Newfangled materials...

[rjgoos]

I never understood these newfangled materials used to make guitars, for touch/tap style or conventional guitars.

For a while, there were Sticks made of "polycarbonate", but I don't hear much about that material today, has it been replaced with better materials? Was it a strong material? Did the neck need reinforcing?

Now, it seems that "graphite" is the artificial material of choice, not only for Sticks, but guitars in general (I just love the looks of the guitars at www.rainsong.com).

Now, what is this "graphite", besides elemental carbon? Are guitar/Stick necks made of graphite metal reinforced, or is the material rigid enough on its own? Is it just powdered graphite in a binder?

Just curious.

RJ Goos

[Thornmoon]

Here's something I pulled off the Status website:

Carbon fibre is one of the latest reinforcement materials used in composites. It's a real hi-tech material, which provides very good structural properties, better than those of any metal, not to mention plastics! Originally, it was developed for use in space technology. Later on carbon fibre was introduced for use in everyday articles and purposes where extraordinary high performance was needed, such as sports equipment (tennis racquets, golf clubs, fishing rods, skis, etc), racing cars, boats... etc.

Carbon fibre is produced by the controlled oxidation, carbonisation and graphitisation of carbon-rich organic precursors which are already in fibre form. The most common precursor is polyacrylonitrile (PAN), because it gives the best carbon fibre properties, but fibres can also be made from pitch or cellulose. Variation of the graphitisation process produces either high strength fibres (@ ~2,600°C) or high modulus fibres (@ ~3,000°C) with other types in between. Once formed, the carbon fibre has a surface treatment applied to improve matrix bonding and chemical sizing which serves to protect it during handling.


Personally, I prefer good 'ol wood...

[vsteele]

I think that says it!!

I have played a couple of synthetic material instruments instruments and found that they did not have the tonality of good ol' wood. The feel of the graphite neck basses that I played were very rigid and unforgiving. I also heard that the graphite necks were extremely temperature sensative and had to have the intonation tweaked with temp change (although I never had this problem). I do have to say that I played a modulus graphite neck bass that was incredible. For a graphite neck instrument it had very sweet tone (may have been caused by the body wood and electronics). But I would expect that from Modulus.

Just my two cents worth,

V

[rjgoos]

Well, what got me thinking about these artificial materials was, believe it or not, a ukulele site, which has some very detailed information on the properties of woods as related to necks:

www.ukuleles.com/Technology/neck.html

What blew me away was that the Young's modulus for graphite was about 5-10 times higher (5-10 times more rigid) than most of the woods we are familiar with.

That site has some other interesting pages on woods:

www.ukuleles.com/Technology/woodprop.html

It took me back to the days of the Nixon Administration, when I, for a couple semesters, tried to become an engineer.

RJ Goos

[traktor]

Ukulele chord charts ...
http://www.brookadams.com/jumping%20flea/simpleChords.html

Tiny, animated ukulele players ...
http://rockthatuke.com

World's greatest ukulele weblog ...
http://www.ukulelia.com/

Flaming Ukulele Radio Hour ...
http://www.ezfolk.com/uke/ujradio/index.html

[bows]
[exits, stage right]

[traktor]

Jersey Ray knows quite a bit about polycarbonate and graphite, I think.

Jersey Ray? You there?

[rjgoos]

Hey, I love the uke!! It is an unpretentious instrument, easy on the fingers, gentle on the ear. Paul McCartney said that George Harrison kept a few ukes at his place, and sometimes when they would get together, and George wanted to try out a few things with Paul, they would get out the ukes.

My mom took one with her to college in the 1940s. Years later, she would play it around the campfire when we were camping in Montana, when I was young. She taught me the basic chords when I was six or seven, and I played the uke until my hands were big enough for a guitar. I wrote my first song on the uke. I still have the same instrument.

Sorry to blog on.

Yes, I, too would enjoy hearing from master tap guitar chemist, Jersey Ray, for a primer on these newfangled materials.

RJ Goos

[Jersey Ray]

I am just a simple chemist, but I'll say that polycarbonate is a polymer, like a very hard plastic (also used for eyeglass lenses, among other things) while graphite is a form of carbon, element #12. Graphite has almost metallic properties when its formed into rigid structures. How exactly they do that, I don't know but I think it involves using another resin to hold it together. To find out omore, you should consult a real expert!

Keep in mind that all of these materials (just like wood itself) can vary greatly depending on who is making it and for what purpose. There are all kinds of polycarbonate resins, and graphite composites depending on the application.

[rjgoos]

traktor wrote:

Flaming Ukulele Radio Hour ...

http://www.ezfolk.com/uke/ujradio/index.html


Boy, Traktor, that is some hard core uke music!!! Those guys are totally unashamed.

Just copy the following URL, open Real Player, and paste it into the "location" bar, and hit return...you'll see what I mean.

http://www.ezfolk.com/uke/playlist/furh-05.m3u


RJ Goos
(writing from his little grass shack in North Dakota)

[Consul]

There is one other advantage to graphite instruments over wood: immunity to humidity effects.

I live in Colorado, where the extremely dry air has pretty much destroyed the playability of my Seagull acoustic guitar. A graphite guitar would be unaffected by humidity.

I wonder if this feature is worth $2,700 though.

For my first touch guitar purchase, I actually have my eyes on a graphite Stick for exactly this reason.

[rjgoos]

I know, Consul, we have a brutal climate up here in North Dakota, too...not as dry or hot as Colorado, but we also have the problem of temperature swings of transporting instruments from a warm home, through -25 weather, to the place of a gig. It is hard on guitars, especially my wife's classical guitar. I've always lusted after a Rain Song guitar for that reason. But just like you said...is a graphite instrument worth the extra money? I don't know.


RJ Goos

[Consul]

I think my answer to that one would be "no", unless there's something unique about the sound of graphite that makes them desirable for that reason.

If precautions are taken, it's not difficult to keep an instrument humidified. I just never took those precautions with the Seagull, and I paid for it. Of course, the Seagull cost me all of $175, so I'm not that heartbroken over it. Plus, it's still playable to a degree.

I'm still undecided on if I want a graphite Stick. I like how they look, and the immunity to climate is a nice bonus, but that's about all it has going for it. My original plan is for a 10-string purpleheart model (with the PASV-4 pickup in case you're curious).

[rjgoos]

Consul wrote:

>I'm still undecided on if I want a graphite Stick. I like how they look, and the immunity to climate is a nice bonus, but that's about all it has going for it. My original plan is for a 10-string purpleheart model (with the PASV-4 pickup in case you're curious).<


My Stick is non-laminated rosewood, and it already seems pretty impervious to weather....I only need to tune every couple weeks. We don't have the summer dryness that you have in Colorado, but we have winter dryness that is inconceivable to anyone who has not lived in a very cold climate. The water content of air outdoors at -20 to -30 F is at least as dry as the air in the Arizona desert in July, and any humidity inside of the house, freezes hard to the windows. For all of that, my Stick is a more stable unit than my guitars. My wife's classical guitar is the worst, I swear it changes dimensions with every weather front that passes.

RJ Goos

[Consul]

Thanks for that. I think that seals the decision for me. Purpleheart Stick it is! Unless I decide to go for that Trey Gunn Series Warr guitar...