Mahogany vs Rosewood - 000 Edition (000-18 vs 000-28)

Another entry into the Mahogany vs Rosewood Back and Sides videos.
Comparing two 2020 Martin Standard Series 000's - an 18 (Mahogany) and a 28 (Rosewood)

000-18
Strumming 0:01 Flatpicking 3:07 Fingerpicking 6:20
000-28
Strumming 1:33 Flatpicking 4:39 Fingerpicking 7:40

Recorded with Shure KSM32, Focusrite Saffire Pro 40, Logic Pro, no additional processing.

Ian’s Favorite Guitar Stuff:
-STRINGS-
-TUNERS-
-PICKS-
-CAPO-

-MICROPHONE- (used in video)

[felipe_toledo]

Strumming:
00:24 Mahogany
01:59 Rosewood

[jerry-strc]

Long time rosewood user and after some years I have gravitated towards mahogany. There is a metallic quality of rosewood, even in Brazilian.

[andmondson]

The 28 sinks into the soul like a warm blanket. The 18 is a crisp winter morning. Both a great and both will suit the individual. For me I went with the 000-28ec and although pricey, I know it will be the guitar out of my collection of 8 that I will never let go.

[alexcorll]

I've come to really appreciate Mahogany's tone, I didn't used to. I prefer the trebles of rosewood, cleaner overall, less twangy. Both are good, I feel the rosewood is better for strumming chords. Just an excuse to have one of each :)

[damonlove]

as a beginner guitarist, I love the warmth and roundness a mahogany has. maybe when I become a tad bit better I'd appreciate rosewood. But for now, I really love the warm sounds a mahogany guitar creates. It's so round, warm and just sweet sounding.

[john]

Mahogany without question. Its far more versatile too. I have a pretty big collection with some real amazing tonewoods but Mahogany is still my favorite.

[garywatters]

Most useful demos and comparisons on YouTube. Well done

[GUITARTIME]

I loved the mahogany in person. Amazing.

[revzone]

The 000-18 sounds killer.. that blue grass run was sweet👍

[mikenorman]

In this video - prefer the ooo18 (mahogany) for strumming and flatpicking. I think the higher balance of overtones (versus the fundamental tone) of the ooo28 takes something away from the the soul and musical feel compared to the ooo18. For the fingerpicking it was a tougher choice. The overtones of the ooo28 allowed the fingerpicking to sound a little more joined up compared the I still really liked the ooo18 tone. I think overall the ooo18 would be my choice - particularly as I don't finger pick all that much.

[MikeBravos]

000-18 hands down for me, love the mid range bump. 000-28 sounds amazing too, you can hear that sparkle on the top end and more open sounding.

[philipdeppen]

Most definitely the mahogany. In this sample it has way more presence it's way more alive. I tried quite a few rosewoods and sorry to say rosewood just doesn't have the souls like mahogany. Rosewood is generally to bright and not as full sounding overall as mahogany despite rosewood generally giving more bottom but that is most definitely not always the case because I have mahogany ones that have plenty of bottom booty lol.

[mariaelisabettarossi]

Rosewood has a great sound with a lot of bass. Mahogany has a sweet sound. I love rosewood with a spruce top but mahogany is very beautiful.

[lesterpaul]

Easy choice I' ll have both.
It' s like a telecaster and stratocaster, you like both tone and you want both.
Maybe the 000-28 a bit better for fingerpickings.

[masudmahmud]

To my ears, the sound of Martin ooo18 is a bit dark, boomy, and husky. On the other hand, the sound of Martin ooo28 is bright, clear, and crispy. If I had the option to choose between these two flagship models of Martin I would have surely picked the Martin ooo28.

[NewPraetorianBlues]

The 28 is the perfect all rounder, a near exact representation of what I hear in my head when I think of flat tops, and the necessary choice if you were to have only one (in my opinion)… The 18 however has a somber tone, mid focus, and almost has emotion tucked into each note, like a nostalgia machine.

[michaellaverty]

Both of these babies would suit me just fine and could be a match for my D-18 and my HD-28.

[aaronlarsen]

Mahogany has really gown on me. It had more open air quality and warm. The 28 had way more power, with a pick or otherwise, it was clearly louder and seemed like it wants someone to really dig into it. I like them both, but preferred the 18, in this comparison.

[jeraldketchum]

Rosewood for me. I gave my 000-18 to my nephew even though it had the sweetest factory setup that I’ve ever seen.

[richardstones]

Thanks. Great playing for a comparison! But I gotta be honest, I couldn't hear a nickel's worth of difference. During the first segment (strumming cowboy chords) I thought the 28 was a bit louder and brighter, but I noticed you seemed to strum a little closer to the sound hole than you did with the 18? Maybe just my imagination? The biggest factor is Youtube, with it's audio compression algorithms, it makes it really hard for me to hear fine distinctions. But overall, this really just confirms in my own mind that a guitar's back and sides are much less important to a guitar's tone than the top. I own two rosewood guitars, and I've owned many others in the past, and I love each and every one of them. But tbh, my affection may be more for their appearance than their improved tone over mahogany (or other tone woods). Just one guy's $0.02 worth.