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Thread: Pine, what a tone

  1. #26
    Registered User John Bertotti's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pine, what a tone

    As the OP I’ll third the Happy Birthday! December babies have to stick together!
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  3. #27
    harvester of clams Bill McCall's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pine, what a tone

    Eastern hemlock is such a valuable tree that you can walk through reforested areas in the northeast and stumble across massive, old growth hemlock.

    Think about it.
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    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pine, what a tone

    Quote Originally Posted by j. condino View Post
    I have some of that exact board of eastern Hemlock, purchased from Ted Davis back in the day. There seemed to be very poor adhesion between the layers of that wood. It would always split on the latewood- you could practically pull the different grain layers apart with your hands. Beyond that, it seemed to have a nice tap, lightweight, and have a decent radiation ratio.
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  5. #29

    Default Re: Pine, what a tone

    Quote Originally Posted by j. condino View Post
    I have some of that exact board of eastern Hemlock, purchased from Ted Davis back in the day. There seemed to be very poor adhesion between the layers of that wood. It would always split on the latewood- you could practically pull the different grain layers apart with your hands. Beyond that, it seemed to have a nice tap, lightweight, and have a decent radiation ratio.
    Friends had a large, mansionish timberframe home built in Vermont of this wood as it was what the builder could find at the time. I was worried that it would be a mistake since the wood has a reputation for splitting and brittleness in this use. As far as I know, it’s still standing up.

  6. #30
    Registered User Ben Vierra's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pine, what a tone

    Quote Originally Posted by j. condino View Post
    I have some of that exact board of eastern Hemlock, purchased from Ted Davis back in the day. There seemed to be very poor adhesion between the layers of that wood. It would always split on the latewood- you could practically pull the different grain layers apart with your hands. Beyond that, it seemed to have a nice tap, lightweight, and have a decent radiation ratio.
    That's consistent with a statement in the US Department of Agriculture Sylvics Manual entry on eastern hemlock (Tsuga candadensis), "Older trees are susceptible to radial stress cracks and ring shake, particularly in partially cut stands" (https://srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag...canadensis.htm). Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) wood has a (slightly) better reputation and it's possible that MontanaMatt's sill is made from western hemlock.

    Going back to John Bertotti's original question, I remember reading somewhere that French guitarmakers used their local pine successfully especially during the World War II era. I remember reading this originally with regard to Busato, but haven't been able to track down that reference. However, in this interview Jean-Jacques Favino does mention purchasing French Pine for guitarmaking (https://www.favino.com/en/history).

    That being said, I'm not sure how similar French pine would be to eastern white pine and would hesitate to generalize between species. (Did you know that there are ~120 species in the genus Pinus? Lots of diversity of wood characteristics, I'm sure!)

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  8. #31
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    Default Re: Pine, what a tone

    Steve Weill (of Givens Legacy) was making A-5 style mandolins with pine tops as of a few years ago. I was at the University of Idaho Jazz Festival in 2016 or 2017 and he had brought one to play. We played it and compared it to a Collings and a Givens and it was very nice (strong fundamental). Sorry I don't have more detailed memories of the sound. Steve was really excited about pine tops on mandolins. I believe he was using Ponderosa.
    Dan

  9. #32
    Mando accumulator allenhopkins's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pine, what a tone

    Only thing worse than getting old, is not getting old.

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  10. #33
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    Default Re: Pine, what a tone

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill McCall View Post
    Eastern hemlock is such a valuable tree that you can walk through reforested areas in the northeast and stumble across massive, old growth hemlock.

    Think about it.
    Eastern Hemlock was logged for the tanning industry in the 18th and 19th centuries. It also was used for fences and some lumber but it never was desirable.

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