Sandberg Guitars Innovates New Steamed Oak fingerboard

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News Poster
Mar 12, 2004
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Due to new regulations in January 2017 pertaining to the import of rosewood, string instrument manufacturers worldwide are forced to adapt and move away from rosewood fingerboards. Sandberg Guitars has responded with an innovative new Steamed Oak fingerboard option for their basses which will become their standard dark colored fingerboard wood. Oak is a very eco-friendly and sustainable wood with very desirable sonic qualities and dynamic response.

Sandberg has adopted a process which changes the chemistry of the wood’s pigments and oxidizes the naturally occurring tannins in the wood. Oak is loaded with tannins so the final ‘steamed’ result is a permanently deep and warm dark wood with accentuated grain patterns that will look familiar to those who favor rosewood.

Once steamed, it has the warmth of rosewood yet gives the player improved right hand dynamic response similar to maple and a sharper attack like ebony. The final results are permanent and easy to maintain.

“We are very pleased with this new fingerboard option, it’s so nice to play, the dynamics and attack are wonderful and it looks great” - Holger Stonjek, founder and president of Sandberg Guitars.

The product was previewed at the 2017 Winter NAMM show and was well received by dealers, artists and even multiplatinum producers. Many didn’t know that they were playing a new type of fingerboard until they had fallen in love with the bass; a California VM4 in our new Black Matte finish with European Ash body, Canadian Rock Maple neck and Steamed Oak fingerboard. There was almost a bidding war!

While the stringed instrument industry is being forced to adapt to new regulations, Sandberg’s steamed oak is a friendly and innovative eco-friendly solution to the challenge. It also just happens to sound and feel amazing!

Sandberg Basses with steamed oak fingerboards are shipping now and will be soon added to the handy Sandberg online configuration utility Sandberg Configurator

Diffusion Audio is the North American distributor of Sandberg Guitars.

Please visit us at Diffusion Audio Inc. Homepage E. For more information and review requests of this new innovation please contact Clint Ward - [email protected] - 905-410-4716

Sandberg_VM4_SteamedOak.jpg
 
Fine, but I gotta put myself in the "fingerboard wood is not all that important" camp. Glad they are finding alternatives, and I think it looks nice. It's the overselling/marketspeak about attack and dynamic response that makes me wince.

Let's see, if I go through my own fave instruments, the boards are maple, maple, tigerwood, rosewood, rosewood. So I don't have much pref. Maybe you do.
 
Fine, but I gotta put myself in the "fingerboard wood is not all that important" camp. Glad they are finding alternatives, and I think it looks nice. It's the overselling/marketspeak about attack and dynamic response that makes me wince.

Let's see, if I go through my own fave instruments, the boards are maple, maple, tigerwood, rosewood, rosewood. So I don't have much pref. Maybe you do.

For fretted instruments I wholeheartedly agree

For fret less instruments, there is a difference
 
It certainly does look very nice!

My only question is this -- since Oak is so widespread and readily available --- why has this not been done before? Oak is certainly cheaper to harvest than rosewood (for example); so the realist in me says there must be some reason this hasn't been done before. Maybe it splits or cracks easy, is hard to care for in the long run, I don't know, but something smells off to me . . . . . .
 
It certainly does look very nice!

My only question is this -- since Oak is so widespread and readily available --- why has this not been done before? Oak is certainly cheaper to harvest than rosewood (for example); so the realist in me says there must be some reason this hasn't been done before. Maybe it splits or cracks easy, is hard to care for in the long run, I don't know, but something smells off to me . . . . . .

Good question.
 
It certainly does look very nice!

My only question is this -- since Oak is so widespread and readily available --- why has this not been done before? Oak is certainly cheaper to harvest than rosewood (for example); so the realist in me says there must be some reason this hasn't been done before. Maybe it splits or cracks easy, is hard to care for in the long run, I don't know, but something smells off to me . . . . . .

Everything else they had tried in the past failed? Maybe they hadn't thought to steam it. They said "Sandberg has adopted a process which changes the chemistry of the wood’s pigments and oxidizes the naturally occurring tannins in the wood. Oak is loaded with tannins so the final ‘steamed’ result is a permanently deep and warm dark wood with accentuated grain patterns that will look familiar to those who favor rosewood."
 
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Everything else they had tried in the past failed? Maybe they hadn't thought to steam it. They said "Sandberg has adopted a process which changes the chemistry of the wood’s pigments and oxidizes the naturally occurring tannins in the wood. Oak is loaded with tannins so the final ‘steamed’ result is a permanently deep and warm dark wood with accentuated grain patterns that will look familiar to those who favor rosewood."

I don't think the question is about the appearance, but about the quality/lifespan.