1. NEW MATERIALS
FOR AN AGE OF
SCARCITY
Music Trades July 2011
Mike Grosek

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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

5. DRAWBACKS
Production Costs
 Investments in injection-molding machines drive retail price up
Each instrument between $2,000 and $4,000

6.  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

7. 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.

8. 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