BP, in your quest to find an alternative for wood

[TheBassGuy]

BP, I remember seeing a video some time ago about the Bongo. You said in the video that you were looking for an alternative for wood, but could not find anything that had the same resonance, so the Bongo was also made of wood eventually.

Some time ago I saw a program on TV were someone made guitars out of a new material. He claimed the guitars sounded as good as wood guitars. Yesterday I was looking in a magazine from a local guitar shop, and saw the guitars the guy had been talking about on TV. I checked Youtube and the site, and was pretty much amazed by it. They sound pretty decent. Its called "Aristides Instruments" Aristides Instruments - Homepage .

I was wondering what your opinion on this new material is? Is it comparable to wood, or am I missing something here?

 

[Bart B]

The prices on these are very high, I hope they make a more buget version, if possible. Otherwise I don't think many people will pay for this 'experiment'

and aluminum feels very cold, but I would like to try the bass they're developing actually, to see if it's really as resonant

 

[roburado]

I don't think anyone here can claim that those aluminum guitars aren't metal enough.

 

[danny-79]

Don't no about basses but theres a company called "Rainsong" that are working on carbon fiber acoustics, don't no what there like to comment but look kind of interesting

 

[oddjob]

I asked BP about this a while ago (in reference to how close the Bongo actually got to an alternative material) and he said that it was a discussion for a different day. Could be he was busy or could be something is still being worked on - either way I think it was just cool that he even clued us in at all (am still curious though )

I have no doubt that IF it can be done and done right that BP and company will find a way and let us know THEN.

 

[adouglas]

Interesting.

Seems to me that the real question about alternative materials should not revolve around wood vs. something else for its own sake, but rather around sustainability.

Sustainably grown and harvested wood can, from an environmental standpoint, easily be as good or better than a synthetic material that uses more petroleum, energy and toxic chemicals in its production.

Responsible companies are also making use of wood that would otherwise just rot. IIRC the redwood used for the recent BFRs was like that.

One material I'm really curious about is bamboo. It's starting to crop up quite a bit, in the form of composites (bamboo fibers bound in a resin matrix). Bamboo is very strong and grows really fast.

 

[oddjob]

agree with you Adoug... the fun part will be watching all of the people still caught in the 50's when it comes to a synthetic material or wood outside the norm (remember the "I don't like it because it is basswood and "REAL" basses are made of maple, ash, mahog..." stuff that was flying around here)

 

[Calaveras]

I can be a total wood snob. But then one of my favorite basses has a carbon fiber and wood composite neck.
I totally agree about the sustainability part. It's not more green to make something out of a non-wood material if that means burning tons of coal and using toxic polymers to make it set just right.
There is also, does it sound any better or is it just a gimick? Those aluminum neck basses from the 70-80's SUCK for balance. they sound alright, not good enough for how bad the balance is. Those acrylic basses? Way too heavy! Didt sound so great for how heavy they were.It's kind of funny, there was a rash of experimentation in the 70's-80's with a lot of new materials. Here we are 30 years later and they are still sticking peices of metal in maple/ash/alder/mahogany.

 

[TheBassGuy]

Don't no about basses but theres a company called "Rainsong" that are working on carbon fiber acoustics, don't no what there like to comment but look kind of interesting

I believe Erik Mongrain uses them. They sound pretty big. Amazing how the development on alternative materials goes.

 

[Hellboy]

The one material that I would consider very interesting as a alternative is the laminated compressed bamboo that Emmet Chapman is using these days on some Stick instruments.

www.stick.com - Instruments and Tunings

I have two Stick´s that are made of bamboo and it´s a wonderful material indeed. Rather light and reacts less to humidity changes than normal hardwood.

Another material that seems as a interesting alternative is the material used by finnish guitar company Flaxwood.

Flaxwood - Intro

They say that it´s a "wood based tone material" or "molded wood".... I´ve tried a couple of their guitars and they sound and feel really good actually. Innovative thinking.... Doesn´t react to temperature or humidity changes at all.

Only talking materials here. A Stick is a Stick and I love them. Flaxwood has found a very interesting material but I don´t fancy their guitars. Most players are kind of conservative and most wouldn´t buy too futuristic instruments made out of strange materials...... So caution is called for when/if making basses and guitars out of anything other than regular hardwood.

Sincerely//Jan