Documenting my 1st thermally modified build, videos added, SOLD

[Joe Sustaire]

Unread postby whitespruce » Sun Nov 29, 2015 9:07 pm

Well, it is playable.


No offense Grant, but I Think you need to get Chris and Bonny to write your ad copy.

Looking good and glad to hear it's sounding good also once we get past your opening statement. Nice to see info on just how from scratch your builds are. And since I'm not there in person it's great getting a couple of live shots of you at home. Helps bring back the good times!

[whitespruce]

"playable" Joe, that is understated elegance

As promised, some accurate photos

Here, compared to a several year old OM with natural white spruce top (and cocobolo rosewood back and sides)


A closer look

this is a very accurate color

The back


Here is a pretty good representation of a thermally modified HOG neck compared to non


Now, comparing the tone. The old coco guitar is a very good sounding guitar and has years of playing on it...but it sounds quite thin compared to the new one. It also has less sustain (albeit way more than most guitars) than the new one. So, FWIW, I am very favorably impressed by the thermally modified guitar. And I will build more. Now, I need a thermally modified Dread

G

[Dennis Leahy]

Beautiful! (delete the post I made about color in photos if you want)

[johnparchem]

Great looking guitar. I love the character of the darker top.

[Joe Sustaire]

By looks alone, I'd pick the thermally modified one any day. Nice, having the side by side pics. Sure has that "vintage'' look.

[BRuddy]

Looks great Grant. I also love the look of a vintage guitar and for my very personal preference it just seems more inviting than a factory dipped in finish look. Your modified wood guitar has that look. I like wood that looks like wood and also like seeing a bit of the hand of the builder hidden in the instrument. So that fits right in with my dedication to use good wood even when it isn't perfect in appearance. I guess I don't seek out wood with visual "defects" but I'm also drawn to use it when it comes my way. When you love wood, damn, you just love wood. I really appreciate your use of wood some may reject, you set a good example here. I only bring this up because of the sap stains in the outer edges of the bouts and it leads to my first question. Were they present in the white spruce top before heat treatment, and to the same or lesser degree?

I also like the strong and rugged look of the bar frets along with the solidifying effect on the neck. They look a bit higher than most frets, do you have a measurement of crown height over fingerboard? Did you leave them a bit high to allow a bit more dressing room before replacement? I ask knowing your report of hardness making that much less likely than nickle silver. I'm very tempted to try your bar frets but at my building pace that won't be for a year or more.

Great looking guitar and glad to hear your report on how it sounds. Keep us filled in as it gets played and you get more feedback.

Thanks
Brian

[WaddyT]

Great looking guitar, Grant! Glad it turned out so well sound-wise.

[Joel M]

Grant that looks fantastic!

I love your ingenuity. I don't need no stinking reamer! I got my file!

Thankyou for sharing this build with us. I myself an excited to get my hands on some thermally modified wood. Gotta see what all the fuss is about

J.