I'm thinking that 1 April is approaching...

[Jim Becker]

Anyone involved in instrument making knows the "yuge" controversy around "tone woods". Here's a lighthearted look at that...from a guy who builds really nice instruments from old closet doors. (really)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uok6B2EufEc

[Edward Weber]

He went a long way for that joke, maybe a bit too far :rolleyes:

Thanks for posting

[Jim Becker]

Tim's a really good guy and yes, that was over-the-top. But I'm glad he did it. I do have some of his tools that I find quite handy in the shop.

[Zachary Hoyt]

Thanks for posting this. The tonewood=sound idea being spoofed in the video is sadly widespread, so I am glad someone is poking fun at it. Confirmation bias is alive and well in the instrument world, as in others.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

That's brilliant and refreshingly light hearted. Awesome pedals too!
Mr. Dulak Has a wood comparison video for his Mandolins. The tone range of those is much more more subtle.

[Edward Weber]

What I find sad is that the whole tonewood "thing" gets so distorted and argued about almost as much as sharpening.
Yes there are differences but they are subtle to almost imperceptible in many cases, that's okay to me.

[Jim Becker]

While this is supposed to be a light-hearted thread, I'll say that you are correct about that, Edward. For acoustic instruments there can be some important considerations around the material used relative to tone and resonance, but I strongly suspect that quality and how the craftsman prepares the material has a "yuge" impact on the sound, too. For electric instruments, well...construction likely matters more given the primary sound source is the strings and pickups.

We now return you to this annually schedule April First Frollic. :D

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I am going to hold out for a model with a knob to pan between Nitrocellulose and French Polish.
It would be fun to get a peek inside the shop where those are made.

[Jim Becker]

Maurice, Tim's shop is, um...a little less rustic than it was, but let' just say it's very much an evolutionary wonder that has everything from the most traditional hand tools all the way through CNC and a big laser. He doesn't throw anything away, either..."all scraps matter", as it were. :) If watch a number of his videos, you'll see a number of interesting things, including a bandsaw that has an large amount of wood cladding.

As to where he makes the magic boxes...that's in a secret room that's never on video. :) :D