocha color, and sometimes even greenish hues.

One thing though, that smell. Once you smell it, you never forget. Nothing else smells like it. All rosewoods smell, but BRW is unique in the rosewood universe. And the smell never goes away. Sometimes you might need to sand or scrape the surface a bit, or it will smell just by sniffing.

Nice guitar! It looks fantastic.

 

[none2low]

Thanks everyone for your comment!

I emailed Gibson on this, they responded that, according to the serial number, this should be Indian rosewood.

Not sure if their record is right

My 2003 R9 is way outside of the verified "Brazilian" serial number run (6 digit) and Gibson also claims it to be "Indian" rosewood, however it looks and feels nothing like any other Indian rosewood board I've owned.

IMO, Gibson used a bit more Brazilian than they admit to in 2003. Unfortunately though, as others have already stated, if Gibson wont confirm it, then it's not Brazilian.

 

[RAG7890]

Sorry for the late reply. Here Re some more pictures.

IMHO those photos are still not good enough to have a crack at this.

One of the photos looks like IRW to me...............but that doesn't mean it is.

Please go outside in natural light & take some accurate close up photos dead on to the board, not odd angles.

Once you take the photos, look at them & ask yourself if those photos make sense.

If you want to see examples I can post a few. Here is a low res example of a MGRW Board from one of my Bloomfields.

The next thing to note, is that at the end of the BRW run in 2003, as far as I am aware, Gibson changed over to MGRW.

 

[L96A1]

MRW can vary quite a bit in color.
But it has a mid that stands out.
So don’t judge by color.

 

[Sct13]

Nice board!

 

[tjphoenix]

I see they made Madagascar boards in 2003, and that just doesn't look like MRW. I have quit a few samples (like maybe 20 of each) of MRW and BRW. Mad really never has that chocolate brown color. All varieties of MRW that I have tend to the reddish brown side.

Now BRW can be many colors, from black or nearly so (like the boards from 2018) to brick red (like the stuff from the 50's and 60's, think Martins and Fender/Gibson fingerboards) to pale mocha color, and sometimes even greenish hues.

One thing though, that smell. Once you smell it, you never forget. Nothing else smells like it. All rosewoods smell, but BRW is unique in the rosewood universe. And the smell never goes away. Sometimes you might need to sand or scrape the surface a bit, or it will smell just by sniffing.

Nice guitar! It looks fantastic.

That's some detailed explanation! Thank you sir! It seems that the best way to identify it would be to smell it. Currently my guitar does has a kind of smell. Too bad I never smelled BRW before, and I cannot reference it.

 

[tjphoenix]

Nice board!

Thanks! Nice profile picture too!

 

[tjphoenix]

View attachment 356651 View attachment 356650 View attachment 356649 View attachment 356648 MRW can vary quite a bit in color.
But it has a mid that stands out.
So don’t judge by color.

It seems that the MRW has a kind of reddish color when directing light on it. This is interesting. In that case, it is also possible that my guitar fingerboard is MRW, although BRW is not totally out of the question either.

 

[tjphoenix]

IMHO those photos are still not good enough to have a crack at this.

One of the photos looks like IRW to me...............but that doesn't mean it is.

Please go outside in natural light & take some accurate close up photos dead on to the board, not odd angles.

Once you take the photos, look at them & ask yourself if those photos make sense.

If you want to see examples I can post a few. Here is a low res example of a MGRW Board from one of my Bloomfields.

The next thing to note, is that at the end of the BRW run in 2003, as far as I am aware, Gibson changed over to MGRW.

Good advice! I will take an outdoor picture later when I have the time!

 

[tjphoenix]

My 2003 R9 is way outside of the verified "Brazilian" serial number run (6 digit) and Gibson also claims it to be "Indian" rosewood, however it looks and feels nothing like any other Indian rosewood board I've owned.

IMO, Gibson used a bit more Brazilian than they admit to in 2003. Unfortunately though, as others have already stated, if Gibson wont confirm it, then it's not Brazilian.

That's an interesting point. I think we may never get to the bottom of this!

 

[tjphoenix]

Yeah, problem is, according to biology, that’s Braz.

Hahahaha, I like that answer!