Here is a selection of my Brazilian rosewood collection. This is what is currently for sale.
If you have questions, please ask.
Please do not share this page, it is for existing clients only.
If you’re looking at this page, I’ll have already sent you an email with current prices for each set.
Four piece back #1
This is perhaps the most affordable set I have, and I have two of them, almost identical.
Stefan and I bought them in 2003 when we attempted to form a partnership. When that failed, we divided the timber we had bought together. So this is a “Sobell partnership” set.
The wood is fairly pale as Brazilian rosewood goes, and not especially dramatic to look at. But it rings well, is light, and will make an excellent bouzouki.
Four piece back #2 SOLD
This is a superb four piece back set. Quarter sawn and bookmatched, with the back and sides all cut from the same piece of striking wood.
It came from the batch of rosewood I bought from a dealer in Kent in 2003, just after Stefan and I parted ways. The same dealer we had both been buying from. As soon as I had the money from the failed partnership, I went straight down to Kent and spent everything I had on Brazilian rosewood.
This is one of the more distinctive sets from the “Simpson” wood — the wood we used for Martin Simpson’s Sobell guitars in the 1990s and early 2000s.
It is one of the nicest four piece back sets I have. We made many four piece back instruments when I worked for Stefan, and sonically they are no different from a two piece. The main difference is the price.
Two piece back #1″Church door”
Another set from the post-partnership “Simpson” wood.
Again, it is one of the more unusual looking sets. Many are very dark and sober. This one has a bit more variation.
I will probably rejoin it before use. Although it has been joined for many years, I now use a slightly different purfling. The sides are cut from the same stock.
Excellent wood, and it will make a magnificent instrument.
Two piece back #2 “Unmatched Simpson”
This is classic Sobell/Simpson wood, bought in 2003 just after Stefan and I parted ways.
It is a two piece back, but if you look closely you will see that nothing is actually matched. The wood is so dark, straight and crisp that it takes a while to notice.
It is all cut from the same stock, but rather than being bookmatched it is slip matched.
If you want a quarter sawn two piece back in the best quality wood, this is it. It is a little less expensive than a perfectly bookmatched set, but visually the difference is slight.
Again, this will make a top tier instrument.
Two piece back #3 “Brazilian Orange”
I love this stuff.
Straight grained and quarter sawn, the back is perfectly bookmatched, and the sides are very close to a perfect match. It is very obvious that all four pieces were cut from the same stock.
I have a few sets of this type of Brazilian rosewood and have used it before. It makes an excellent instrument, and visually it is spectacular.