Rustic Ash + Spalted Maple

"As each of my guitars is built, I'd like to think I give it life"--- Zi Guitar

Rustic Ash

Ash wood, an ordinary wood, commonly used in everyday applications not exotic at all. Indeed, it has been classifying as utilitarian, it bests all woods in a sporting role, it is often the wood of choice for baseball bat, tennis rackets, skis and etc. At the same time, Ash wood is also one of the most commonly used wood for building electric instrument bodies among alder wood.
This Zi Guitar Rustic Ash Telecaster is not your everyday ash body telecaster, it comes from a reclaimed vintage lumber.
This piece of old-growth wood was air dried from at least 100 years, which allowed crystal structures to form and separate from the pores in the wood. This gives the guitars a vintage sound and allows them to vibrate more freely than modern guitars. As a result, the guitars have great sustained and tonal range. I called the magic of the old ways, guitar made from old/reclaimed timber are sonically superior and stable, you will feel and hear the difference. As my guitar is built, I like to think I give this beautiful piece old ash wood a chance to reborn.

Spalted Maple

Exotic tone woods are not easy to come by and often carries a premium price tag. However, visually speaking, for sure, it helps give boutique instruments the unique appeal they deserve and sets them apart from the factory production line guitars. Tonally, they also offer players different tonal characteristics. While most of us know about our 5A flame maple and quilt tops, however, there is one variation of the maple family: The Spalted Maple.
Its unique appearance is due to fungus that invades the wood and creates distinct black striping called zone lines. These lines are built up by the fungus as a way to delineate itself from the rest of the wood or other fungi.
What makes spalted maple so rare in lutherie is its narrow window of usability. The fungi need to be present in the wood long enough to create an exotic spalting pattern, but if it remains too long it starts to degrade and soften the wood. A usable spalted maple needs to have excellent grain while still retaining its original hardness and structural integrity.
Spalted maple can provide some truly stunning patterns and textures. High contrast between the spalting and normal grain can give a guitar a more dynamic three-dimensional look. Being a difficult wood to find, spalted maple always makes for a unique and coveted instrument.