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Old 05-20-2019, 10:35 AM
Melt in the Sun Melt in the Sun is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Tucson, AZ
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Alistair's comments on this:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alistair Hay View Post
Sean mentioned this thread to me and I thought it would be useful to bring some clarification to the table.
Firstly the veneers we use are very thin and are actually fused to the surface of the carbon during the moulding process. Under Vacuum the resin penetrates right into every pore of the veneer at the same time as it penetrates the carbon fibres and this stabilises the veneer and prevents future movement during temperature and humidity changes.
We alter the top structure slightly to balance out the extra veneer and keep the weight and stiffness the same as on an all-carbon guitar.
Now on the question of tone, yes there are some differences but they are subtle. If I were to do a blind test of 10 of my guitars I could hear subtle differences from one to the other, but If you asked me to choose which were carbon and which had a veneer I fear I would not be able to accurately make that call.
In general on a direct side by side test I would probably say that the woody is a bit warmer brought about by a reduction in some mid frequencies.
As someone mentioned earlier, string type would have a much more fundamental effect on tone than the veneer choice.
On the question of Opus and Artisan there is no difference as they are moulded exactly the same way using the same materials and there is the same type and amount of top coat finish applied but in the case of the textured Crystal Ice finish we just have a different method of application.
Also to clarify one last point, The mention of Gloss Vs Raw finish relates to CA Guitars not Emerald. We don't do a Raw carbon finish.

There will always be subtle differences between instruments even of the same model, but I think in the carbon world those differences are far smaller than in the wood world.

Im always glad to bring clarification to any questions you may have. Maybe we should start a thread of FAQ's and you guys can quiz me directly
Hope this helps
Alistair
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