Torrified Guitar Tops

collingsnyc
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Dec 30, 2018 12:33 pm

Re: Torrified Guitar Tops

Post: # 1114Post collingsnyc
Sat Apr 27, 2019 9:39 pm

Owned an OM-2H with torrified Sitka that I loved. Would buy it back if I could.

JohnFrink
Posts: 27
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2018 8:51 pm

Re: Torrified Guitar Tops

Post: # 1115Post JohnFrink
Sat Apr 27, 2019 9:46 pm

I have owned OM1T's and OM2HT's with Sitka tops baked and unbaked, and the baked tops have more of what I'm looking for; the unbaked tops were excellent, the baked tops are better, in my opinion. Just my two cents.
Bourgeois OM CB HS, Collings OM1T, OM1Mh, OM3Mh, RainSong CH-OM-N2, Santa Cruz OM

pjkesq
Posts: 88
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2018 12:45 am

Re: Torrified Guitar Tops

Post: # 1117Post pjkesq
Sun Apr 28, 2019 7:21 pm

I have played quite a few and I haven't been able to hear a difference?

Georgelange
Posts: 94
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2018 3:30 am
Real Name: George lange
Location: Ancaster, Canada

Re: Torrified Guitar Tops

Post: # 1182Post Georgelange
Sat May 11, 2019 7:54 pm

I’ve played a few guitars with torrified tops and torrified Adirondack bracing and, yes, I can hear a difference in sound. Aging and drying out the top and braces does make a discernible difference for the better. This change in the cell structure, once a wood top has been baked, can be observed with the aid of a microscope. The wood cells of a real old guitar top look very similar to a torrified guitar. The cells of a new guitar too look different

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Fidalgo
Posts: 58
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2019 11:29 pm

Re: Torrified Guitar Tops

Post: # 1258Post Fidalgo
Thu May 23, 2019 9:17 pm

I just bought a new D1T with a baked Sitka top. Other than a 1934-38 D18, it is the guitar I have dreamed about owning for over 20 years. I have had a D1A and several iterations of D18s over the years, but this Traditional with the baked top sounds unusually beautiful. I know the tone is a combination of the Traditional bracing and torrefaction and Sitka top, but it has a warmth and dry depth - almost a diffused dryness - that is rarely heard in modern guitar.

peanutavalon
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Mar 14, 2019 6:58 pm

Re: Torrified Guitar Tops

Post: # 1304Post peanutavalon
Tue May 28, 2019 2:31 am

I'm finding that my standard D1 sitka baked top is louder when strummed softly but does top out when hit harder, boomier and more crisp than my D1AT . The D1at is very focused in the mids and has a ton of headroom..but still plenty of highs...You can hit it hard and it just keeps going. The standard D1 is simply sweet sounding in every way and I think it can be as loud head to head as the D1at...Both awesome guitars but different tonally. Anyone else feel that baked sitka keeps up with adirondak?

squamish5
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Nov 18, 2020 3:06 am

Re: Torrified Guitar Tops

Post: # 3664Post squamish5
Fri Mar 12, 2021 10:45 pm

I just got a 2017 D1 torrified with red spruce bracing, and the only guitar I’ve ever had that was louder was a D1G (#2) that one was a monster and so is this one.... very loud

maplebaby
Posts: 198
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2019 2:31 pm

Re: Torrified Guitar Tops

Post: # 3672Post maplebaby
Sat Mar 13, 2021 10:57 pm

Like others before this post have said I'm not a big fan of the look of the wood that's been 'pre dried' and prefer the 'natural' time way of watching wood change and season. I have it on very good authority, so good I cannot mention, that tortified wood is not a friend of glue, steer clear.

Considering the source who shared this information with me I would never consider it period. Having done a small amount of research online it seems others have expressed similar concern. The question being with this flaw/concern is it enough to make a difference over time. Again as had been shared already, only time will tell, I frankly I don't have 30-50 to find out.

jwills57
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2020 8:54 pm
Real Name: Jack Arthur Wills

Re: Torrified Guitar Tops

Post: # 3756Post jwills57
Fri Mar 26, 2021 1:38 pm

I used to be fairly dead set against baked tops. The Martins I played with baked tops were "frighteningly efficient" but left me a bit cold. Then just because I was curious and was sure I would get a great guitar I bought a Collings D2H Baked Top this year. It's an amazing instrument. I told Joe at The Music Emporium that it's like the great white shark of dreadnoughts. So, what I think now is that baking the top tends to take the new guitar edge off a new instrument. You don't have to wait 8-10 years for the guitar to begin to reach its full potential. In the end baking just seems to speed up the top's aging process a bit. Baked tops are a winner in this respect for me.

mysteryfingerstyle
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2020 11:16 pm

Re: Torrified Guitar Tops

Post: # 3774Post mysteryfingerstyle
Sun Mar 28, 2021 1:38 am

Just picked up a used C10 ss with torrefied adirondack top and torrefied maple back and sides and can’t put it down. I wasn’t sure about torrefication until now. Incredible tone coming out of it, and it also looks amazing.

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