Jaen-Pierre Dowling wrote:
Firstly - Despite the price, is there any difference in tone, look and feel between Brazilian- and Indian Rosewood (used as a fingerboard)?
Good Brazilian has a brighter, more bell-like tone. Indian is darker sounding. Feelwise, they are the same but Brazilian is a bit harder and harder-wearing. Looks-wise they are very close, but the Brazillian has more of a "cobwebby" look to the grain.
However - there is very little good Brazilian left (most is coming from old reclaimed stumps), so unless it's a stash a luthier has had for decades, it's unlikely to be the best Brazilian and a good piece of Indian may well be better. There is a better chance of finding good Madagascan rosewood (which is the closest thing in every way to Brazilian).
Secondly - With Birdseye Maple as the neck wood, is there any difference in tone, look and feel between the standard and the AAA versions?
Depends on who is grading it - some luthiers grade on tone first and looks second, but the majority of luthiers and the entire timber industry grade purely on looks. So the AAA will certainly look better, but tonally it's as much of a crapshoot as the standard grade. That's why the good luthiers tap tone all their wood, regardless of grade.
Figuring in maple is important in one respect - flame is more common in the softer (sugar maple) species, birdseye is found mostly in the hard maples and quilt almost exclusively in the softer species. So if you find a flame neck blank, it's wise to make sure it's the right species and if you find a quilted neck, chances are excellent it's the wrong type of wood for a neck..
