| Author | Message | ||
| jure_the_second
New Username: jure_the_second Post Number: 9 Registered: 9-2002 |
Hi. I'm just curious. Could you desribe, what procedure does Alembic have with wood parts that will eventually become a part of a bass or guitar? - what is the minimum aging time of the piece? - what are the conditions of aging (temperature, humidity...) - does age affect the price? - are there different conditions regarding the type of wood(maple, walnut, cocobolo...)? I know it takes a long time to answer, so please, take your time. I just think it would be interesting to find out more about this. Thanks | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 858 Registered: 6-2000 |
Firstly we are extremely picky about the wood we buy. With very few exceptions, we purchase the "pick of the litter" meaning we don't buy huge quantities of wood to find one or two nice pieces, we only buy the good stuff. There are minimum moisture requirements that must be met before the wood can be used. Additionally, each component (neck, fingerboard, body, etc) has a different observation schedule. This time is spent to keep the wood in inventory and observe time's affect. Parts that are structural, like the neck, need more time. Tops can be used more quickly, but still have the moisture reading threshhold. Santa Rosa has such nice weather that the humidity doesn't change much at all. The temperature is never that extreme either. We do have an environmental chamber to store some picky woods (like Ebony). Age alone does not affect the price. Aged wood will usually have a slightly higher price to factor in the storage costs, but this is usually minimal compared to the wood itself. Each maker find out what works best for them through experience. I will add more extensive information about woods when I expand the website again. Thanks for your interest. |
