[jsalk]

Sebastian originally contacted us about a pair of SongTowers in bamboo.  He sent this photo of the "cherry" color so we could match.



When we dyed the bamboo, it just didn't come out as nice as we had hoped.  Since we were going to start the process all over again, Sebastian decided to change his order to HT2-TL's.

I pointed out that the photo was not cherry, but maple and it was dyed that color.  I suggested using a nice fiddleback maple and dyeing it to match the photo as closely as possible. He agreed.

The photo appeared to have a slight red tint, so we backed off a little to compensate.

Here are the speakers...



And a close-up...



Happy listening Sebastian!

- Jim

[newzooreview]

When we dyed the bamboo, it just didn't come out as nice as we had hoped.  Since we were going to start the process all over again, Sebastian decided to change his order to HT2-TL's.

I pointed out that the photo was not cherry, but maple and it was dyed that color.  I suggested using a nice fiddleback maple and dyeing it to match the photo as closely as possible. He agreed.

The photo appeared to have a slight red tint, so we backed off a little to compensate.

Happy listening Sebastian!

- Jim

From first-hand experience with my curly cherry, when those fine ripples in the wood grain catch a beam of sunlight they really put on a show. I'm sure the photos don't do it full justice! 

[Nuance]

Saaweeeet!  I love the granular patterns.  Congrats Sebastian, and welcome to the Salk family.  Bring on the listening impressions!

[Jeff B.]

Ohhhhhh.... I really like that look. Very nice 

[Christof]

Looks great Jim!

I just finished the hard maple floors in my art gallery with dark walnut + a tad bit of black TransT.  I  followed with white stain & Waterlox to lock it all down...gave it a wet driftwood color with chatoyance to die for.  Maple is too often overlooked.  In the hands of a good finisher maple can be as beautiful as any $$$$ exotic.  You obviously have a good finisher in your shop

[jsalk]

Christof -

Well, I don't know how good we are, but we are trying new things all the time.

I am working on a pair now in quilted maple that is rather unique.  I first sprayed them in black dye and sanded it down.  Where the wood is soft, the black soaked in deeper and I did not sand it completely out.  I then sprayed walnut over the top.  So the dark areas are quite a bit darker than they would have been with just walnut dye and the contrast is much greater.  I really like this technique.

The next project I am doing for myself (since I am not sure how long it would be before I had a customer that wanted it), is to re-create the look of a tiger eye gemstone.  If you can imagine, the gemstone is a medium dark brown with golden rays.  I will shoot medium dark walnut dye over fiddleback sycamore (maple-like), sand it down and then shoot a golden dye over that.  Tom Anderson did a guitar this way and it looks spectacular with a hand-rubbed high gloss finish - just like a tiger eye gemstone.

- Jim

[bigjppop]

Christof -

Well, I don't know how good we are, but we are trying new things all the time.

I am working on a pair now in quilted maple that is rather unique.  I first sprayed them in black dye and sanded it down.  Where the wood is soft, the black soaked in deeper and I did not sand it completely out.  I then sprayed walnut over the top.  So the dark areas are quite a bit darker than they would have been with just walnut dye and the contrast is much greater.  I really like this technique.

The next project I am doing for myself (since I am not sure how long it would be before I had a customer that wanted it), is to re-create the look of a tiger eye gemstone.  If you can imagine, the gemstone is a medium dark brown with golden rays.  I will shoot medium dark walnut dye over fiddleback sycamore (maple-like), sand it down and then shoot a golden dye over that.  Tom Anderson did a guitar this way and it looks spectacular with a hand-rubbed high gloss finish - just like a tiger eye gemstone.

- Jim

Love to see some pictures of that stuff...  I LOVE quilted maple.

[funkmonkey]

Christof -

Well, I don't know how good we are, but we are trying new things all the time.

I am working on a pair now in quilted maple that is rather unique.  I first sprayed them in black dye and sanded it down.  Where the wood is soft, the black soaked in deeper and I did not sand it completely out.  I then sprayed walnut over the top.  So the dark areas are quite a bit darker than they would have been with just walnut dye and the contrast is much greater.  I really like this technique.

The next project I am doing for myself (since I am not sure how long it would be before I had a customer that wanted it), is to re-create the look of a tiger eye gemstone.  If you can imagine, the gemstone is a medium dark brown with golden rays.  I will shoot medium dark walnut dye over fiddleback sycamore (maple-like), sand it down and then shoot a golden dye over that.  Tom Anderson did a guitar this way and it looks spectacular with a hand-rubbed high gloss finish - just like a tiger eye gemstone.

- Jim

This sounds like an awesome finish, Jim.   Did you get some new ideas from process involved in making that "aged" set?  I look forward to seeing the result, and I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a very popular treatment once the pictures get out. 

Cheers-
Greg

Sebastian-  your speakers are beautiful, congrats! 

[newzooreview]

Christof -

Well, I don't know how good we are, but we are trying new things all the time.

I am working on a pair now in quilted maple that is rather unique.  I first sprayed them in black dye and sanded it down.  Where the wood is soft, the black soaked in deeper and I did not sand it completely out.  I then sprayed walnut over the top.  So the dark areas are quite a bit darker than they would have been with just walnut dye and the contrast is much greater.  I really like this technique.

The next project I am doing for myself (since I am not sure how long it would be before I had a customer that wanted it), is to re-create the look of a tiger eye gemstone.  If you can imagine, the gemstone is a medium dark brown with golden rays.  I will shoot medium dark walnut dye over fiddleback sycamore (maple-like), sand it down and then shoot a golden dye over that.  Tom Anderson did a guitar this way and it looks spectacular with a hand-rubbed high gloss finish - just like a tiger eye gemstone.

- Jim

Sounds like a lot of trouble, Jim. Why not just use real tiger eye? You could start a new line called Jim's Gems.