Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Flamed Bubinga ? (One for the luthiers ? )


JohnFitzgerald
 Share

Recommended Posts

I've had this bass a little while now - around 6 months.

From day one, I always thought it looked very pretty, but now I'm looking at it rather closer.

When I ordered this, I knew 'some' of the details.
Exclusively from musicstore.de or DV247, the same business in reality, it's a Fame Baphomet 6.

There was no chance of viewing due to it coming mail order, and the pics on the website show some quite plain wood.

Described as made in the "M Guitars" workshop in Danzig, that's Mayones in Gdansk, Danzig being the German name for Gdansk. In reality it's an old model Mayones from around 2003-2005

Anyway, it arrived, and it was stunning, much more highly figured than the stock photo.

It's described as Bubinga, but that looks like flaming to me.

Is there such a thing as Flamed Bubinga ? Details are thin on the ground.

I can find one reference to such a thing on a Benavente bass and not much else besides that.

Any thoughts ? - This is mine.

Front view

[attachment=255930:1.jpg]



Rear view

[attachment=255931:2.jpg]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any wood can be flamed. For the record, I had a burl bubinga Warwick Thumb NT Custom 4, lovely looking too, but a nightmare to play !

Looking at your wood, I'm quited sure it's not bubinga because it's too yellowish.

Simply ask the guys at Mayones and you'll know...

Edited by Hellzero
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='ZilchWoolham' timestamp='1508552822' post='3392934']
Shedua seems closer in colour. Don't know if it's ever used for solid bodies, though. How heavy is the bass?

[/quote]

I think you have it spot on.

It's now decribed as Bubinga, but 'was' described as Ovangkol.

I'ts 100% Quarter sawn Ovangkol.

Thank you !!

(Mayones won't tell me anything. They really don't say much at all about making these).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote] It's definitely a stunner! I wonder how the re-branding came to be. Was it an old Mayones that didn't sell, or was it commissioned directly to be branded Fame? And why are they so reluctant to talk about it?
[/quote]

I wouldn't know ho it came to be, but suspect it's been commissioned to be made as Fame.

I don't that they're reluctant to talk about it, as such, however, you really won't find much online other than a comment that they're made in the "M Guitars Manufactory in Danzig".

My own suspicions are that if you're making instruments for someone and they're selling for really quite a bit less than your own brand, you'd keep relatively quiet about it.

Just my thoughts.

Here's a pic from Mayone website from the 2005 NAMM show - looks the same to me, with the exception of the pickups.


[attachment=256028:2005-namm-show-first-mayones-namm.jpg]

Edited by JohnFitzgerald
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1508695826' post='3393870']
I don't know if it would be called flamed, but I have an example of that sort of figuring in bubinga hanging on the wall at the other end of the room.





A 1987 Thumb. Not as extreme as yours but still quite unusual.
[/quote]

Unusual in a lovely way, I'd say.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='JohnFitzgerald' timestamp='1508686114' post='3393774']

Here's a pic from Mayone website from the 2005 NAMM show - looks the same to me, with the exception of the pickups.


[attachment=256028:2005-namm-show-first-mayones-namm.jpg]
[/quote]

I used to have one of those, the body wood was amazaque, which google suggests is another name for ovangkol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are some pictures of my Warwick Thumb NT 4 Burl Bubinga. Enjoy :

[url="https://www.hostingpics.net/viewer.php?id=954518WarwickThumbNT420083.jpg"][/url]

[url="https://www.hostingpics.net/viewer.php?id=901603WarwickThumbNT4200821.jpg"][/url]

[url="https://www.hostingpics.net/viewer.php?id=475602WarwickThumbNT420086.jpg"][/url]

[url="https://www.hostingpics.net/viewer.php?id=550616WarwickThumbNT4200817.jpg"][/url]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1508778550' post='3394370']
That's actually bubinga pomele, burl wood is basically rotting wood that happens to look pretty, but generally soft and unsuitable as a solid oil finished body. Can't say I've ever seen bubinga burl?
[/quote]

The word "pomele" or "pommelé" doesn't exist in any English dictionary, the correct one being "burl" even if it's related to ancient English, sorry. I know that American speaking people use the word "pomele" or "pommelé" for "burl", but this is not correct.

The burl wood is not a soft wood at all. Here is what Eric Sloane says about it in his book "A Museum of Early American Tools" : "Burl wood is very hard to work with hand tools or on a lathe because its grain is twisted and interlocked, causing it to chip and shatter unpredictably. This "wild grain" makes burl wood extremely dense and resistant to splitting, which made it valued for bowls, mallets, mauls and "beetles" or "beadles" for hammering chisels and driving wooden pegs."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1508778550' post='3394370']
That's actually bubinga pomele, burl wood is basically rotting wood that happens to look pretty, but generally soft and unsuitable as a solid oil finished body. Can't say I've ever seen bubinga burl?
[/quote]

You're confusing burl (or burr over here) with spalted wood (which is rot/mould)

Edited by Manton Customs
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bubinga and ovankol/shedua are closely related woods - different varieties of the Guibourtia species

Guibourtia arnoldiana is Bubinga while Guibourtia ehie is ovangkol/shedua. Don’t often see that sort of flaming used with bubinga in instruments though it is a known pattern. Wal have used that sort of flame as a feature of their shedua tops. One of the wonderful things that a photo doesn’t show is how the flame seems to extend below the surface of the wood and how it shimmers and changes under lights. It is quite stunning and you’re really lucky to have such a beautiful bass.

Here’s my shedua topped Wal sitting under some modest stage lighting...



More woods info here...
http://walbasshistory.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/wal-woods-part-2-bodies.html

Edited by TrevorR
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='JohnFitzgerald' timestamp='1508599045' post='3393220']

(Mayones won't tell me anything. They really don't say much at all about making these).
[/quote]
[quote name='ZilchWoolham' timestamp='1508604310' post='3393284']
It's definitely a stunner! I wonder how the re-branding came to be. Was it an old Mayones that didn't sell, or was it commissioned directly to be branded Fame? And why are they so reluctant to talk about it?
[/quote]
[quote name='JohnFitzgerald' timestamp='1508686114' post='3393774']


I wouldn't know ho it came to be, but suspect it's been commissioned to be made as Fame.

I don't that they're reluctant to talk about it, as such, however, you really won't find much online other than a comment that they're made in the "M Guitars Manufactory in Danzig".

My own suspicions are that if you're making instruments for someone and they're selling for really quite a bit less than your own brand, you'd keep relatively quiet about it.

Just my thoughts.

Here's a pic from Mayone website from the 2005 NAMM show - looks the same to me, with the exception of the pickups.


[attachment=256028:2005-namm-show-first-mayones-namm.jpg]
[/quote]

There’s a bit of blurb/puff about the Fame Brand and this bass on the DV247 site from a couple of years ago which gives some context...

“The Fame brand is relatively new in the UK and its ‘straight from the factory to the retailer’ model results in low prices throughout its extensive catalog, particularly the made in China guitars, basses, amps and PA gear which offer cash-strapped musicians a chance to get on stage for a comparatively small outlay. Not everything the brand retails is sourced in the Far East though; Fame also offers a range of guitars and basses built in the Mayones factory in Gdansk in Poland, where instruments are hand crafted by a small team of experienced builders who specialize in non-automated building methods in their relatively small factory. There is no computer controlled machinery at all; the woodworking, spraying and finishing are all done by hand. These methods result in a certain level of individualisation in the finishes and pickup choice and any instrument can be customized to order.”

http://magazine.dv247.com/2015/03/23/fame-baphomet-6-nt-bass-review/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Manton Customs' timestamp='1508788720' post='3394476']


You're confusing burl (or burr over here) with spalted wood (which is rot/mould)
[/quote]

I am getting confused for sure! Maybe I was just confusing burl in other woods with Buckeye Burl, which is certainly soft and patterns are caused by rot.

Thanks for clearing that up :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Hellzero' timestamp='1508767619' post='3394274']
Here are some pictures of my Warwick Thumb NT 4 Burl Bubinga. Enjoy :

[url="https://www.hostingpics.net/viewer.php?id=954518WarwickThumbNT420083.jpg"][/url]

[url="https://www.hostingpics.net/viewer.php?id=901603WarwickThumbNT4200821.jpg"][/url]

[url="https://www.hostingpics.net/viewer.php?id=475602WarwickThumbNT420086.jpg"][/url]

[url="https://www.hostingpics.net/viewer.php?id=550616WarwickThumbNT4200817.jpg"][/url]
[/quote] :o :o :o :o :gas: :gas: :gas: :gas: WOW!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...