Thermalwood - An Alternative to Ebony?

Product source: thermalwoodcanada.com

[@containercore6832]

Honestly respect to the company who sent it your way for standing behind their product that much. Especially in sending it to someone as discerning as you.

[@frankwebster9110]

Agreed. This gives me hope for the product to become more widely used.

[@timothy4664]

I know right? Makes you feel good knowing there are businesses who care about quality and aren't afraid to stick their neck out. Tells me a lot about their ethics really. There are a ton of vaperware and green scam startups that go after anyone who offers even mild criticism. I will always spend a little more for a product by an ethical company

[@MFKR696]

Agreed. Much respect due, especially in this day and age. Companies these days act like they're run by a bunch of insecure teen-brains. Very few actually stand behind their product, because most of them are AFU, and they know it.

[@romanhed]

I didn't expect the Project Farm-like testing but I enjoyed it.

[@joemitchell8023]

first time poster here. i'm 70 and have been playing/working with guitars since 1963 and so found this to be an extremely interesting video on a subject i have been watching for a couple of decades now- the ever dwindling supplies of Ebony, especially the uniformly dark. it's a repeat of what occurred with Brazilian Rosewood post CITES. only the Custom shops, and then only the top percentage of those can justify these materials. as a result, alternatives just have to be explored. thoroughly enjoyable and edifying videos.

[@GilgaFrank]

Came for the maple, stayed for the H.P. Lovecraft quote

[@davidrees1840]

oh no, missed the quote -what was it? Love Lovecraft, but have not read him for ~50 yrs.

[@GilgaFrank]

@@davidrees1840 - at 8:35 "It’s fiendish work, Carter, and I doubt if any man without ironclad sensibilities could ever see it through and come up alive and sane."

[@davidrees1840]

@@GilgaFrank thank you, I'll have to put him back on my list!

[@joelfildes5544]

You are always ‘unspoiled’ Ted…

[@tetedur377]

I really admire the way you follow the biblical injunction to "do not fret-it leads only to evil." (Pslams 37:8) NIV

[@guitar_md]

I got some sample as well, and also talked to Eric. True class act. I'm in the U.S. and they sent me a sample for free -- and shipping is *not* cheap. And then they sent me some *again* as a thank you for making a video about it. They really did not have to do that at all. That says a lot to me about how much they believe in this product and how much they want to get it out there. Very generous company and their goal here really is commendable. I haven't made anything with it yet, but I'd love to make a fretless fingerboard with it. I really like the feel of it and it seems like it'll be exceptionally wear resistant and stable.

[@frankwebster9110]

I am amongst those players that love the maple fretboards on a fender and an ebony fretboard on a Gibson or similar type guitars. It's very cool that now there's an alternative to ebony through clever engineering. Hopefully, some of the big manufacturers will be able to get away with replacing ebony with this product out of New Brunswick without the purists crying about it. I can understand the pushback on richlite being synthetic and not exactly aesthetically pleasing. Hopefully this new heat treated Maple will satisfy the majority enough to make it a popular substitute for ebony amongst guitar makers. At least the largest of them. Thanks Ted. I appreciate the straightforward analysis . It's very encouraging and hopefully the creators will have positive responses when reaching out to manufacturers

[@davecormier]

I was totally waiting for the New Brunswick joke. Stealing logs from the forest was pretty rampant when I was a kid living out there. We have a couple of those here at the house, they were given to my kid when they went to visit the plant.

[@vernacular2008]

I very much appreciated the Chef Jean Pierre reference.

[@kusler67]

5:07 I actually laughed out loud. "Slurping in the air"

[@perihelion7798]

No one ever accused me of being a 'conservationist' but I am still concerned about our human propensity to foul our own nest, and the many nests of other species. So it's encouraging to see the many alternatives that are appearing nowadays to diminishing wood species. I hope this is a continuing trend.

[@JxH]

Ozzyman would say, "Here's me face." Nice to see you Ted.

[@Blitterbug]

Your description of fine wood connoisseurs was very entertaining! Oh, also I can't believe you memorised Lovecraft so well. Great extract that!

[@davidtoups4684]

Ted is definitely a resource that should be protected, great video!!

[@j.s.3297]

That treated maple looked incredible close to ebony..👍

[@seanw4148]

Am I the only one who wants to know more about that little classical guitar?

[@darrinswanson]

A pleasure to see your smiling face, Ted. Thanks for the video.

[@Deebz270]

Wow! I nearly fell-off my guitar playing stool... TwoFold - *...in the flesh!* Nice to put the friendly face to the voice and you are one of those guys that looks exactly like you sound. ;-) Nice to see you bringing up the awkward question of sustainability and endorsing this alternative to endangered arboreal species. Swiss - Relish guitars have been using bamboo fibre composite fretboards that apparently approach the feel of an ebony board.

[@BigIronTexas]

Gibson used Richlite in 2017 & 2018 and I have a guitar with a Richlite board. I wasn't thrilled at the thought of a synthetic ebony substitute, especially in a $4500 guitar, but over time it has won me over a bit. Visually it looks like the darkest ebony you're ever likely to see and seems extremely durable so it's all good I guess.

[@68able2]

that was just a bad era for gibson too much experimentation but im sure i would be happy to have any gibson from any era. i did like the alpine white 7 string sgs they made in 2016

[@dugbert5]

I wonder how Richlite would compare against ebony in regard to re-fretting.

[@tiacho2893]

I think Richlite is a brand of paper phenolic resin composite. I used a similar product and it was uniform and predictable. My only gripe was that you were stuck with machining it or abrasives. Hand planes and chisels are not going to work. That was a big drawback for me as I prefer processes that don't require hearing protection and a dust mask.

[@morganghetti]

I have one too. Mine is a much less expensive model but I've always enjoyed the guitar. I have never really noticed the difference.

[@tiacho2893]

@@dugbert5 I don't do refrets but I remember a few guides on USENET luthierie boards in the 1990s and early 2000s. I remember that you had to go oversize on fret slots (I think .028" or .030") or you would get back bow. IIRC, it didn't chip then during refret experiments. But just like century old wood works differently to freshly kiln dried wood, I expect the hardened resins would probably get more brittle and chip more with age. If the instrument is non vintage (less than 25 years old) a refret of Richlite should be easier.

[@markmeiri1518]

What I was seeing with the maple alternative is what knife makers have been using for quite a few yearn now for knife scales. The wood is put in a vacuum chamber with resin and then baked. We call this stabilized wood. This makes the wood much more dense and hard. It is also much more resistant to water/humidity. If the process is done right the wood can be polished quite well.

[@TheOdditee]

You, Sir, are a credit to your craft. Cheers.

[@willb1157]

Ebony has a few replacements now. There’s no excuse for using it anymore. None. Zero. Thank you for posting this.

[@jcrosslin8]

Dude, You look JUST like an old pal of mine... A fella named Buddy Church. (R.I.P) If you aren't familiar with him, do a quick search on here. He was easily the best guitarist I've ever personally met. That being said I'm stoked to watch your video. Cheers from Memphis!

[@michaelmurray8562]

Ted, as always a great video. As an aside, I would recommend to anyone building or replacing a fret board with the Thermal Wood that they should inform any luthier working on it afterwards that the fingerboard is not ebony. It is hard to tell from looking, as you pointed out. Then the luthier can adjust their working techniques as necessary to deal with the brittleness of the Thermal Wood. I recently converted a Squier Jazz Bass to fretless with a replacement Mighty Mite fretless neck that had an Ebonol fingerboard. I think Ebonol is a fiber or paper based product. In any case, it provided a very nice, hard surface for a fretless bass fingerboard, and my customer was very pleased. Please keep up the great videos!

[@honkytonkinson9787]

That striped Vietnamese ebony looks cool!

[@ralfkeeler9161]

One thing to add is Taylor's program of sustainably managed ebony. I believe they are pushing using the types of ebony logs that are not all uniformly black, but have stiations of chocolate brown color. If I remember correctly the company is heavily invested in promoting this more sustainable use of ebony. My one Taylor guitar had this lightly striped ebony, and it looked beautiful.

[@PelleKuipers]

You see those popping up more at every company, which I'm happy about. I actually prefer those fretboards.

[@beenaplumber8379]

I like the look of ebony with character too. Their website says Fender, Martin, and one other manufacturer (don't remember) have "verified" this wood, which they call "obsidian ebony". I don't know if that means we'll be seeing it in those guitars soon. They look like a very small company, and I don't know how they could supply such large operations.

[@kayanowtoo7593]

From the Crelicam Mill in Cameroon. I have a 314ce with Crelicam Ebony Bridge and fretboard. They look and perform great.

[@nnthsttrls]

This was genuinely pleasant, informative, and transparent. Great stuff. 🤘

[@gaddebeli]

4:00 That streaked ebony is gorgeous! Give me that over boring black any day on any guitar.

[@markbernier8434]

Very educational. This could have a number of uses. Thanks for doing the testing.

[@lardzard4459]

Ted, I always find your commentary to be highly educational and entertaining. However, I would be remiss were I not to also acknowledge your intelligence. Thank you for another great video.

[@leedouglass9636]

I love maple fret boards

[@seankerrigan1627]

We have a timber here in New Zealand called Rata and the Southern Rata, as in way down in the South Island and potentially up in the mountains, just gets past Ipe (1100kgs/m3) at 1140... no janka available. Be nice if we all get our stuff together and these kinds of treatments get shared! Interestingly I had a guy from Ceylon here once, at mine, and asked him about Ebony in Ceylon and he had no idea what it was but was well interested when I said it was the more expensive woods in the world. Once we actually got the tree, the tree in the wilds, he said it grew all over Ceylon and when he was a kid, out herding the goats, one of their favourite things was jumping up into the lower boughs to munch on the flowers.

[@garcemac]

Hey Ted! Why hasn't KZbin verified you yet? Been watching you for years. Originally from Toronto. Professional guitar player for over40 years. You are a legit legend. KZbin, stop being a dink. Give the man a flipping checkmark. Btw, Mr. Woodford. Great video as always. You have taught this old Canadian so much over the years. Thank you, sir.

[@caseysmith544]

It seems as soon as KZbin creators get one of those checkmarks they find ways to shut down the channels made by the creator for even the most minor of infractions.

[@normbarrows]

@@caseysmith544 I didn't have to verify my channel until I uploaded my first long video - 30 or 45 minutes long, something like that.

[@beenaplumber8379]

I think he prefers to keep a low profile.

[@samuelhatman8995]

Ohhh my goodness. That was fair and unbiased. There is a breed of men and women who develop those traits. Folks that look and test and are makers as well? Who is it that says and then the public trusts as the name attached to the opinion is as tested as the product. I listened to this three ways, slow, normal and fast to look between the beats as it were. The quality is there. Thanks for this solid review. Nicely done!

[@PelleKuipers]

Ted Woodford, the Matthias Wandel of guitar makers.

[@MrPimleX]

GLORIOUS BEARD Sir

[@GianmarioScotti]

I was shocked how bad the chipping was.

[@patcarbone1753]

I am always in awe of your expertise and level of detail!

[@EddyfyingArt]

I haven’t been a long time watcher, but I must say, this has been a very informative video on the subject, so thank you for that. Also, I couldn’t help but notice the “Maillard reaction” comment and then “ caramelizing onyos” comment and thought he must be a Jean-Pierre watcher… no?

[@clintchambers7156]

I’d be very hesitant to breathe dust from that thermal wood if I were you sir! Want you around as long as possible!!

[@Jakfilm]

Onyons. You make me laugh. this was really thoughtful at the same time. T'hank you.

[@andyt5559]

WELL DONE TED! WELL DONE THERMALWOOD!

[@leonarddaneman810]

I used to carve tobacco pipes using Greek briar. On special pieces I'd use surgical steel blades to engrave or silver inlay my signature . . . forty-years later I found a block of briar (ebouchon) and tried to cut into it . . . my blades or Dremel struggled to even scratch the block . . . 'crystallization' over four decades turned the wood into stone!

[@beenaplumber8379]

Petrified wood in only 40 years? Patent that process!

[@TommySG1]

I’ll be honest here, if you handed me a guitar with that on its fingerboard, there’s no way in hell I wouldn’t believe it was ebony. Great review!

[@reedhead1]

I hope this new product will reduce the harvesting of endangered tree species in the world.

[@anthonydevito1298]

Wait, you're telling me you're not just a disembodied voice and a pair of hands?! This whole time? Just kidding - great video Ted, as always!

[@mhoop1]

An inforrmative, instructional video. Excellent work again.

[@kbjerke]

Whew! My Sunday twoodfrd fix!! The weekend is complete. 👍👍

[@d.chadwickyarborough8623]

Loved the Justin Wilson reference 🤓

[@johnathonhutchinson1105]

Great video. The usual videos are obviously great. But stuff like this occasionally is excellent as well

[@DustinKreidler]

I absolutely love testing based on knowledge of what can/should/does go wrong, even with the gold standard materials. Too often these videos can be puff pieces to either glorify or vilify a new material. Your process seemed thorough and fair, and I really appreciated when you mentioned ensuring the flap wheels were at the exact same height to take the radius into account. That's some attention to detail to ensure the testing isn't accidentally biased one way or the other. Awesome work. Thanks!

[@niteshades_promise]

I know of a guy who only buys ebony, hates rosewood. I could not tell the difference by playing. Dont care as long as guitar stays in tune and sounds good.🤐🍻

[@waynebake1123]

NileRed on YT recently had a video talking about processing and compressing wood to dramatically increase strength. Reminded me of torrifying wood. This process goes a step farther, and makes the wood bulletproof if you laminate it. I thought it would be interesting as a neck/fretboard material.

[@michaeldolin9760]

Yes! Sunday lunch with Ted!

[@johndube1731]

They have been supplying Fender and I believe Collins for a while now( and many other companies) with torrified maple necks for a while now. I visited the factory a few years ago and was very impressed. I grew up with the owners and one of the brains behind this process, (an engineer who worked in the mining industry prior to this), (when there was mining in that neck of the woods), and was very impressed after being in the music industry for over 35 yrs and repairing for well over 45 yrs. Thermalwood Canada is a Company that is hard to beat with many trying to compete or compare to.

[@chrisosseweijer2798]

Great video. Your unbiased opinion will be highly appreciated. Thanks a lot !

[@guitfidle]

You forgot about the pinky held high when they swirl the fake ebony 🤣 I might have to try this stuff out. I have a Squier fretless Jazz bass that has a Richlite fingerboard. It does look a bit off, but the main issue I have- it does not expand and contract with seasonal changes like real wood, so it means the neck relief changes. Which means truss rod adjustment with every change in weather if I want to keep it playing optimally (no I do not mess with the truss rod, I just live with the change, but it is not ideal)

[@monday6524]

Sustainability - very important! Thank you for sharing your feedback on this product.

[@laurencehastings7473]

A very good approach to deciding whether or not this new product is suitable for intended use and direct comparisons to other woods under identical test conditions. I'm certain that if it achieves your personal very high standards that others watching this video will also become interested.

[@jonathandavenport9572]

Great video sir! Entertaining and informative as always. I feel you need to wear an Ozzyman " Here's me face" t-shirt when you show your face on camera 😅😅😅😅

[@BuffaloC305]

Bob Taylor offended me a long time ago when he was talking about his idea that customers would not like streaked (colorful) ebony, so much of the wood was discarded. Funny - I've never met an acoustic guitar lover who didn't love wood. And wood grain. I love the streaky, colorful fretboard instruments.

[@marcomagnoni7341]

Ottimo argomento SILVICOLTURA SOSTENIBILE è l'unica strada percorribile

[@jerryerickson6555]

Maybe try installing and removing a fret the way Fender used to do it.... from the side. Love your videos, Ted!

[@xijinpingsfavoritehemorrho1328]

Hey Ted, i know this is an older video, but the testing on the character of near every wood under tension is recorded in Tim Bakers research in one of the 4 Traditional Bowyers Bibles, including ipe. Could be useful to you, statistics on compression and grain character. The principles are not exactly the same, but a background in primitive archery has helped me in my luthier adventures. I dont know if anyone has gone into such detail to test wood characteristics.

[@nerfnerfification]

Thanks for the video - as a guitarist I don't care if it's natural (ebony) or modified (maple) so long as it lasts and does the job. I went through the bureaurocratic mill years ago trying to get a guitar I'd bought with brazilian rosewood fingerboard exported from the US thanks to Cities before the exemption was made for musical instruments- so this could be great in future.

[@Wizardofgosz]

They've clearly improved the product over time, and I'm sure as time goes on, it will get even better, and behave better when pulling frets, etc... Yes. Let us start embracing products like these.

[@maestromecanico597]

Kind of reminds me of a treated railroad tie (or sleeper across the pond). Raw wood goes into a pressure vessel and impregnated with creosote.

[@NorthBayRepublic]

Nice maillard shout out, chefs recognize your skills

[@Satchmoeddie]

Ebanol and ebonite phenolic sheets make great fingerboards. I love my old Kramer stuff with phenolic fretboards.

[@guitarhoarder5426]

Love this type of video from you! Thanks Ted!

[@f1s2hg3]

Ted your right the fake ebony fretboard is high quality and it’s saving trees!

[@mxadema]

Talking of sustainability. New Brunswick has quite a bit of a diverse forest. Unfortunately the big wood producers have managed to convince the local gouvernement that for well being on the province (and their industry) part of the forest management is to spray herbicides to kill the hardwood, and only plant soft wood like spruce (for construction lumber). F

[@zsigmondkara]

Caramellizing onyo is one of my favourite things to do, so I like your video even more now! :)

[@petedazer3381]

Great video Ted, thanks!

[@RedLittleBee]

Very well thought out and executed test!! 👏👏

[@firsteerr]

if it doesn't work out the company will ay least have an expert view of what's wrong and maybe help improve the product so its a win win

[@PhilosopherThom]

I liked this video. A little video essay/review. Very informative and thoughtful. And nice to see you talk. I love the normal videos don't get me wrong. But this is a nice change of pace.

[@melodicdreamer72]

Another great video Ted! I did go check out the site and read up on the studies for thermalwood's use in instruments and came away very intrigued. Thanks as always for your content.

[@user-xi9ri2pg8v]

Great balanced review. Brilliant!

[@volume8]

keep up the good work, ted.

[@Bob_Adkins]

There's a simple process to darken wood throughout by exposing it to ammonia vapor for a few days in a warm place. I don't know whether it would work on all woods, but I know it works very well on ash and oak. Other hard woods that could possibly be ammonia darkened and used for fretboards are hop hornbeam and black locust, both of which are very hard and heavy but too light in color.

[@edwardpetersen4309]

A guy brought me an Enya acoustic guitar with a carbon-fiber top. It had a Richlite fretboard which had two large chips . . . more than chips really, craters actually at the edge of a couple of frets. The owner had no clue how it had happened, at least that's what he said. The guitar had been on a U.S. cross country journey in a camper. I had no idea how to fix it so I had to turn it down. Of course I could have replaced the fretboard, but that was not on the agenda. I didn't think Richlite chipped like this. My experience with it had been as a viable substitute for ebony without the shrinkage problem. I guess I'm going to have to learn more about these alternatives. I could have fixed the maple. I have found India Ink to be an excellent ebony dye and have darkened several real ebony boards with spots or streaks, ( I actually like streaked ebony though). Probably would work with the ebonized maple me thinks. Thanks for the video!

[@PageMarker1]

Nice to see the face of the Gentle Giant! You're more than just an expert French linguist..) Glad to see that Stew-Mac tool come in handy & earning it's keep.

[@LIKEFUNK]

I expect there will be more alternative materials available that would be suitable to replace certain timbers that are better overall than traditional materials no doubt.

[@Sammywhat]

Looks like a great alternative to ebony - especially if using Stainless frets.

[@stoutlager6325]

Yep, that stuff looks decent. I may give it a go on a build project in future.

[@fulci6734]

Thank you Ted i am late but i'm here ! 👍👍👍🎥🎸❤

[@thomasowen-smith6671]

Great video

[@wellfuckyoumr]

Now this is a beautiful onion! Look at this onion!

[@KristopherCraig]

This looks like a great product. Thanks for sharing.

[@JFrit67]

Great stuff, Ted!

[@chrisdawber3548]

good learning Uncle Ted!

[@carslayer]

Excellent, honest and thoughtful video as always. Thank you for sharing your knowledge

[@jguitar23]

Thanks so much for sharing this review. It was a real pleasure to discover this product & too see you talking too!

[@OBrienGuitars]

Great video. Thanks for sharing.

[@ssrattus]

Thanks Ted!

[@stevebolander9276]

Thank you very much! I always learn so much from you!

[@BB49]

Awesome review!!!

[@ChrisBucheit]

Excellent review. Thank you!