Members larryguitar Posted December 17, 2011 Members Share Posted December 17, 2011 From what I know of physics, this cannot be right. A vacuum has no temperature. So every vacuum is at absolute zero? Whoops... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Happy Ending Posted December 17, 2011 Members Share Posted December 17, 2011 Nifty. From the MM line I take it. One question though - who the hell is Lou and what guitars does he make? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PrawnHeed Posted December 17, 2011 Members Share Posted December 17, 2011 So every vacuum is at absolute zero? Whoops... A perfect vacuum is at absolute zero. A less than perfect vacuum may be hotter than that, but if you want to roast something, a vacuum is not the place to do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitar Heel Posted December 17, 2011 Members Share Posted December 17, 2011 Nifty. From the MM line I take it. One question though - who the hell is Lou and what guitars does he make? Bbreaker, and he doesn't care for non-traditional fretboard woods, such as baked maple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Happy Ending Posted December 17, 2011 Members Share Posted December 17, 2011 Bbreaker, and he doesn't care for non-traditional fretboard woods, such as baked maple. Is that that showoff with a zillion guitars? ... and none of them has a non-trad board? A bit snobby if you ask me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted December 17, 2011 Members Share Posted December 17, 2011 Nifty. From the MM line I take it. One question though - who the hell is Lou and what guitars does he make? Yeah, from the MM line. A "Melody Maker Special". It varies a bit from your typical MM in that it has a more standard modern Gibson headstock. But it's still MM thickness. The actual color of that fretboard is darker. Sweetwater's gallery pics always bleed out the color a lot cuz they use a bit too much light. And "Lou" is Bbreaker, our notable vintage collector, who holds the record here for starting the most "baked maple" bashing threads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Happy Ending Posted December 17, 2011 Members Share Posted December 17, 2011 Yeah, from the MM line. A "Melody Maker Special". It varies a bit from your typical MM in that it has a more standard modern Gibson headstock. But it's still MM thickness. ... And "Lou" is Bbreaker, our notable vintage collector, who holds the record here for starting the most "baked maple" bashing threads. Never seriously interacted with the guy - just looked at the pics - what are the chances he never even tried out a baked wood component axe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ajcoholic Posted December 17, 2011 Members Share Posted December 17, 2011 you arent going to get a perfect vacuum guy, the thing is just to replace or remove the oxygen so the wood doesnt turn to charcoal. They must partially evacuate the kiln or replace with an inert gas or something similar. The wood samples I saw looked kind of nice, sort of maple with a medium walnut oil. What it does structurally to the wood I wouldnt want to guess until I processed and used a bunch of it. Just because the wood is dry doesnt necessarily make it stable. You can achieve a 0% moisture content with overdrying in a regular kiln. The "roasting" or "baking" must do something structurally to the wood, in order to make the claims of being less susceptible to future changes in humidity, than traditionally dried lumber. I just checked the costs, and it really isnt that much more $$ than regular select and better maple. I bet the whole roasted maple thing is "blown up" primarily to up-charge... and some of the companies offering it as an option are charging a serious premium on it. But, I guess that is what makes good business.. find something different that has a small benefit, play it up and market it well, and then make more $$. AJC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ajcoholic Posted December 17, 2011 Members Share Posted December 17, 2011 Would have to be that way, especially for laminated necks. Glued neck blanks would not withstand that temperature. There are resins that will stand up to 350F continuous temps... vinylester being one of them WHat I meant was if there is ANY wood movement during the roasting process, it would effectively make the previously finished neck junk. It is funny, though, that how many millions of guitar necks have been made from plain sawn hard maple - and stayed straight and true for years and years. But now, everyone wants a roasted maple neck?! Like I said, some one has went to a good business school in order to learn how to sell us something we never knew we needed AJC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted December 17, 2011 Members Share Posted December 17, 2011 Never seriously interacted with the guy - just looked at the pics - what are the chances he never even tried out a baked wood component axe? Indeed - zip. I think it is concerning that it's harder to find rosewood on the entry level Gibsons at this time, BUT!!!! Whether or not one can live with "maple" on a Gibson should mean about the same thing as whether or not you want "maple" vs rosewood on a Fender. If you're fine with it having a hair of a brighter tone with a bit of sharper attack with a maple vs rosewood fb (which may or may not be perceptible to my ear), then there's no reason not to go baked maple. Definitely some Gibson models can benefit from maple. It's going to be pretty close in tone to their ebony FBs and you don't see anyone running scared of those. As long as it's durable and helps make the instruments more accessible to the consumer I'm not hurling tons of monkey poo at the concept. Plus I do figure that the rosewood option will probably return on their entry level models once their source issues are resolved. But for now, I just don't consider the baked maple to be inherently inferior, just "different". And I say, "vive la diff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted December 17, 2011 Members Share Posted December 17, 2011 There are resins that will stand up to 350F continuous temps... vinylester being one of them WHat I meant was if there is ANY wood movement during the roasting process, it would effectively make the previously finished neck junk. It is funny, though, that how many millions of guitar necks have been made from plain sawn hard maple - and stayed straight and true for years and years. But now, everyone wants a roasted maple neck?! Like I said, some one has went to a good business school in order to learn how to sell us something we never knew we needed AJC Don't you think that part of the benefit of the "roasted" is purely for adding a saturating color to the wood that is more complimentary with some of the traditional models? I know it's also supposed to be a bit harder, but my guess was that the color was more the driving force. With the baking process, it comes out looking like a brown sugar version of rosewood. with flash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted December 17, 2011 Members Share Posted December 17, 2011 Make sure you brush maple syrup on it for a really yummy neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ajcoholic Posted December 18, 2011 Members Share Posted December 18, 2011 Don't you think that part of the benefit of the "roasted" is purely for adding a saturating color to the wood that is more complimentary with some of the traditional models? I know it's also supposed to be a bit harder, but my guess was that the color was more the driving force. With the baking process, it comes out looking like a brown sugar version of rosewood. with flash Oh, I am not really speaking directly to one maker or another - and sure, it looks great. More like Pau Ferro to me. I guess I was mainly thinking (as the OP asked about the whole neck) the fact that some makers now offer a baked/roasted maple as an option over the standard maple, for several hundred more $$ (even though the wood itself doesnt add that much cost). I think a lot of it has to do with good marketing, and making people believe it is a superior product and they HAVE to have it But, I am in business too and I dont see any problems with that. It just doesnt eliminate the fact that the same makers made a lot of very good necks before this treatment to maple was even thought up. As for Gibson using it for fret boards, I wouldnt care either way. If I pick up a guitar and it sounds and plays well - that's what matters. AJC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MahaloVision Posted December 18, 2011 Members Share Posted December 18, 2011 From what I know of physics, this cannot be right. A vacuum has no temperature. You probably know a lot more about physics than I do. All I can tell you is that there is an entire industry built around vacuum ovens: Vacuum Oven Google Search Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted December 18, 2011 Members Share Posted December 18, 2011 Oh, I am not really speaking directly to one maker or another - and sure, it looks great. More like Pau Ferro to me. Yeah, agreed. I have one of those on my neglected SRV strat. I should drag it out for a photo shoot along side the baked maples for comparison. But I'm too lazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members linthat22 Posted December 18, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 18, 2011 Quick update. I went ahead and had it in the drawer for 3 hours today and I have yet to notice any difference yet. I'll take some pics and get them up. I'm gonna wait until the next round so that way you can see like a step 1 and step 2 approach. One think I can say, I'm glad I removed that stupid varnish on the fretboard. btw, this is a one piece maple neck from an SX Musicman copy. For reference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members harold heckuba Posted December 18, 2011 Members Share Posted December 18, 2011 Seriously, your frets are going to spring up if you continue with that, as well as the binding could come loose or even melt (pretty sure SX uses plastic binding.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members linthat22 Posted December 18, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 18, 2011 Seriously, your frets are going to spring up if you continue with that, as well as the binding could come loose or even melt (pretty sure SX uses plastic binding.) You know, I did notice a slight "banana" shape to the frets I scalloped. But a nice block of wood and a rubber mallet fixed it. Can't wait to post some before and after shots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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