Tue Feb 25, 2014 10:27 am
Tue Feb 25, 2014 11:21 am
Tue Feb 25, 2014 3:41 pm
Tue Feb 25, 2014 6:15 pm
GGJaguar wrote:So, are you interested when G&L uses new tonewoods?
GGJaguar wrote:For me, I think Okoume and Sugar Pine make nice sounding guitars, but the softness of the wood worries me (dings and dents).
sam wrote:Grain has to be just right for me.
sam wrote:Maple has a sweet sound, so how different is "spalted"?
Tue Feb 25, 2014 6:46 pm
Tue Feb 25, 2014 7:08 pm
Ken,KenC wrote:sam wrote:Maple has a sweet sound, so how different is "spalted"?
I don't think there should be any difference. Spalting is a cosmetic "defect" resulting from a parasite boring through the tree. The tunnel is very narrow and doesn't effect the wood's integrity, but a ring of mineral deposits surrounds it. The dark arches or "spalting" are just the appearance of the mineral rings where they cross out of the face grain. Otherwise, spalted maple is the same as any other from the same species.
Tue Feb 25, 2014 7:11 pm
zapcosongs wrote: I'm not a big fan of rosewood fretboards, but I have a thing for Pao Ferro and Ebony. So sue me!
Tue Feb 25, 2014 7:19 pm
Tue Feb 25, 2014 7:48 pm
Salmon wrote:Regarding a difference between spalted and regular maple wood, there may be no detectible difference in its tone, however, there logically ought to be because the wood is broken up by the spalting. It is a physical and cosmetic condition that can effect the strength of wood. Spalting can lighten (weight), soften and create sponginess in wood. Seems to me that if there is any difference between woods due to the usual suspects (i.e. density, hardness, etc.) the spalted aspect would have to impact the way sound resonates through a wood.
Salmon wrote:I am not sure the wood of a cap makes a difference.
Salmon wrote:I wonder if the presence of a glue seam between two pieces of wood does not have more influence than the type of wood that the cap is comprised of.
Tue Feb 25, 2014 7:51 pm
KenC wrote:zapcosongs wrote: I'm not a big fan of rosewood fretboards, but I have a thing for Pao Ferro and Ebony. So sue me!
I used to be the same way. Not so much about Pao Ferro, but a nice vintage gloss maple board or a stained ebony board were the best in my book. The rosewood board on my Interceptor Bass was love at first sight, and I've rarely looked back...
I was going to put some Interceptor porn here, but Photobucket is failing me yet again. Has anybody else had problems getting PB to load recently?
Ken
Edit: Photobucket decided to start working again. One day I'll take my own photos of this incredible bass, including a good close-up of the fretboard:
Ken
Tue Feb 25, 2014 9:48 pm
GGJaguar wrote:Lunch today – grilled chicken wrap with carrot sticks.
While I wish G&L would do more combinations with MFDs, one thing they are doing to keep things interesting is using alternative woods for their instruments (witness the Okoume ASAT in yesterday’s lunch report). Some of these less common woods, such as Limba (Korina) and Khaya (African Mahogany) have a strong and successful historic use in musical instruments. Others, such as Okoume and Monkeypod (Indian Walnut), are relatively new. And one in particular, Sugar Pine, was used by Leo Fender on the earliest Esquire/Telecaster guitars only to be abandoned and then re-discovered as a tonewood. Here’s a brief summary of the body tonewoods used by G&L. BTW, despite it being called “Equatorial Mahogany”, Okoume is not in the mahogany family (but Khaya is). In fact, it’s related to frankincense and myrrh!
Big Leaf Maple
Green Ash ("swamp" ash)
Honduran Mahogany
Khaya (African mahogany)
Korina
Lacewood
Monkeypod
Okoume
Red Alder
Sugar Pine
Tilia (Basswood)
Yellow Poplar
So, are you interested when G&L uses new tonewoods? Are there others you’d like to see them use? Are there any woods you dislike? For me, I think Okoume and Sugar Pine make nice sounding guitars, but the softness of the wood worries me (dings and dents). I’d like to see some of these woods topped with a maple cap, too. I don’t get the Savannah series with a limba top. Aesthetically it’s fine, but I’m not sure what it does tonally. Also, I think the use of Pau Ferro is great. Bassists have known about it for a long time and it’s a great alternative to ebony.
Tomorrow I’ll try to do something for the bass players.
GG
Tue Feb 25, 2014 11:11 pm
Wed Feb 26, 2014 5:50 am
Wed Feb 26, 2014 11:17 am