Torrefied Tops

[WeFixFlats]

Here's a interview that explains this process:

https://reverb.com/news/are-torrefi...ail&utm_term=0_5889ed6702-bdf1ca49e7-56166953

 

[László]

There is always a price to pay when screwing around with Mother Nature:

"The main disadvantage is that the strength is decreased as a result of the high temperatures. In general the bending strength is reduced up to 30% with more reduction at higher temperatures. [5]"

--- International Association of Wood Products Societies (IAWPS)

I'll take my guitar woods naturally dried/aged, thanks. My Tonare Grand sounds better than any of my friends' 50 year old guitars, anyway.

Not that I'll be around another 50 years, but I'm happy with the tone of what I've got.

 

[Drew]

Roasted maple necks are pretty much the most stable electric guitar neck there is. You can literally go years without a truss rod adjustment. They also need no finish or oil. You can play them raw which is pure heaven. I hope PRS does a run with roasted maple necks.

 

[Drew]

There is always a price to pay when screwing around with Mother Nature:

"The main disadvantage is that the strength is decreased as a result of the high temperatures. In general the bending strength is reduced up to 30% with more reduction at higher temperatures. [5]"

--- International Association of Wood Products Societies (IAWPS)

I'll take my guitar woods naturally dried/aged, thanks. My Tonare Grand sounds better than any of my friends' 50 year old guitars, anyway.

Not that I'll be around another 50 years, but I'm happy with the tone of what I've got.

The above has no impact on guitar building. Basically, the only time you'd see the difference is if you took a guitar neck, placed each end on something, and then stood on the center of it. The unroasted neck would just bow a littler more than the roasted neck before it fractured. But, you never see those kinds of forces in the every day context of guitars so the reduction in elasticity would never remotely come into play.

 

[AP515]

Sorry, not a fan of "Torre-fried" tops. That sounded brittle and thin.

 

[dogrocketp]

The above has no impact on guitar building. Basically, the only time you'd see the difference is if you took a guitar neck, placed each end on something, and then stood on the center of it. The unroasted neck would just bow a littler more than the roasted neck before it fractured. But, you never see those kinds of forces in the every day context of guitars so the reduction in elasticity would never remotely come into play.

I think this would be an issue with the tops more than the necks.

 

[László]

I think this would be an issue with the tops more than the necks.

This, because the tops flex a bit under string tension, and are thin pieces of wood.

Nonetheless, I've had acoustic guitars with all manner of materials, from spruce and cedar to carbon fiber, and I wouldn't discourage anyone from trying out whatever they feel will work best for them!

After many years, my favorite combination is un-torrefied maple body and neck, with Adirondack spruce, and I'm sticking with that for the foreseeable future.