Real vs laminated Abalone (Abalam) question

[Andromeda]

I’ve seen on some older guitars...I’m assuming they have laminated abalone (abalam) on it due to the fact that on some of these old guitars the “abalone” is dark, dull and lack luster with no shine whatsoever. Or can real abalone loose it’s sparkle on old guitars?

[Russ C]

.. just to say that Abalam is laminated abalone, not imitation abalone. So whether there is any age related change of colour in Abalone, it shouldn’t be any different for Abalam.

[Andromeda]

Originally Posted by Russ C

.. just to say that Abalam is laminated abalone, not imitation abalone. So whether there is any age related change of colour in Abalone, it shouldn’t be any different for Abalam.

Thanks fo the correction. I have seen some older guitars, 30years older or more, that are on the relatively inexpensive Yamaha and Alvarez guitars and the abalone looks on the dull side.

Here is an example.

https://reverb.com/item/34683275-197...coustic-guitar

[pdx]

Page two of this thread will give you more than enough info that you want. Chainsaw Chuck is the guy to read as he helped create it.

The old stuff on cheap guitars is plastic, not abalam.

https://umgf.com/when-did-abalone-he...46461-s20.html

[Wade Hampton]

Andromeda, Abalam is a relatively recent invention. It didn’t exist back in the 1960’s and 70’s. As pdx pointed out, Asian guitar manufacturers used plastic in the place of genuine abalone for many years.

Russ is correct that Abalam is genuine abalone; it naturally forms thin layers and by processing it the way they do, the manufacturers of Abalam have created not only a more practical way to handle the material, but in doing so have substantially lowered the cost.

It took a while for Martin to join the parade, but my understanding is that they have switched to using Abalam, too, replacing the laborious process of hand-cutting and fitting tiny little chunks of shell with the ease of laying in a strip of abalone laminate instead.

I’m not certain when Abalam first hit the market, but by the mid-1990’s it was commonplace in large scale guitar factory operations. When I visited the Tacoma guitar factory in 1997, I saw ordinary factory workers laying it into routed channels, exactly as they would purfling or the rings of rosette around a soundhole.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Earl49]

All I can say is that the abalone shells in my garden -- abalone that I dove for, pounded, and ate (yum) -- still shines just fine after many years. The outer shell is getting dull but the shiny nacre interior still looks brand new. Abalone is a natural material and therefore varies quite a bit from piece to piece. On my Martin J-40 with the big hexagon inlays, the first hexagon was much bluer and less iridescent than the others. That was mostly a matter of judgement call from the person who selected and fit that particular piece that day. The custom shop could have done a better job color-matching instead of just grabbing the next part in the bin.

[Tnfiddler]

Having owned or currently owning models of both brands, I will say that Taylor's abalone inlay work just looks better than their Martin counterparts. My D41 inlay looks great, but the inlay on the 2002 W10ce and 2008 Fall Ltd. GS, I had, looked more high-end. The inlay on my D41 doesn't have much shine to it, but both Taylor models sparkled.

[Misifus]

In my youth, I found myself with some companions, snorkeling off Punta Banda, just south of Ensenada, Baja. Looking down in about fifteen to twenty feet of water over the edge of a cliff, I saw the most beautiful polished abalone shell. I figured it must have been dropped from a boat. I managed to swim down to it, only to find that it was still a live one, clinging firmly to the rock. As I didn’t have an iron with me, and at twenty feet down, there was no way I was going to get it loose. I guess situated on the rocks in the surf, the wave action had polished the shell.

[ruby50]

Here is how easy it is to install Abalam - I am installing a 6 piece grouping of binding and purfling all at once on Alaskan Yellow Cedar back, sides, and top

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby16...7688488198220/

The blue tipped stick is to push it to the bottom of the channel. Since the color is in a very thin layer, any sanding or scraping of the surface will change the look a lot, so you need to be pretty accurate in your channel depth. Here is what it looks like completed

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby16...7688488198220/

[Pura Vida]

My understanding is that abalam is actually more expensive to make/buy (material), but less expensive to install (labor).

Eastman still uses hand-set, color matched abalone pieces, which is one of the things that drew me to select my 2016 E40D as my first Eastman guitar (I always loved the look of the Martin D-41/42/45 models). They have a labor advantage over many U.S. makers, where it became cost-prohibitive to keep up with the abalone pieces.

Here's a photo from my 2017 E40OM -- the color and shimmer vary with the light, angle, etc.