Unique Classical

Booswalia · #1 09-01-2011, 10:01 AM

Hi,
Just new to the group and I have a question that someone here might be able to answer for me.

I have this Flambeau classical guitar that I bought in 1986 that has what looks like saw marks on it but I'm not sure... (see the photo below) I only paid about $350 for it. It has the sweetest sound ever and just keeps getting better with age. My question is... Are these saw marks or are they something else?

FYI: Flambeau was a brand that was designed by George Lowden and made by a small group of luthiers in Japan for about 5 years.

Kitchen Guitars · #2 09-01-2011, 12:09 PM

The horizontal lines? I would say they are a shadow from the blinds in the window. The vertical lines are the grain of the wood. BTW Welcome to the forum.

Joeval · #3 09-01-2011, 01:05 PM

Can you point out these "saw marks"?

I can't see anything immediately wrong with it... Enjoy your instrument!

Booswalia · #4 09-01-2011, 01:44 PM

Thanks, but the horizontal lines are not from the blinds. Those are in the the wood on the guitar and, yes, they are THAT visible. They have darkened quite a bit over the years. When I first got the guitar you could hardly see them.

charles Tauber · #5 09-01-2011, 02:36 PM

based solely on the photo, my first inclination would be to look inside the guitar and see if the coloration coincides with the position of interior bracing.

Without a closeup or seeing it in person, can't tell you much more.

Booswalia · #6 09-01-2011, 03:04 PM

I had a look and no, it does not coincide with the bracing inside.

Booswalia · #7 09-01-2011, 03:13 PM

Here's a closeup of it.

arie · #8 09-01-2011, 03:31 PM

possibly chatter/burn marks from a thickness sander. maybe the feed belt wasn't moving properly and caused some momentary and incremental stalling while the drum was still sanding.

or a BBQ grill!

Booswalia · #9 09-01-2011, 03:55 PM

LOL! I knew I shouldn't have sat it on the BBQ.

What ever they are... they don't interfere with the sound and I won't be parting with this little gem.

lennylux · #10 09-02-2011, 04:32 AM

No, it's OK, these were made from the extremely rare Japanese Zebra tree. This is totally normal when using such an exotic wood selection. ;-)

Looks cool. Enjoy.

rbbambino · #11 09-02-2011, 04:34 AM

The comment about the blinds is interesting. I have my guitars hanging on the wall... The afternoon sun comes through the window and shines on them... so I close the blinds.. most days... However, if I forgot, it would probably bleach the wood and my guitar(s) would take on the same look as your guitar. I must be more careful!!

Booswalia · #12 09-02-2011, 04:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbbambino

The comment about the blinds is interesting. I have my guitars hanging on the wall... The afternoon sun comes through the window and shines on them... so I close the blinds.. most days... However, if I forgot, it would probably bleach the wood and my guitar(s) would take on the same look as your guitar. I must be more careful!!

Unless you want that look.

drive-south · #13 09-02-2011, 05:26 AM

Perhaps the guitar sat in an open window for an extended period of time and the blinds caused shadows that resulted in some areas being tanned and others remaining light.

Or it could be a type of subtle bear-claw grain figuring.

I'm leaning towards the window/blind explanation.

Booswalia · #14 09-02-2011, 05:45 AM

If it was caused by blinds on a window it would have happened at the factory because they have been there right from the start. I suppose that's possible but kind of unlikely.

Perhaps I should ask George himself. Maybe he know.

arie · #15 09-02-2011, 07:56 AM

yeah, i'm not buying the blind thing -the pattern is too symmetrical. you'd have to plant the guitar squarely behind them for a long time to do that damage. it's a little hard to tell from the pix, but do the marks continue across the rosette?