Anyone want an old bass? A REALLY old bass?

[pamlicojack]

http://www.spectorbass.com/NewFiles/32kbass.html

Stuart Spector Designs has just completed a bass, the NS-30K BC that will
utilize what is believed to be the oldest wood ever used in the
construction of a musical instrument. Obtained by Spector from logs
discovered buried 40 feet deep in a sand quarry in Georgia, USA, the wood
is perfectly preserved, due to the sterile nature of the sand and the
natural decay resistance of the cypress wood itself. Using carbon 14
testing techniques, samples of the wood were examined by Beta Analytics, in
Miami, to check for radioactive decay in the small amount of carbon that is
present in all living organisms.



Astonishingly, results revealed the timber is 31,970 years old, plus or
minus 570 years from the time the tree was originally felled, while the
tree itself may have been as much as 1,000 years old at the time a storm
blew it down. At present, Spector plans to produce just one instrument from
this wood, a 4 string bass in the classic Spector NS curved body style.
Ornamentation on the NS-30K BC will be a 12th fret marker made from fossil
mastodon ivory, fashioned in the shape of a mastodon (extinct elephant-like
creature), cut, inlaid, and hand engraved by master inlay artist, Larry
Robinson. The completed instrument can be seen at the Spector booth, during
the forthcoming NAMM show, held between July 20th-22nd at the Nashville
Convention Centre. Estimated selling price of the bass is expected to be
$20,000, with the full profit from the sale going to the World Wildlife Fund.

[gweimer]

Pretty cool.  I recall hearing about this a while back.  I can just see some guy refinning it after buying...

[nofi]

a worthwhile charity. good for him.

[Pilgrim]

Naw, someone will buy it and decide it needs to be relic'd.

[Dave W]

I predict that whoever buys it will swear it sounds better.

Anybody want to bet against that? 

[godofthunder]

That is seriously cool.

[Chris P.]

Yep, you have to gig that bass. That old dry wood needs a beer shower.

[Freuds_Cat]

Naw, someone will buy it and decide it needs to be relic'd.

hahaha 30 thousand years style relicing ;p

[rahock]

Naw, someone will buy it and decide it needs to be relic'd.

This would probably call for some simulated dinosuar poop stains and sabertooth tiger bite marks.
Rick

[ZezozeceGlutz]

...to check for radioactive decay in the small amount of carbon that is
present in all living organisms.

That made me wince a bit.

[Barklessdog]

I remember some one in Australia making guitars & basses out of Ziricote?? or some prehistoric wood that looked like stone?

He made them look like Fenders with really ugly headstocks.

[Dave W]

IIRC it was ancient kauri, not to be confused with the "kauri" also known as agathis.

[Freuds_Cat]

What is the difference between the Ancient species and the current Agathis Dave? Is it a different Genus?

[Dave W]

I probably misstated that. AFAIK the ancient kauris (from the species found in Australia and New Zealand) are the same species as the current ones. They're good quality softwoods.

What I was talking about is the agathis used in Squier and other entry level guitars. They may or may not be real agathis, and even when they are, it's from lesser quality agathis species found in places like the Philippines and Borneo.

It's sort of like the situation with real mahogany and other species that just look like it.

[Freuds_Cat]

Yep I know what you mean.  I think there are 3 or 4 different species of Kauri pine native to Australia alone. let alone the East Indies and the Pacific.