Latest Guthrie Govan Charvel News...

[Superunknown]

For those who are interested, here is the latest on Guthrie's Charvel...


Hello! Guthrie here, with a somewhat boring (but apparently necessary!) update… and a pretty picture ;-)

Well... the guitar I've been using lately has apparently caused something of a stir in certain sectors of the online community, so I figured it might be helpful if I explained what's actually going on.

Just to clear things up:

1) I'm no longer affiliated with Suhr guitars, and Suhr's product range will no longer include a GG signature model. This is really Not A Big Deal: the Suhr guys and yours truly simply reached a point where we couldn't agree on the best way to develop our working relationship. The finer details are of no concern to anyone other than me and the Suhr company, but there's certainly no animosity here: it was a mutual business-related decision, that's all.

Contrary to certain "purple monkey dishwasher" rumours which seem to be in circulation, this has nothing to do with any alleged reliability issues: the Suhr company continues to make consistently world-class instruments, just as it always has done.

2) Just for the record, no company has ever paid me so much as a penny to use their guitars/amps/strings/pedals/whatever. I see no point in working with any gear company unless I have the utmost confidence in the quality of its work… and genuinely feel that its product is helping me in my ongoing quest to make pleasing noises.

3) I don't currently have any guitar endorsement deal, and not every instrument I use in a public place should be presumed to be a signature model. (I'm aware that this contradicts certain assertions you may have read on Wikipedia but… where that particular source of information is concerned, it strikes me that you only get what you pay for!)

4) Having said all of the above... I have recently been working on some ideas with the good people at Charvel Guitars, and the results have been extremely encouraging!

Below, you'll see a picture of the #1 prototype Charvel I used for the Aristocrats' recent European tour. It sounds great, the neck pretty much plays itself and… to my way of thinking, it looks mighty fine, too ;-)

(Koa body, roasted/baked/caramelised maple neck, special Mystery Pickups designed by one of the Fender Custom Shop's "mad scientists", Gotoh 2-post trem with vintage-style saddles and Tremol-No as per usual... No "blower switch", purely because I no longer feel the need for one: presumably my volume pedal chops have improved a little over the last few years?)

Unfortunately, the only current video footage out there seems to be a Greek interview (where I'm playing through a hired 100W Marshall at bedroom volume levels) and a TV broadcast from the Frankfurt Jazz Festival (where the sound guys somehow contrived to add a bizarre and very distracting short delay to the guitar signal) but… soon enough, I'm sure you'll be able to hear this thing properly: its tone has a unique kind of snarl, which I'm liking a lot ;-)

If this guitar evolves into a full-on signature model/endorsement, I'll certainly let you know (and I'm guessing that Charvel might have something to say about it, too!) but at this stage it's just a "Mk1" prototype. Let's just see what happens from here...

In other news… the launch of the live Aristocrats DVD/CD package is just around the corner! Stay tuned - I promise that my next post will be more exciting and less verbose than this one ;-)

Cheers,

GG

 

[Bob Savage]

Is baking Maple only for aesthetics?

 

[Anonymous]

Is baking Maple only for aesthetics?

Stability is the theory...

Steve

 

[Bob Savage]

Is baking Maple only for aesthetics?

Stability is the theory...

Steve

Interesting... Haven't experienced or heard about stability issues with Maple before.

 

[Tone Zone]

Is baking Maple only for aesthetics?

Stability is the theory...

Steve

Interesting... Haven't experienced or heard about stability issues with Maple before.

While maple is known to be quite stable, the baking process stabilizes it even more. So, in the event where one might be traveling with their guitar through different climate changes, the neck stays more stable....instead of needing a truss rod tweak from time to time. In fact, many say it's doesn't move at all for the most part. Also, some believe there is a slight tonal change. With the complete absence of moisture, the neck is able to "ring" more....better transfer of vibrations and so forth.

 

[Bob Savage]

Well, I'm bypassing the baked maple and waiting for either smoked or my all-time favorite, fried.

 

[stratotone]

interesting, that's why I always liked quarter sawn maple necks, more stability.

 

[Bob Savage]

interesting, that's why I always liked quarter sawn maple necks, more stability.

Maple has been used for years by touring musicians so even if baking does add stability it's just icing on the cake, not necessary.

 

[stratotone]

interesting, that's why I always liked quarter sawn maple necks, more stability.

Maple has been used for years by touring musicians so even if baking does add stability it's just icing on the cake, not necessary.

Well sure, I just have to adjust the truss rods on my regular maple necks more than the quarter sawn ones. On guitars that have the adjustment in the heel, it gets to be a bummer since you have to remove the neck.

I always thought the baked maple thing was more cosmetic - it looks kinda like a light rosewood, might hide some streaks/color that a unbaked maple neck might show. I dunno. Gibson is using it in place of rosewood on several models.

 

[tc8849]

Well, I'm bypassing the baked maple and waiting for either smoked or my all-time favorite, fried.

or blacken maybe even lemon peppered

 

[Bob Savage]

Well, I'm bypassing the baked maple and waiting for either smoked or my all-time favorite, fried.

or blacken maybe even lemon peppered

Mmmmmmm... Lemon peppered!

 

[50MkII]

2) Just for the record, no company has ever paid me so much as a penny to use their guitars/amps/strings/pedals/whatever. I see no point in working with any gear company unless I have the utmost confidence in the quality of its work… and genuinely feel that its product is helping me in my ongoing quest to make pleasing noises.

Does this mean that the guitars, pedals, etc. he has used have all been purchased by him out of his pocket and not given to him either free of cost or offered at an artist discount?

interesting, that's why I always liked quarter sawn maple necks, more stability.

Maple has been used for years by touring musicians so even if baking does add stability it's just icing on the cake, not necessary.

Verdict may still be out on that. I have heard that the wood will continue to dry out, possibly cracking in the future and the roasting can damage the grain structure.

Also, some believe there is a slight tonal change. With the complete absence of moisture, the neck is able to "ring" more....better transfer of vibrations and so forth.

Whatever the argument may be, I have tried roasted and non-roasted Suhr similar or identical strats. I found the roasted maple necks to resonate and the vibrations resonate further down the neck to the end of the headstock compared to non-roasted. However, (as of last year) Suhr adds an up charge of $600 for a roasted neck to their dealers is certainly out of line and not worth it IMO.

 

[LWD]

The upcharge for roasted maple from Suhr is $150.00 for regular maple. Its $550.00 for roasted 4A birdseye $850.00 for roasted 5a birdseye.

 

[H Golf Sport]

Superunknown wrote:
2) Just for the record, no company has ever paid me so much as a penny to use their guitars/amps/strings/pedals/whatever. I see no point in working with any gear company unless I have the utmost confidence in the quality of its work… and genuinely feel that its product is helping me in my ongoing quest to make pleasing noises.

Does this mean that the guitars, pedals, etc. he has used have all been purchased by him out of his pocket and not given to him either free of cost or offered at an artist discount?



I believe it means no company has ever paid him to use they're product. I assume he would get a small percentage of every Sig model that was sold however.
I'm sure companies give him all sorts of free gear hoping he will adopt it into his rig and thereby get exposure from it.

 

[50MkII]

The upcharge for roasted maple from Suhr is $150.00 for regular maple. Its $550.00 for roasted 4A birdseye $850.00 for roasted 5a birdseye.

FTR, a Suhr dealer told me that the up charge was $600 the summer of 2011. Where did you get the above info?

 

[Bob Savage]

I couldn't care less whether Guthrie is getting completely free gear, royalties and cash for the endorsement. The gear and integrity of the artist should speak for itself and if people are buying garbage just because artist X is playing it, that's their problem and perhaps the placebo works for them.

Quite frankly, there SHOULD be reciprocal consideration for endorsements.

 

[johnnyjellybean]

Is baking Maple only for aesthetics?

Stability is the theory...

Steve

Interesting... Haven't experienced or heard about stability issues with Maple before.

While maple is known to be quite stable, the baking process stabilizes it even more. So, in the event where one might be traveling with their guitar through different climate changes, the neck stays more stable....instead of needing a truss rod tweak from time to time. In fact, many say it's doesn't move at all for the most part. Also, some believe there is a slight tonal change. With the complete absence of moisture, the neck is able to "ring" more....better transfer of vibrations and so forth.

That's a lot of bull since the wood will re-absorb moisture unless it is completely sealed. Gibson was the 1st company to cook maple and
did it to get it to look like mahogany and nothing more. It was at the time they had been busted by the ATF and had no rosewood. Purely aesthetic

 

[rupe]

Is baking Maple only for aesthetics?

Stability is the theory...

Steve

Interesting... Haven't experienced or heard about stability issues with Maple before.

While maple is known to be quite stable, the baking process stabilizes it even more. So, in the event where one might be traveling with their guitar through different climate changes, the neck stays more stable....instead of needing a truss rod tweak from time to time. In fact, many say it's doesn't move at all for the most part. Also, some believe there is a slight tonal change. With the complete absence of moisture, the neck is able to "ring" more....better transfer of vibrations and so forth.

That's a lot of bull since the wood will re-absorb moisture unless it is completely sealed. Gibson was the 1st company to cook maple and
did it to get it to look like mahogany and nothing more. It was at the time they had been busted by the ATF and had no rosewood. Purely aesthetic

According to Charvel, it "locks" the moisture content at about 15% and won't dry out any further, nor will it absorb any more moisture. This theoretically has something to do with what the baking process does to the cellular structure of the wood. Not sure how true that is, but its what they claim.

 

[Bob Savage]

According to Charvel, it "locks" the moisture content at about 15% and won't dry out any further, nor will it absorb any more moisture. This theoretically has something to do with what the baking process does to the cellular structure of the wood. Not sure how true that is, but its what they claim.

There seems to be a number of theories about what it does including the assertion that it causes the carmelization of sugars/sap which somehow makes it more stable and slows the moisture exchange.

An interesting article: http://www.torrefactionplus.ca/home.php

 

[LWD]

Those prices came from the Suhr price list when it was still up. I ordered one with 4A roasted birdseye in late 2011, got it earlier this year, and the list upcharge was $550.00.