Greetings Stickists,

After wanting one for about 10 years I am finally planning on buying a grand stick. I am a bit unsure as to what wood I should get though. I have narrowed it down to either rosewood or paduak. I have a few questions for players who have experience with the two woods:

1. Most importantly, how would you describe the tonal difference between the two? Is there one you prefer, and why? I really like the tone of rosewood on guitars, but I have no experience with paduak. Paduak looks so awesome, though!

2. Does either wood have any advantage over the other in terms of seasonal stability? Where I live its very humid and the temperatures can be quite extreme so I'd be inclined to get something that would be less likely to move.

3. Does either material feel nicer under the fingers? I know that rosewood necks feel great on guitars, but again I've never played an instrument made of paduak.

Thanks you very much!

I have two 12-string sticks that are identical except for the inlays: one rosewood and one paduak. They sound basically the same. (There is a small difference in sound due to differences in string age and subtle differences in setup/truss adjustment.) The bottom line: there's no difference between the woods apart from appearance so far as I can tell.

So, pick whatever looks best to you and pull the trigger.

Marty

The Stick does not have enough string tension for the woods to differ tonally.

I own both, a late 90's 34' Rosewood and a late 2000's 36' Padauk.
Big tonal difference because the pickups are not the same
I prefer the Padauk because the wood is still redish, even after 5 years of playing. This instrument is also noticeably lighter than my 34' Rosewood. I don't know if Emmet changed something about the lacquers, but the feeling at the rear of the neck is smoother on my Padauk. Both seems very stable, the Rosewood may be more stable but maybe because it's older?

Keep in mind that the color of paduak changes over time. It starts out very orange and gets darker. Even though that happens, I am a fan of paduak and my Grand Stick is paduak.

I love my Paduak Grand. Beautiful instrument. The color is much more interesting than rosewood IMO, which is a bit of a luthier cliche.

I've owned both rosewood and paduak instruments. They are both beautiful woods. But my favorite these days is wenge... lighter weight than rosewood and a little darker color, too.

As long as it is a Chapman Stick, you win.

+1

Thanks for all the advice guys. I think I'm leaning towards rosewood at this stage