Bass Made From Stratabond

Alexander Eddy · #1 01-10-2013, 07:25 PM

Hi Guys,

I was browsing the new Boyd's Gunstocks website and was wondering if anyone had made a bass using the same laminate that is used for the stocks?

I have a vague memory of a blue and yellow Ritter that may have been made of the stuff.

There's no doubt that is would make for a stable one piece body/neck, and with some creative carving could look really good. Maybe a good candidate for a CNC built bass?

I've no idea how expensive the stuff is, I just have a couple of the gun stocks and thought it would be pretty sweet to see a bass made of the same stuff.

What say you, folks?

http://www.rutply.com/solutions/stratabond.html

Hopkins · #2 01-10-2013, 07:31 PM

It looks pretty interesting actually, but how do you buy the stuff?

Edit: http://www.rutply.com/pdf/RPC-ColorWood_web.pdf

It looks like a 51' by 16 1/2" by 1 3/4" boards run at $151.87 each, with a minimum purchase of 4. I'm guessing that's why people don't use it much.

Alexander Eddy · #3 01-10-2013, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hopkins

...with a minimum purchase of 4. I'm guessing that's why people don't use it much.

Group buy?

BrentD · #4 01-10-2013, 08:01 PM

Doesn't Martin make Stratabond necks?

Ironfingers · #5 01-10-2013, 10:38 PM

Yes Martin did make some necks from it. Not sure if they still offer though.
And it looks like Gibson made at least a few SG's out of it...

http://www.guitarnerd.com.au/2012/02...e-collectable/

Marcury · #6 01-11-2013, 09:03 AM

Martin's X Series, use Stratabond for their necks: http://www.martinguitar.com/series/i...-x-series.html

HaMMerHeD · #7 01-11-2013, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hopkins

It looks pretty interesting actually, but how do you buy the stuff?

Edit: http://www.rutply.com/pdf/RPC-ColorWood_web.pdf

It looks like a 51' by 16 1/2" by 1 3/4" boards run at $151.87 each, with a minimum purchase of 4. I'm guessing that's why people don't use it much.

$600 for enough material for 8 bass bodies seems pretty reasonable to me.

pilotjones · #8 01-11-2013, 01:24 PM

At one point I came across a website for a European company that Ritter might have used. Beyond being more local to him, you can design the layering, customizing the colors, the grain lay, and I think the layer thickness.

wcoffey81 · #9 01-11-2013, 01:35 PM

i wonder how tough it would be to machine anything with that amount of adhesive in it? i see where they suggest carbide or diamond cutters and that tool dulling can be a problem.

Hopkins · #10 01-11-2013, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HaMMerHeD

$600 for enough material for 8 bass bodies seems pretty reasonable to me.

Sure, but its kind of a one off thing, I wouldn't really want to make 8 basses out of it.

The right color combos could make some really cool neck blanks though.

Beauchene Implements · #11 01-11-2013, 05:07 PM

I've been eyeing that stuff for a long time. I want to make some necks out of it.

Geoff St. Germaine · #12 01-11-2013, 06:21 PM

I've played a Martin with a stratabond neck. That stuff is very dense. Perhaps it's more noticeable on the acoustic, but it was so heavy that I couldn't really see using it for a body unless using a thin laminate or making it hollow.

sargebaker · #13 01-12-2013, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotjones

At one point I came across a website for a European company that Ritter might have used. Beyond being more local to him, you can design the layering, customizing the colors, the grain lay, and I think the layer thickness.

Was the company in the Netherlands? I cam across a similar one but have not been able to track it down since...

pilotjones · #14 01-12-2013, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sargebaker

Was the company in the Netherlands? I cam across a similar one but have not been able to track it down since...

Quite possibly, that sounds familiar. I looked through my bookmarks for it last night, but unfortunately I had failed to mark it.

thebandcircle · #15 01-12-2013, 04:22 PM

Greg Curbow Bass Guitars! Beautiful neck material IMO. Even old Teisco and Framus guitars used it. Kubiki necks look similar as well. Rutland plywood co. makes different ply/inch ratios. Call it "Rockwood", and "Rockwood light" They wouldn't answer me about a minimum order...seems they only deal with the big dogs.

"Edit" Also requires metal tooling machines!

moonshinegtrs · #16 01-12-2013, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebandcircle

Greg Curbow Bass Guitars! Beautiful neck material IMO. Even old Teisco and Framus guitars used it. Kubiki necks look similar as well. Rutland plywood co. makes different ply/inch ratios. Call it "Rockwood", and "Rockwood light" They wouldn't answer me about a minimum order...seems they only deal with the big dogs.

"Edit" Also requires metal tooling machines!

You beat me to it. Greg Curbow used Rockwood (apparently different brand names? The material he used was for the most part birch veneers impregnated with phenolic resing under extreme heat & pressure). At one time he built bodies & necks from the material... Very heavy stuff, which led to small, thin bodies; I remember seeing a dark green (yes, it came in colors) bass that I would of loved to own... even with an ultra-thin body, it still weighed a lot. But it sounded incredible.

Here are some pics (of pics... out of an old photo album that I have) showing some of his builds, including a matching four & five string that was built using multi-colored layers of the material (the body was constructed from figured mahogany for the back & a quilted maple top with the multi-colored rockwood sandwiched in between). He also used rockwood for the fingerboards as shown in the photo of the blue six string bass. Greg was an incredibly talented guy:

The last photo is the of the man himself. R.I.P. Greg.

Moonshine