Riser wood what part does it play

[Stone Knife]

How important is the type of wood used in a bow riser. Does it play a part in the bows performance or is it mostly a looks thing. Would there be a difference in performance in a bow with impregnated ash opposed to having bubinga for the riser.

[vermonster13]

Weight and stiffness of the riser have a lot to do with how dead in the hand a bow feels and also can effect the speed a bow produces. A riser that flexes wastes energy and to light a riser can make for handshock and more noise when shooting.

[bow'narrow]

I agree with Vermonster, fifty years of shooting a bazillion bows (might have overshot a bit there)made me think that riser density played a part in vibration, balance and shock.  I think that riser length has an effect on those areas also.   Bow'narrow