WOOD TRENDS EXPLAINED
Don’t be terrified by torrefied maple
Ace luthier Rob Elrick brings decades of wisdom to the table. Listen up!
If you’re someone that follows market trends, you’ve probably noticed that lumber descriptions have expanded to include terms like roasted, caramelized, vulcanized, heat-treated, and torrefied. The appearance of these qualifiers has increased in the descriptions of lumber used for bass, most commonly in maple necks. These terms refer to the same process employed to alter the cellular structure of lumber—high‐temperature thermal modification. But what makes heat-treated lumber different from ordinary, kiln-dried lumber?