Yeah. Like that.
I’ve never tried one though. it looks like it would be a lot of work to make a board like that.
I’ve never tried one though. it looks like it would be a lot of work to make a board like that.
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Wood choices and considerations
- Thread starter mrperkolator
- Start date
Dang. now I’m thinking, I have some wood that I wouldn’t mind sending to someone with a CNC to try that on a build.
if I can ever do another project, a stepped board may be on the list.
if I can ever do another project, a stepped board may be on the list.
I saw a lad on YouTube making frets out of glass the other day if that's of any interest.
I haven't built anything yet but I am all about the local sustainable woods. I don't remember what else I wanted to say.
that’s partly the reason for this thread. Feel free to discuss any wacky wood idea that comes to mind.
One I’ve got that’s serious… for a wood bridge (like on an Ibanez afb200) has anyone experimented with different materials?
Well, that's what veneers are for. That stretched-out grain pattern is the result of those layers of wood being peeled off of the circumference of the log as it rotates. That's how veneers are made.
If you want that grain pattern on a wood blank, just buy a sheet of plain-back veneer and glue it onto the blank.
Lignum Vitae would last....for a while. I can't think of any harder wood offhand. But... Why?
I should look harder, what I've found so far has usually been hardwood or exotic veneer, not cheap grainy pine.
I'm curious. What about using torrified and non -torrefied wood together? Would that count as a sufficiently weird wood choice? Like using them to offset each other's strengths and weaknesses by eg making a 5-piece neck with maple but torrefied/ non torrified/ torrified etc?
I’m no expert but I’d be worried about the materials drying out at different rates and then shifting. But I’m sure someone can talk about it better…
Wood frets would probably work fine on something like a Kala Ubass, with the rubber strings, but rounds? Fuggeddaboudit.
People make necks with laminates of entirely different species of wood all the time without apparent issue. I guess the question is, are the propertied of torrefied maple more different from untreated maple than, say, walnut or wenge?
sure I know that, but wouldn’t the vastly different amounts of moisture content be a possible issue?
I might be wrong… I have a habit of over analysis
Lots of luthiers have done this, though be aware that the term torrefied is loosely used at best. It should mean heat treated in an oxygen free environment, but many places don't control the oxygen when heating.
Regardless, other than typically being a bit more brittle and perhaps a bit more hydrophobic, the treated wood still generally behaves like wood. Unless your other woods are not at EMC there isn't likely to be much tangible difference using heat treated wood with non-treated on a finished instrument.
It's not so much the absolute moisture content that matters, but more about whether it is at equilibrium when it is assembled, in which case it should be stable over time.
I have this very unique bass I call "Albatross"'. Fretless 5, ebony board, maple neck. Swamp ash body.
Very thick eye walnut top.
Extremely heavy. Bolt on.
With tapes it growls unlike any other bass I've ever owned.
I have to think that centimeter of walnut makes a difference.
Very thick eye walnut top.
Extremely heavy. Bolt on.
With tapes it growls unlike any other bass I've ever owned.
I have to think that centimeter of walnut makes a difference.
It might, but it's also inextricably part of a system of components and designs that interact. What's the construction methodology used? What is the bridge and mounting? What's the pickup/signal path? All of these contribute to the final tone.
