Has anyone used willow for an electric guitar body?

Roland

I've been going through my log store, looking for something interesting to use.  Most of it is too young and too small.  Then I realised that the chopping block is 10 year old willow.  Would it make a good Telecaster body?

randomhandclaps

It's worth asking @Gassage about this.  He has a lot of interest and cool theories about the resonance of willow for cricket bats so he may be able to provide you with some comparative figures.

EricTheWeary

Googling and it is used in instrument making for things like blocks in violins and guitars. Zachary guitars made a willow guitar, although he isn't well regarded as a luthier as I understand it. http://www.zacharyguitars.com/090506_01.JPG

randomhandclaps

EricTheWeary said:

he isn't well regarded as a luthier as I understand it.

I agree, I don't understand that body shape either.

EricTheWeary

http://www.guitarnation.com/images/zachary/zacharyhead.jpg I think it's his headstock shapes that cause the controversy. IIRC he is also the guy who made guitars out of chopping boards.

WezV

Without commenting on his guitars, He's just a bit of a dick. Spend some time reading his site

Gassage

I know a lot about willow.

Firstly, it's not wood technically- it is a type of reed.

Secondly, it's soft compared to a lot of wood, but hugely elastic, and light for its volume

In terms of hitting a cricket ball, nothing performs in the same way as english willow. Nothing anywhere.

For maximum resonance, tight, very straight grains are best, white wood, no red in it.

Amazingly, there's only one specialist willow merchant in the world. If you want to try it, ask them- speak to jeremy ruggles.

http://www.cricketbatwillow.com/

ICBM

Zachary's guitars look good to me - well-designed, well-made (at least from what you can see in the pics), and quite original without being ugly. I like the body shape and I don't see anything wrong with the head shape - it's nice piece of minimalism.

However he is not the greatest luthier that has ever walked the earth and the sole guardian of all valuable knowledge regarding guitars. That's the problem with him.

randomhandclaps

WezV said:

Without commenting on his guitars, He's just a bit of a dick. Spend some time reading his site

I just visited he site. Whilst his guitar building skills are obviously a matter of opinion I thin Wez is right and there is clearly enough evidence to factually prove he is a prize cock. 

 Spending so long studying various pedal designs I absolutely loathe the bullshit that surrounds the industry as ultimately I think it's damaging. Zachary's description of his lifelong pedal design project has to be the king of all wank things I have ever read though... By a fair distance.

ICBM

I haven't read that - his guitar nonsense was bad enough.

On the other hand his reputation has generated a lot of publicity for him that he probably wouldn't have gained just by being a nice guy with the same guitar design. Not sure if that will have helped him or not, but you know what they say about publicity...

BigMonka

I had a look at his website but I think his server must be playing up, it seems to be serving up a version of his website which was cached in the 90s  )

WezV

BigMonka said:

I had a look at his website but I think his server must be playing up, it seems to be serving up a version of his website which was cached in the 90s  )

indeed, but guitars must be built and builders cant be experts at all things so i will forgive him for that  -  but the other thing to keep an eye on is the title that show on the browser tab at the top of the page - go look at the guitar gallery and watch what comes up

Gassage

Just read his Tone Lube blog.

I sent him a note;

Dear Zach,

Never use two words where one will do. That's my motto, that's my philosophy, that's my axiom, that's the way I look at things.

The Gas.

Gassage

Further, re willow, it's not an exciting wood to look at.

here are 5 of my bats. Now, not bigging up here, but I ain't paid for a bat for 30 years. These are EXCEPTIONAL pieces of willow, chosen for pro player performance. What you'll note is how straight and regular the grain lines are and generally, how close the grain is (the new white one is an exception, but the grains are ruler stright and it hits the ball miles - you'll ote it has a blue colour to the blade- very rare and haighly desireable- perfroms brilliantly.).

ironically, the better the bat performs, generally the softer it'll be and the shorter it will last. Bats for clubbies tend to be harder, play less well but last longer. At £500 a throw, you can see why.

Anorak's corner- the second from left in first pic was Virender Sewag's bat, and the 3rd from the left, Ian Bell's bat, Mine are VERY light- 2lb 8oz to 2lb 9oz tops.

Each bat has a clear tape coating- it's something called 'anti-scuff' and was developed by 3M for the leading edge of Helicopter blades and airscrews, to prevent stones taking chunks out. it is so strong it's unbelievable and stops the seam causing cracks as it bites into the willow surface.

Sassafras

I quite like the headstock shape of the Zachary guitars but they must be a bastard to hook onto a wall hanger.

Just had a look on his website, lordy, that man can rap.

mart

WezV said:

... but the other thing to keep an eye on is the title that show on the browser tab at the top of the page - go look at the guitar gallery and watch what comes up

That was quite bizarre. Some looked like he had edited the title to match the content, and others definitely not. Very odd.

ThePrettyDamned

Lol

"Come on, let’s be honest, its like looking at a woman. All you really need is a glance at her and your instincts will tell you if you want to hold her hand or not. Not to be exclusionary, it works with the same gender also if you happen to be gay"

ThePrettyDamned

Shit!

He says that pedal can make you sound like jimmy page. It's designed to be shrill and horrible ear shredding crap!

Roland

Getting back to the subject of willow. 

I picked up the block of willow, and was delighted at how light it had become having served as a chopping block for more then 15 years.  There was a bit of wood worm, which didn't worry me too much because it normally only goes an inch or so into the wood.  Wrong.  Split the block with a wedge to check for grain straightness, which was good.  Took a 2.5 inch slice with a saw, and there's woodworm all through it.  Not a lot, but I don't fancy spending an evening with my sweaty hands caressing something I've dowsed in woodworm killer.

Any suggestions, apart from using it for firewood?

WezV

don't let a bit of woodworm stop you

Roland

@WezV If you've got a band saw I'll drive across one evening, and we can plank it up and have a look.  There's a bigger block at the back of the barn which may not be as worm eaten.  I'll have a look at that.