Choosing a torrified spruce sound board and rosewood body????

[Billygoathollow]

66 years old and crossing another item off my bucket list.....been an artist all my life....(graphic designer, watercolorist, musician) even got A's in shop class...ninth grade........and now I have an opportunity to build my dream acoustic guitar , alongside, and with the mentoring of my luthier.
I'm looking for your suggestions/soundwood suppliers, on wood for a dreadnought. I'm really sold on torrified Adirondack spruce sound board and Madagascar rosewood, but would still appreciate your suggestions and ideas. We already know torrified spruce is brittle and requires a delicate touch. Any pointers you can give me to make the tonal sustainability in my new guitar, last as long as I'm alive,.....I would appreciate....thanks folks!

[Bruce Sexauer]

I am having trouble with "tonal sustainability"; what is it? As soon as you say "tone" things get complicated, especially as there are a number of of us who would question the efficacy of torrified wood where "tone" is concerned. Sustainability is about time, and time is something that torrified wood has little experience of. Just sayin'.

[JerryM]

Bruce ,,,just checked out your site and video interview, beautiful guitars!!!!! enjoyed it very much. Jerry M

[westman]

I have a suspicion that torrified (sp?) wood isn’t gonna like getting any older (since it’s already been artificially aged), it may ‘just give up the ghost’ through frailty - who knows ?.
I’d stick with tried and tested naturally aged spruce.
You can get ‘Air Dried’ spruce from Europe some suppliers can provide old soundboard sets @ a 1 for each year - violin makers invariably use 10 + y/o, thats why they provide this service - ol' school stuff.
Look at their 'Gallery' see if you recognize any makers.
e.g. -
http://www.ciresafiemme.it/images/li...no_inglese.pdf

[SJ VanSandt]

I'm also curious what you mean by "tonal sustainability." Something that will sound good off the bat and stay that way for 20-30 years? I don't think torrefied wood has been around long enough for anyone to be able to say for certain how they will change over the next few decades, but if you like the sound, I think the chances are good that you won't find it changing for the worse in your lifetime. I imagine it's going to be a challenge to work with though: I'm pretty sure I would't try it for my first guitar. But I'm a big chicken! Whatever you decide, it's going to be a great adventure, so have a blast!

[Billygoathollow]

Thanks guys for the expertise...maybe I misused the word "tonal".....I just to strum a chord and have it last for a while.....you can see I'm a rookie at this!

[Billygoathollow]

Thanks guys for the expertise...maybe I misused the word "tonal".....I just to strum a chord and have it last for a while.....you can see I'm a rookie at this!

[Bruce Sexauer]

That is called "sustain". Without getting into the tone can of worms, you get three things from the strings as they transfer their energy into the guitar, response, volume, and sustain. A good builder can juggle them, but it is always a trade off. In other words, emphasizing sustain will diminish response and/or volume. IMO it is easiest to trade response by simply overbuilding the top and back, but I wouldn't recommend it.

And not least, Thank you, Jerry!

[rick-slo]

I would just buy a guitar that already exists (new or used) that you like the sound of. No guessing games. Who knows, maybe you will find a sitka/EIR that's the bee's knees.

[Arthur Blake]

Originally Posted by SJ VanSandt

I don't think torrefied wood has been around long enough for anyone to be able to say for certain how they will change over the next few decades

I'm sure you're thinking of torrified wood for guitar soundboards, still the principle is several hundred years in the making. According to Silva Timber, torrefaction is not new. The Vikings were using it to enhance durability at the turn of the 8th century, and Scandinavian countries have been improving the procedure since the 1930s.

http://www.silvatimber.co.uk/media/p...-explained.pdf

[SJ VanSandt]

Originally Posted by Arthur Blake

I'm sure you're thinking of torrified wood for guitar soundboards, still the principle is several hundred years in the making. According to Silva Timber, torrefaction is not new. The Vikings were using it to enhance durability at the turn of the 8th century, and Scandinavian countries have been improving the procedure since the 1930s.

http://www.silvatimber.co.uk/media/p...-explained.pdf

Right - I did mean for guitars, and even that's not entirely true: I think some Asian company has been quietly doing it for some time now, which is what leads me to believe that the wood is not going to turn into wet noodles in 15 years.

But that's not really pertinent to the OP's question, it turns out. He wants to build a guitar with lots of sustain, which he certainly should be able to do with torrefied wood.

[Michael Watts]

I wouldn't necessarily describe torrified tops a brittle... the Bourgeois Aged Tone guitars we have had have all been very impressive!