AudioCircle
Industry Circles => Salk Signature Sound => Topic started by: jsalk on 15 Mar 2009, 02:21 am
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After getting a few requests, we decided to try building a pair of SongTowers using bamboo plywood. Here in Michigan, a 4' x 8' sheet costs about 10 times as much as 3/4" MDF. But it is strong, machines well, does not require veneering and looks very attractive. What's more, bamboo is actually a grass and is totally renewable.
While bamboo can be dyed almost any color imaginable, we decided to simply go with the natural color on this pair. And since the baffles on a standard pair of SongTowers is MDF, we decided to go totally bamboo and did a top to bottom front baffle in it as well.
Here are some pictures...
(http://www.salksound.com/gallery/songtower/st-bamboo.jpg)
and a close-up...
(http://www.salksound.com/gallery/songtower/st-bamboo-cu.jpg)
We really liked working with bamboo and will probably build quite a few more pairs over the coming months. It is more expensive, but we can still manage to produce them for $1995 per pair with any color dye finish at no additional cost.
This particular pair will be for sale and placed on the "Available for Immediate Delivery" board late this coming week.
- Jim
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Those look fantastic!
:drool:
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Those look very clean.
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Those are very nice. Did you experience any splintering with the bamboo veneer? I've heard the veneer can be difficult to work with.
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The front baffle looks great :thumb:
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Looks very nice Jim.
What are some of the dye colors that you think would work well?
Did you ever try any dyes? If so, can you post what they look like?
George
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Those are very nice. Did you experience any splintering with the bamboo veneer? I've heard the veneer can be difficult to work with.
I think its just bamboo ply, no veneer other than the bonded outer layer. Nice looking for modern and Asian decors as well as others. Great to have choices, no?
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Whoa. If Michigan's economy hadn't completely tanked and taken with it all my Michigan bank stock, I would order a pair. I love the completely clean look, and the contrasting black of the drivers and the thin black border between the baffle and cabinet are outstanding. Does the bamboo do better than the mdf in the knuckle test?
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Wow, those look fantastic, Jim. Kudos to you and your team. Now stop giving me reasons to spend more money! :D
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This one has to be one of the cleanest and classiest looking speakers! Great job, Jim! Would love to see some hi-rez pics of the baffle.
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I think its just bamboo ply, no veneer other than the bonded outer layer. Nice looking for modern and Asian decors as well as others. Great to have choices, no?
There are a growing number of colours and styles of bamboo plywood -- this enables a wide range of aesthetics. The "plyboo" that we have used is actually laminated blocks with a skin of bamboo on each side. With a little care & attention you can take advantage of the structure. The "marquetry" on these cabinets is actually just exposed end-grain.
(http://homepage.mac.com/tlinespeakers/FAL/images/bambooPAWO-collage.jpg)
IMO bamboo makes a MUCH better cabinet than MDF, and is worth the extra cost regardless of the gourgeous aesthetics.
dave
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I love the look Jim. Shoot, if I had those in - you might have never seen em' back. :lol: :thumb:
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:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
Those look great, Jim!!!!
Very nice job. I'm also interested in seeing what they dyed bamboo looks like. Did you have enough scrap to try out some samples? If so, please post some pics. Have you noticed any sonic differences?
Again, very nice job.
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Very cool, I have been following the bamboo ply market closely, as I desire to build OB speakers with this material in time.
I personally really like the look of these speakers Jim built, as there is no added baffle - to me that looks odd in some of the other designs, so to see this one with a one piece front, all in the same material, looks cleaner and more coherent.
Beautiful work as always from the Salk family workshop!
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Very nice Jim. I expect it will become a regular request for the Song Towers.
I've been thinking of a couple of style variants. One was similar to the single drivers posted above with a partial baffle of either black walnut or bamboo with a deep walnut dye.
Another (assuming you can mask the dye well) is to mask off stringers then dye the speaker a deep walnut, leaving natural colored stringers. Vertical ones would probably look the best upon close inspection, given the direction of the ply.
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Jim, As always, beautiful work. I hope you don't mind me posting in your circle (feel free to remove if inappropriate) but I too have recently tried a little work with Bamboo. Not the easiest stuff to work with but I do like the looks. Here is a Purity L/P preamp I recently completed in Bamboo.
(http://www.bellaextreme.com/Purity-LP-2.gif)
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Jim,
excellent work! Love the full front baffle look. Wondering just as Dennis is, are they a more solid cabinet, any differences over the MDF?
Thanks,
Brandon
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I like the look of the drivers against the light baffle, the whole unadorned look suits me fine. The CA15s seem more stylish looking or something? Maybe that's why I went for the plain anodized baffle for my RTs.
Jim - I would be interested to see some stain samples. Have you played around and done a few we might have a look at?
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Nice looking speakers Jim. :thumb:
My wife selected bamboo over hardwood when she replaced the floors in the entry way and dinning room.
(http://www.audiocircle.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10035/IMG_2794_%283%29.JPG)
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Jim, As always, beautiful work. I hope you don't mind me posting in your circle (feel free to remove if inappropriate) but I too have recently tried a little work with Bamboo. Not the easiest stuff to work with but I do like the looks. Here is a Purity L/P preamp I recently completed in Bamboo.
(http://www.bellaextreme.com/Purity-LP-2.gif)
Bill,
While you did a nice job on the unit, my personal preference would be to add a dye to the bamboo or maybe some nice accents for some color. Having it all big one block of bamboo just is a little too plain.
Again, just my opinion.
George
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Having it all big one block of bamboo just is a little too plain.
I agree George.
The way the bamboo is cut makes a huge difference in the look.
Our floors were cut so that the rings of the bamboo plant show which adds character.
The rings appear as spots in the picture above.
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:rock: :rock: :rock: :rock:
I'm expecting delivery of my Songtower on St pats day.
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Jim, those are the best STs yet!!! Makes me wish I didn't buy a pair this year already. Absolutely love those.
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Nice looking speakers Jim. :thumb:
My wife selected bamboo over hardwood when she replaced the floors in the entry way and dinning room.
(http://www.audiocircle.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10035/IMG_2794_%283%29.JPG)
Wow, that looks really nice. Your wife has good taste. :)
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Having it all big one block of bamboo just is a little too plain.
I agree George.
The way the bamboo is cut makes a huge difference in the look.
Our floors were cut so that the rings of the bamboo plant show which adds character.
The rings appear as spots in the picture above.
I like your floor Jeff.
I am thinking of going with bamboo for our master suite.
It might be my summer project.
George
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Having it all big one block of bamboo just is a little too plain.
I agree as well. I do not want to turn Jim's thread into a discussion about another product so I will start a new thread in my circle.
I have visited every thread Jim starts about another one of his masterpieces and have built a few products to match his speakers (mutual customers). Here is a preamp that was built to match a pair Jim's HT3 speakers.
(http://www.bellaextreme.com/Purity-1.gif)
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Jeff's floor looks even better "in person". 8)
Nice speakers Jim....good job once again....a nice "clean" look.... :beer:
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Wow, the Bamboo SongTowers look really nice. I agree with Brandon about the full front baffle - excellent, clean design :D
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Kudos to everyone who's using bamboo. :angel: Besides being attractive, it's more renewable, sustainable and environment-friendly than hardwoods.
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The bamboo obviously doesn't have a deep grain to it (not saying that is bad). Do you think staining them a darker color will bring out the grain that is there or do you think it will just all and all be a darker speaker and likely cover up the little bit of grain that it has?
Looking at getting some SongTowers soon and really like the idea of using bamboo but I like something more along the line of cherry or rosewood for color.
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The bamboo obviously doesn't have a deep grain to it (not saying that is bad). Do you think staining them a darker color will bring out the grain that is there or do you think it will just all and all be a darker speaker and likely cover up the little bit of grain that it has?
Looking at getting some SongTowers soon and really like the idea of using bamboo but I like something more along the line of cherry or rosewood for color.
We use transparent aniline dyes which a very transparent. Obviously, the darker you make the cabinets, the less grain will show. But it can still be fairly dark while maintaining the grain.
I am going to shoot some colors on a sample of bamboo in the next day or so and will post pictures of the results.
- Jim
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Jim,
What was the verdict on the bamboo cabinet in terms of how solid it is compared to the MDF ones and was there any noticeable sonic difference at all?
Just wondering,
Thanks,
Brandon
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This Song Tower design is secksy time!!! :drool:
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Well, I thought I'd bump this one back to the top. There has been some recent discussion elswhere on bamboo cabinets so I thought some newbies to this site might not know that this version exist.
Also to remind Jim about posting some stained bamboo samples. I would be interested to see how bamboo looks in that recent walnut color for those HT2's that look so great.
Also waiting to see if Jim feels there is any value to the sound using bamboo.
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Can the bamboo speakers be finished like the other speakers? Meaning your choice of veneer and such? I can see how people would be attracted to the idea of speakers being constructed from bamboo but not necessarily like the stock look.
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Can the bamboo speakers be finished like the other speakers? Meaning your choice of veneer and such? I can see how people would be attracted to the idea of speakers being constructed from bamboo but not necessarily like the stock look.
Sure, you can veneer right over the top of bamboo. It gets a little costly to do it that way, but it certainly can be done.
By the way, I have two colors shot over a sample of bamboo now. I hope to shoot a few more colors this week and then post the results. Stay tuned...
- Jim
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I am the lucky owner of the Bamboo and I can tell you that they are way better looking than the pics !!! What a good job , Jim !!!
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I am the lucky owner of the Bamboo and I can tell you that they are way better looking than the pics !!! What a good job , Jim !!!
Lucky Dog!!! :green:
Got any pics?
Congrats!
Jerry
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I am the lucky owner of the Bamboo and I can tell you that they are way better looking than the pics !!! What a good job , Jim !!!
Hey, welcome to Audiocircle. :thumb: Ya'know this would have been 1 awesome 1st post had you included pictures. 8)
Cheers,
Robin
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I'm gonna try to post the pictures on the week-end ...
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I am the lucky owner of the Bamboo and I can tell you that they are way better looking than the pics !!! What a good job , Jim !!!
Yes, please post pics! I was hoping the owner of those bamboo ST's would show up and post pics. I placed an order last week with a natural bamboo finish; no dye. I've been debating whether to do any gloss finish. I most likely will stick with a satin finish. So I'm glad to hear that they look even better than the pics!
--Doug
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What is the thickness of the bamboo vs. MDF on the SongTower cabinets? Is it a full inch instead of 3/4"?
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What is the thickness of the bamboo vs. MDF on the SongTower cabinets? Is it a full inch instead of 3/4"?
It is 3/4" - the same.
As for 1", we could certainly do SongTowers in 1" MDF. The cabinets would, however, be deeper to make up for the lost internal volume. To do 1" bamboo, we would have to laminate two 1/2" pieces as it does not come in 1" thicknesses.
- Jim
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Just a little problem , I don't know how to load pics in the message...
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Just a little problem , I don't know how to load pics in the message...
you can set up a personal gallery here on a/c; you can load your pics to the gallery, and then load them from there into your message...
doug s.
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Just a little problem , I don't know how to load pics in the message...
you can set up a personal gallery here on a/c; you can load your pics to the gallery, and then load them from there into your message...
doug s.
Read this.... (http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=40968.0)... :thumb:
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Here are the pics ...
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=19124)
http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=19125
http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=19126
http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=19128
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:thumb: Nice. those bamboo STs look great! :thumb:
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Those look amazing - congrats!
So, how do they sound?
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Just one word : WOW
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Just one word : WOW
Thanks for posting pics! You have a nice setup. And the bamboo ST's look great.
I recently ordered bamboo HT3's. And as I mentioned earlier, I've been trying to decide whether to have them finished with any gloss. My HT3's are going to replace my ST's in my dual use HT/2CH setup. So while the hand rubbed gloss looks terrific (like Nuance's and Funkmonkey's), I'd prefer not to have a mirrored finish near my TV. OTOH, I didn't want a completely matte finish that has no luster. It was hard to tell from Jim's picture. So I was considering having Jim spray on some clear lacquer. But from your pictures, in particular the 3rd link, the standard satin finish looks terrific too as I do see some shine on each speaker from the flash.
Thanks again and enjoy the ST's,
Doug
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Bamboo HT3s Huh? :o :thumb: sounds pretty cool, can't wait to see how they turn out. :green:
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Just one word : WOW
That honestly sums it up well. Enjoy brother, and welcome to the family.
Bamboo HT3s Huh? :o :thumb: sounds pretty cool, can't wait to see how they turn out. :green:
+1 Sweet!
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Bamboo HT3s Huh? :o :thumb: sounds pretty cool, can't wait to see how they turn out. :green:
I can't wait either! :D
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After one week , I must add Wow , Wow and Wow... :thumb:
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Damn, those songtowers look fine in your system.
Bob
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Hey Jim,
When you get a chance, it would be great to see a picture of the bamboo board you've been painting with different stains. :drool:
Thanks again for your time this past weekend at AK Fest. It was a real joy talking with you and checking out your gear. If you recall, I was eyeing the HT2-TLs vs the STs. I love them both but definitely liked the HT2-TLs more and could see getting them if I get the right space in my house. I mentioned I was moving in the fall (to OR) and I'm going to ATTEMPT to hold off my purchase until we buy a house this summer or early fall so I know exactly what I'm dealing with. Until then, I'm going to keep reading, thinking, and checking out finishes and I'm leaning heavily towards bamboo and would LOVE to see ye ol' stick!
Earthbound, it was great to meet you. Enjoy your new babes when they show up. I'm jealous!
Mike
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Earthbound, it was great to meet you. Enjoy your new babes when they show up. I'm jealous!
I enjoyed your company too. And I'm jealous of those who already have their 2TLs!
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I have a couple of questions about the bamboo SongTowers. Do these have the same magnetic grills as the standard SongTowers? Also, what is the price of the bamboo SongCenter?
I got my first and second auditions of Salk speakers last weekend. The HT1 and SongTower (standard tweeter), and I'm very impressed. Much thanks to fsimms and his friend Raj for allowing me into their homes!
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I have a couple of questions about the bamboo SongTowers. Do these have the same magnetic grills as the standard SongTowers? Also, what is the price of the bamboo SongCenter?
I got my first and second auditions of Salk speakers last weekend. The HT1 and SongTower (standard tweeter), and I'm very impressed. Much thanks to fsimms and his friend Raj for allowing me into their homes!
ACE -
Yes, same grills as standard SongTowers. A bamboo SongTower would use about $100 worth of bamboo. So the price would be $895 (minus the $50 discount if purchased with SongTowers).
I hope this helps.
- Jim
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ACE -
Yes, same grills as standard SongTowers. A bamboo SongTower would use about $100 worth of bamboo. So the price would be $895 (minus the $50 discount if purchased with SongTowers).
I hope this helps.
- Jim
Thanks! Time to start saving!
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Did those picture samples ever show up? :) I am curious as to how the bamboo reacts to the different dye's.
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Did those picture samples ever show up? :) I am curious as to how the bamboo reacts to the different dye's.
Not as far as I know.