Huon Pine

[needsmorecowbel]

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"Originally Posted on:"Tue Jun 08, 2010 12:18 am""

I have recently acquired some Huon Pine at great expense...Has anyone in the forums had experience with the use of this timber/ wood as a tone wood? If so does it function well? I understand it has good density to weight ratio. I guess the only way to find out if it will make a good electric guitar body is to make the guitar...

[Nick]

Use the search function at the top Stuart & I think you'll find one or two references to Huon that could answer your question. Wink
Here's one to get you started
viewtopic.php?t=2753

[graham mcdonald]

It works fine for electric guitar bodies. Then again almost anything does

(ducks quickly as the outraged electric guitar makers respond)

[Nick]

Graham McDonald wrote:
It works fine for electric guitar bodies. Then again almost anything does Very Happy

(ducks quickly as the outraged electric guitar makers respond)

A company called "Vester" marketed a range of electrics some years ago that were made from plywood so anythings possible
I'd say as long as the wood doesn't have a tendancy to split or warp drastically, your initial statement would hold true Graham.

[Pete Brown]

Graham McDonald wrote:
It works fine for electric guitar bodies. Then again almost anything does

(ducks quickly as the outraged electric guitar makers respond)

We're a tolerant lot here Graham, but try making that statement on the Les Paul Forum!

[MattB]

Nick O wrote:
A company called "Vester" marketed a range of electrics some years ago that were made from plywood so anythings possible
I'd say as long as the wood doesn't have a tendancy to split or warp drastically, your initial statement would hold true Graham.

Vester and many many others (including Fender (well, Squier))! People do say electrics can be made from just about anything, but plywood is definitely off the list, it's truly terrible. I reckon a lot of companies went under in the 80's because they started releasing cheap plywood shockers (with zero quality control) in greater amounts than their high end models (I'm looking at you, Kramer)...

I'd say Huon pine will be just fine though. Anything really - as long as there's more wood than glue

[SuperDave]

Hi guys,

An interesting thing about Vester is that they were the squashed by Fender for being a 'sound alike' fender and even using the same type font for their logo. I don't think the plywood ones would have been sound alike though =). The law suit was settled out of court with Vester selling all its stock and closing down. Vester has since become a bit of a collectors item for some enthusiasts.

Actually i have a Vester electric and amplifier from my younger days. I'm going to have to sell these when i move overseas at the end of this year which is a shame.

Just an interesting titbit I thought =)

[jeffhigh]

Only seen pics of them but I believe a builder called Stuart Male used to make strats and teles in Huon.

[Kim]

It's interesting that out of all the alleged "Law Suit" guitars out there, both Gibo and Fender knock offs, it is my understanding that not a single one was ever actually involved in a law suit. That is to say not a single case was ever tested by the courts and therefore no "law suit" exists. From my understanding it was more of a "my lawyer will speak with your lawyer" arrangement and who knows what was agreed to......It could have been along the lines of: We have made all this noise about suing ur arse and now as a result, your share price has dropped. How about you stop making the knock offs and we will buy all of your stocks for amount X being $2 a share above the current market. That way your share holders will be back to were they were before all this shit started and all you need to do is agree to make a public statement saying we crushed you with the overwhelming strength of our legal case so noone else gets any bright ideas...waddayasay huh, huh?

[Peter T]

Should all us acoustic builders be worried about C.F Martin and co. knocking on our doors. Does anyone know why this sort of legal action doesn't seem to happen in the acoustic world. There isn't a manufacturer out there who doesn't have a dreadnought, o.m or at least an x brace. Haveing said that I'm quite glad that ideas seem to flow so readily in this game. Giants like Taylor seem glad to share information, right through to weekenders like many of us through this forum. It has help to develope the overall quality in the instruments and therefore interest and demand for them. Imagine if the world of medicine developement worked like this.

Food for thought,
Pete.

[Nick]

SuperDave wrote:
Vester has since become a bit of a collectors item for some enthusiasts.

Ooooohhh. Might have to dig around the back of my wardrobe for my first four string bass, that was a Vester & is buried in there somewhere...I could become that rare animal, a rich luthier

[SuperDave]

.It could have been along the lines of: We have made all this noise about suing ur arse and now as a result, your share price has dropped. How about you stop making the knock offs and we will buy all of your stocks for amount X being $2 a share above the current market. That way your share holders will be back to were they were before all this shit started and all you need to do is agree to make a public statement saying we crushed you with the overwhelming strength of our legal case so noone else gets any bright ideas...waddayasay huh, huh?

hehehe Kim even i would sell off all my stock to you...especially if you were carrying a briefcase =)

There is actually fansites out there for the crushed vester by the big bad companies =)

I'm sure if George Orwell was around in 1994 he would have written a book about it. Probably called 1994? Fender Farm? =)

[joolstacho]

Stuart,
I've done a solid body in Huon (yes, neck too - but it's got a decent carbon spar in it!)
Huon is just so sweet to carve, almost like soft ivory, but it is very soft so as a working guitar it's likely to get dinged rather easily.
In terms of sound I was suprised how good and crisp it sounds, -I'd been expecting a softer, rounder sound. I'd go for it.

[Pete Howlett]

Acoustic litigation:

Oh yes it does! In 1998 I was contacted by the now deceased John Pearse of Breezy Ridge Instruments with a legal threat to cease and desist using the name 'Weissenborn' which he had rather foolishly registered for my well established Hawaiian lap steel guitars. Despite being my guitar hero John was a bit of a megalomaniac, prone to drink and a very bad advertisement for the English abroad. When I phoned around, all builders of Hawaiian lap steels received such a letter. We pretty much ignored him in the knowledge that he wouldn't find anyone foolish enough to go into business with him on the Weissenborn front. The only company that did pretty soon collapsed and I'm not sure if Mary Faith has kept John's registration up to date.

And the moral of the story: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Copying has the symbiotic effect of benefiting everyone. Those who seek to sue are just weak and insecure. I am more than sure that both Collings and Santa Cruz with their interpretation of Martin classic guitars have helped to sell more Martin guitars than any number of Martin's 'signature' artists models.

As another aside I have also had Rickenbacker go after me, but that is another story...

[Lillian]

Reply by "guitarison"

needsmorecowbel wrote:
I have recently acquired some Huon Pine at great expense...Has anyone in the forums had experience with the use of this timber/ wood as a tone wood? If so does it function well? I understand it has good density to weight ratio. I guess the only way to find out if it will make a good electric guitar body is to make the guitar...

try washing some in acetone or something that'll get the oil outta it ...i do it to indian RS and it works a treat!

[sebastiaan56]

I always get eeeny teenie little wasps milling around every time I do anything in Huon Pine, even in July. They are attracted to the smell when freshly cut. Anyone else get these?

[Localele]

They would be male fruit flies who are attracted to the smell of freshly worked Huon Pine. Funniest thing is they get a bit drunk/stoned on the fumes. It's about the only time you would ever know the little buggers exist.

[kiwigeo]

guitarison wrote:


try washing some in acetone or something that'll get the oil outta it ...i do it to indian RS and it works a treat!

Is this really necessary with Huon? The beautiful scent is part of the charm of this wood.

Re washing IRW with acetone...a quick wipe with meths is all that is required and meths is alot less hazardous on your skin than acetone.

Welcome to the forum

Martin

[morgan]

I bought a Vester Strat-style guitar about 10 years ago and absolutely loved it; I played every guitar in the shop (Strats included) and preferred it to them all in both feel and tone (and definitely the price/performance ratio!). I didn't really pay enough attention then to how it was constructed and what materials it was made from, and unfortunately it's now in Ireland and I'm in NZ so I can't check it out. But I'd be really surprised if the body was ply. Great guitar though, would buy it again (mind you it had the electronics modified slightly and it was well setup by the shop before I got it).

[Lillian]

Reply by "Tigermyrtle"

Stuart, You will find Huon pine to be an excellant wood to use for a solid body guitar so easy to carve and work with, if you can afford it use a harder wood, drop top on the front as that is what takes the most wear.
Cheers Tassie,Bob

needsmorecowbel wrote:

I have recently acquired some Huon Pine at great expense...Has anyone in the forums had experience with the use of this timber/ wood as a tone wood? If so does it function well? I understand it has good density to weight ratio. I guess the only way to find out if it will make a good electric guitar body is to make the guitar...

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