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09 R9 specs are out...should R9 03 Braz prices go up?

Zoomer

Active member
Joined
Feb 1, 2005
Messages
2,357
Actually, nevermind. I just looked at the COA of my '08 R6 and it too has the 50th anniversary on the back.

COA.jpg

New Golden Age !! In Prism Tape !! Love it !! :applaude
 

MRTONEMAN

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Mar 6, 2006
Messages
778
20 year old brazilian is far from the old growth used in the 50's - It is generally considered sapwood at this age and is very light with colors light white to tan color. As the tree gets older the outer growth gets the nice dark brown color which is needed for Gibson fingerboards and much more time for acoustic guitar sizes. As hard as it is to believe the reason brazilian rosewood is so depleted is not because of guitars but most of it went to the perfume industry.

You are taking me out of of context. I never said to use 20 year old trees.

You also say often, of the myth of Air Dried wood used in 50's Les Pauls. Yet Gibson installed Kilns in the 1940's.

Here is what is said about that in the Vintage-Section by someone who is extremely knowledgeable regarding Bursts.:
http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/s...5&highlight=gibson+installed+kilns#post920595
 

55Custom

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Sep 5, 2003
Messages
6,251
Now that the R9 09 specs are out and it doesn't include Brazilian should the 03 R9 Brazilian prices go up? Remember supply and demand.

Seems that there are a few people that are disappointed that 09 R9's didn't include Braz.

Gibson already stated in 2003 that No more Brazilian rosewood would be used. As promised and predicted, Brazilian never showed up again. That's why the 2003 Historics have already been going up in value. So nothing has changed.
 

96 lppp

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Mar 2, 2005
Messages
774
I've seen some of those. The grain is actually doing circles! What a disgrace.

Disgrace? Grain doing circles makes you dizzy ? I like my figured braz wood. I never tire of looking at it. :foghorn
 

96 lppp

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Mar 2, 2005
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There's always been folklore myth about how old the trees were to build the 50's Les Pauls.
That might not be the case. Even if it was, it still might be possible to harvest younger trees,
since its only for the fingerboards. Even if younger, it can't be any worse than stumpwood Braz on many of the '03's.

:foghorn I had a few people knocking down my door and offering me way more than my reissue was worth , every owners dream, to rid me of the "horrible stumpwood Braz". The figured, aromatic scented , slick feeling fingerboard wood was no good then ? The rich man that bought my reissue thought it was good wood.:rip
 

marasurf

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Apr 8, 2006
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Disgrace? Grain doing circles makes you dizzy ? I like my figured braz wood. I never tire of looking at it. :foghorn

+1. Have heard people make comments about the '03 curly boards not being correct and not having the same tone as straight grained brazilian but I love my curly wavy braz board!!!
 

J.D.

Well-known member
Joined
May 24, 2006
Messages
10,030
Disgrace? Grain doing circles makes you dizzy ? I like my figured braz wood. I never tire of looking at it. :foghorn

+1 and I've seen *plenty* of old Gibsons with less than straight, quartersawn fretboards :ganz
 

pinefd

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Jan 22, 2004
Messages
3,060
...it still might be possible to harvest younger trees,
since its only for the fingerboards. Even if younger, it can't be any worse than stumpwood Braz on many of the '03's.

My understanding, however, is that the younger the tree, the lighter colored the wood. In its younger stages the tree's wood starts off as a light tan color, and darkens with age. So theoretically you could get a fingerboard out of a young tree, but it wouldn't be the nice, dark, rich brown and orange that we normally associate with Braz.
 

DANELECTRO

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Joined
Feb 24, 2003
Messages
6,318
My understanding, however, is that the younger the tree, the lighter colored the wood. In its younger stages the tree's wood starts off as a light tan color, and darkens with age. So theoretically you could get a fingerboard out of a young tree, but it wouldn't be the nice, dark, rich brown and orange that we normally associate with Braz.

My '57 Junior has some of that "young" Brazilian
GibsonLesPaul57Junior7-3251120.jpg
 

symon

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Joined
Aug 7, 2003
Messages
1,457
That must be what they use for these guitars: :lol

Round_Fingerboard.jpg

..... You and I are officially now enemies... doing that to an Ibanez Roadstar!! Some of the best guitars ever built!

...wait...the neck... It's growing (on me)....I WANT ONE!!!
 

MRTONEMAN

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Mar 6, 2006
Messages
778
^^^^
Zoomer thanks for the info and the link.:salude
Yes Kiln drying is a refined process today, but the concept is still there from the 1940's.
Personally, I believe, and many others do to, that all the true old growth wood was gone by WWII.
With Kilns being implemented by Gibson in the 1940's and the fact that we are discussing SOLID body guitars,
I think we are both splitting hairs. ... take care :)

EDIT: ... your post above somehow disappeared.
 

S. Weiger

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 25, 2002
Messages
1,744
BRW is nothing....

there is NO differnce in tone AT ALL.....

Maybe not to you. But if someone thinks his BRW R9 has THE tone, some of that magic MIGHT come from the braz board.
Anyway, braz is what Gibson used in the old days, and if one likes OLD SPECS on his HISTORIC (-remember, this is the Historic District- ) , then I don't think you should invalidate it with such a categoric statement.
 

Tim

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Joined
Jul 15, 2001
Messages
1,860
One nice thing about BRW is the feel. It has a waxier feel than other woods.
 
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