Choosing Between Mahogany and Rosewood for a First Fingerstyle Guitar

[sam54]

I’m shopping for a new acoustic mainly for fingerstyle and light solo arrangements. I keep hearing that mahogany and rosewood bodies sound very different, but it’s hard to tell in a shop when I can only play for a few minutes.
How would you describe the practical difference in tone and feel?

[GearNerd]

It’s also worth thinking about how you play, not just how the guitar sounds in isolation.
If you use a lot of alternating bass and melody lines, rosewood’s extended low end can give you more separation between parts. But if you prefer a dry, woody sound that records well and doesn’t overpower the melody, mahogany can sit in a mix beautifully.

[BluesGuy]

Rosewood tends to have deeper bass and more shimmering highs, which can sound more “piano-like” for modern fingerstyle arrangements.

[StudioPro]

Mahogany usually sounds more focused and mid-forward to me, which works well for blues and roots fingerstyle.