New Materials

NEW MATERIALS FOR AN AGE OF

SCARCITY

Music Trades July 2011

Mike Grosek

FLAXWOOD?? Manmade Tonewood Natural Fiber Composite

Composed of polymer infused with spruce fiber Finland has enough Spruce trees to supply 1,000 years Hardens to a material with no grain or structure Conducts sound uninterrupted Virtually impervious to fluctuations in temperature and

humidity

Density comparable to Ebony

U.S. LACEY ACT AND FLAXWOOD International restrictions make it increasingly

problematic to trade in protected wood species.

Flaxwood is not affected by the Lacey Act.

Environmentalists support Flaxwood for obvious reasons.

CREATING THE GUITARS

Necks, Bodies, and backplates – Injection-molded Hand-assembled, hand-finished, and fitted with premium

electronics

Unique “3-D” neck joint gives a neck-through appearance

If you lined up 100 of them, they’d all be identical Parts, Dimensions, and specific gravity are uniform

DRAWBACKS

Production Costs Investments in injection-molding machines drive retail

price up

Each instrument between $2,000 and $4,000

Bolt-on Neck design lowers price Neck made of composite joined with body of European Alder These hybrid guitars have suggested retail of $1,299 and

MAP of $999

At winter NAMM 2011 Hybrid designs compared similar to All-Composite line guitars

MARKET FOR FLAXWOOD

Manufactured in North Keralia, Finland.

Distributed in 19 countries

Sales in U.S. less driven by environmental concerns than in Europe Tougher to sell in U.S.

OTHER USES FOR FLAXWOOD

Prototyped fingerboards and tailpieces for outside instrument makers

Shells for snare drums Stone dust composite

Electric Bass Models

Furniture, Automobile, and Home Construction Industries