Froggy Highly figured (quilted) sapele

[Mikeg0031]

A couple of years ago Michael and his team built me an SJ with adirondck/quilted sapele and I love the tone of this guitar. took a year or so to open up but I find I'm playing this one alot more than the H-12 5A Braz/adirondack he built for me in 2004. Anyone have any thoughts on quilted sapele ? I see he is charging upwards of $4500 in an upgrade fee for this wood. Has it become that hard to find ??

[Trevor M]

Mike, can you post a photo, there are different kinds of quilted sapele.

[MBE]

Originally Posted by The Acoustic Music Co (TAMCO) UK

Mike, can you post a photo, there are different kinds of quilted sapele.

This is a good point.

Also, the upcharge could potentially be related to the hazards of building with flat sawn wood. I'm under the impression that quilted sapele only appears that way when flatsawn. This may be more challenging to work with, and might carry a higher risk of warranty repairs in their opinion.

[ukejon]

Look forward to seeing pics. That seems like a stunningly expensive upcharge.

[ecguitar44]

Found one...

http://music.jeffersoncampervan.com/...tom%20H12.html

[billgennaro]

Originally Posted by ukejon

Look forward to seeing pics. That seems like a stunningly expensive upcharge.

Froggy Bottom seems to be on the high end when it comes to upcharging for certain woods. For instance, I purchased a Froggy with their lowest grade of Madagascar (which they call 3A) and the upcharge was nearly $4k. While sounding superb (no complaints there), this wood is rather dull looking when compared to my Kevin Ryan guitar that carried an upcharge of $1k for a much more highly figured Madagascar that is comparable to Froggy's 5A grade.

The only reason that I can figure is that Kevin Ryan perhaps has an old stash that he purchased years ago at a much lower rate than what it would cost if he bought it today, and he charges accordingly. Perhaps Froggy's stash of Madagascar (and Sapele) was purchased recently and that is why it is more expensive? I'm just speculating here. It would be interesting to know the reason why one company charges so much more than most others do.

Bill

[Tim McKnight]

Originally Posted by MBE

I'm under the impression that quilted sapele only appears that way when flatsawn.

Not totally accurate ... Most the the quilted sets that I have seen are indeed flat sawn Sapele but I also own several sets of quilted Sapele that are 100% quarter sawn. Kind of holds true with "The Tree" mahogany too.

[ewh2]

ecguitar's Froggy's quilted Sapele is looks quartersawn to my eyes.

Is there a tonal difference between 'normal' Sapele and it's quilted variety be it flat or quartersawn?

[Tim McKnight]

There may or may not be a tonal difference between the two? Flat sawn wood has a greater likelihood of moving tangentially during humidity exchanges with the atmosphere as it seeks equilibrium. Movement in wood is never a good thing for the builder or player.

[Trevor M]

I paid $400 upcharge (retail) for this set from a well know builder.

[ecguitar44]

Originally Posted by The Acoustic Music Co (TAMCO) UK

I paid $400 upcharge (retail) for this set from a well know builder.

And that's way, WAY better looking (IMHO) than the Froggy Bottom stuff.

That's gorgeous!

[geordie]

Mike, here in Europe I can get well sawn AAA pommelé for €90 ($122)
similar to the FB guitar ecguitar posted.

[MBE]

Originally Posted by Tim McKnight

Not totally accurate ... Most the the quilted sets that I have seen are indeed flat sawn Sapele but I also own several sets of quilted Sapele that are 100% quarter sawn. Kind of holds true with "The Tree" mahogany too.

Interesting. Thanks for setting the record straight!

[jperryrocks]

Froggy has raised prices quite a bit on everything over the last 4-5 years. Some of their up charges are quite pricey and don't make sense to me as a buyer.

I would never pay $4500 upgraded for quilted sapele. And that's on top of an already expensive 7-8k base price for just the guitar. Their grades of of wood for what they charge are a bit lacking from what I see.

Some of their custom guitars are now in that stratosphere pricing of 15-25,000.

But people are buying them.

[handers]

Originally Posted by jperryrocks

Froggy has raised prices … (snipped)

But people are buying them.

That and the fact that Michael Millard has been building guitars for 45years justifies this I suppose. Can imagine he'll be building for many more decades. Their reputation over the past 15 years has grown tremendously and their prices haven't.

hans