G&L Custom Shop ASAT Classic Bluesboy in Natural Gloss...

[Craig]

From a post on G&L's facebook page (7/10/2024):

G&L Custom Shop ASAT Classic Bluesboy in Natural Gloss over roasted swamp ash, 1-ply black guard,
quartersawn roasted 3a flame maple neck with Caribbean rosewood fingerboard, gloss headstock, locking tuners, model logo delete.
Built for G&L Premier Dealer Sweetwater.

[DanDoulogos]

When I saw the coarseness of the grain on the neck, I thought it looked a lot more like pine than maple.

I had heard that G&L was experimenting with Pine necks so I wondered when I saw this one. Maple figuring is typically a light, tight grained. The contrast between the wood and the uncharacteristically straight grain with its wide/coarse figuring on the back of the neck and face of the head looks more like pine or even ash. But it don't look like maple to these old eyes.

That being said, it could well be maple. I am no expert. That is just the first thing I thought. If I had it in my hands I'd be gauging the weight to to assure myself it wasn't pine.

[y2kc]

G&L just knocks it out of the park again! I wonder what the weight is on that.

[sam]

100% agree with you guys!

[Expert_Fretwork]

When I saw the coarseness of the grain on the neck, I thought it looked a lot more like pine than maple.

I had heard that G&L was experimenting with Pine necks so I wondered when I saw this one. Maple figuring is typically a light, tight grained. The contrast between the wood and the uncharacteristically straight grain with its wide/coarse figuring on the back of the neck and face of the head looks more like pine or even ash. But it don't look like maple to these old eyes.

That being said, it could well be maple. I am no expert. That is just the first thing I thought. If I had it in my hands I'd be gauging the weight to to assure myself it wasn't pine.

It's torrefied quartersawn 3A flamed maple. The grain structure is completely closed with no open pores, which would be extremely visible with Ash. Closed grain is a dead giveaway it's maple, FWIW.
We aren't using pine for necks. Pine has a tendency to have weird grain separation in contours and corners, so shaping a curved surface like a neck out of it would be pretty disastrous, and not likely to work without a very thick finish applied to be able to smooth out the bumps. It's hard enough to deal with on body contours, an entire neck out of it would be a bad idea.

[Expert_Fretwork]

G&L just knocks it out of the park again! I wonder what the weight is on that.

Since it's roasted ash, it's extremely lightweight. I believe this one came in around (or maybe slightly under) about 6lbs.

[DanDoulogos]

It's torrefied quartersawn 3A flamed maple. The grain structure is completely closed with no open pores, which would be extremely visible with Ash. Closed grain is a dead giveaway it's maple, FWIW.
We aren't using pine for necks. Pine has a tendency to have weird grain separation in contours and corners, so shaping a curved surface like a neck out of it would be pretty disastrous, and not likely to work without a very thick finish applied to be able to smooth out the bumps. It's hard enough to deal with on body contours, an entire neck out of it would be a bad idea.

Thanks for the explanation. I had to look up torrified. Any day I learn something new, is a good day.