Discovering Honduran Rosewood
I met him through Wes Faulconer, owner of the recently-closed Explorer’s Percussion in Kansas City, Missouri. Wes was a customer of mine for many years and on the occasion of one of my visits gave me the name of a gentleman who recently visited his shop whose name was Rico and who, according to Wes, was a major importer of the most important wood used in crafting high-quality marimbas. Rico had seen my work at Wes’s store and passed along his contact information for Wes to give to me.
Over dinner the next day, Rico agreed to sell me some of his high-grade rosewood and thus began our relationship. Over the years I purchased occasionally from Rico but hadn’t seen him in recent times until he and his wife showed up at the Brookside Art Annual in May of 2022. He said he was quitting the import business but still possessed a personal stash of Honduran Rosewood material. The material had been logged somewhere in excess of forty years ago. All of it was 6 inches and wider and thus prime for use in my drums and tables. I purchased a majority of the wood and began dreaming of the instruments it would make. It is the wood of choice for Music in the Woods. The ring quality and voicing in these drums is clear and almost bell-like."
-Michael Thiele
