Roasted maple

[ilan]

I have just heard about this today. Musicman and Sadowsky offer it. What do you think?

I'd like to see a Rickenbacker in roasted birdseye maple - the whole guitar is maple, should be stunning.



Sadowsky:

[dadagoboi]

File it with the rest of the roasted nuts.

[Pilgrim]

IIRC, the gunstocks on early rifles were often wrapped in string with acid to impart surface burns to the wood, giving it a "flamed stripe" appearance.  I believe I have heard of an alternate method of wrapping and burning the string to add the "flame" striping.

I don't doubt that heating causes some changes in the wood.  Whether those benefit its acoustic qualities, I can't say.

[uwe]

The fungus sure won't like it.

[TBird1958]

I was reading a thread on TB about it a week or two back..........The rabid EBMM syncophants over there crack me up, personally I think it's crock, but then again I can't stand anything from Leo Fender so.............. 

[Hornisse]

Say it isn't so Herr Fräulein!!    

My old Pre-EB Stingray Bass had a naturally "roasted" neck done by human hands!

[Pilgrim]

I was reading a thread on TB about it a week or two back..........The rabid EBMM syncophants over there crack me up, personally I think it's crock, but then again I can't stand anything from Leo Fender so.............. 

I might have the exception to that, Mark....my old '63 P.  It's a sweetheart.  But if not, it's OK...I don't mind.  Your T-Bird fixation takes priority!

[dadagoboi]

but then again I can't stand anything from Leo Fender so.............. 

If it wasn't for Leo we'd all be playing short scale badly intonated EBs.

A lot more technology was borrowed by Gibson from Fender than Fender from Gibson.  Not to mention the innovations at MM and G&L.  I'm talking when Leo ran those companies, not their latter day corporate incarnations.

[TBird1958]

Just my .02 guys, funny thing is I've owned 3 Fenders, (2 J's and a P) and a pre EB 'Ray just like Robert's as well a Sabre............None of them did "it" for me for various reasons, nowadays I just don't even bother with it, if it  isn't a Thunderbird I'm probably not interested.
I know lots of guys really like Leo Fender's work ( I have no problem with what anybody likes ) but conventionally shaped basses just aren't for me and the whole Fender "vibe" just goes right on by me now.
One look at Uwe's collection should put any doubts about bass innovation to rest, Gibson continually tried new things with very little commonality of essential parts ( i.e. pickups) between the designs ( commercial sucess aside) and from that view point I know what company was the real innovator. Neither Fender, EBMM G&L have done much real "innovation" of any kind recently, Gibson either, but look back to the '60s thru the '80's, it isn't even a contest. 





     

[Hornisse]

Quite well put Fräulein! 

BTW, did you notice Bass NW has a black 'Bird in their used section?

http://www.bassnw.com/Used%20Basses/gibson_1979_thunderbird_72719092.htm

Kind of pricey, but it is a '79.

[TBird1958]

Nice!

But I've got a '77 that the good Mr '69 Vette (Old man C) sold me a couple years back so I'll leave to someone else, if anyone wants I can go check it out. Prices seem up a bit.

[birdie]

Saying Leo was not innovative is unfair I think.  He was in fact SO innovative that he was credited (wrongly) with inventing the electric bass
I personally think he was one of the great innovators when it comes to electric instruments and making them practical and and affordable. And as so far as "traditional" shapes go, yes F%^$#R basses ARE traditional-now, 60 years on!!!!! Cheers!

[TBird1958]

Don't get me wrong I didn't say that L.F.'s work wasn't innovative, or that it's bad in any way.
I'm just not on the Fender (or progeny) bandwagon, never have been, but I as I mentioned I gave 3 of them a try and they just didn't work for me for various reasons. As shapes go Gibson's are every bit as "classic" as Fenders and both companies suffer from that - Who wants to see a "new" bass from Fender?  Can you imagine Fender loyalists trying to get their minds  around a Bongo, much less a "Big Al"?

[Dave W]

Back to roasted maple: color me skeptical.

[dadagoboi]

I personally think he was one of the great innovators when it comes to electric instruments and making them practical and and affordable. And as so far as "traditional" shapes go, yes F%^$#R basses ARE traditional-now, 60 years on!!!!! Cheers!

Yep.  Let's remember the Thunderbird was in large part an attempt to make inroads into Fender's tremendous success with the P and J.  Up to that point Gibsons, except for the original EB, were exact copies of guitar bodies with primitive bridges and pups.