A close-up of a torrefied acoustic guitar top showing rich wood grain and warm, golden tones.

Torrefied Tonewoods

Rich tone, legendary beauty..

Long sought after by guitar makers for its aged beauty, wood that has been properly torrefied has a rich, vintage look and a sound that many musicians love.

Under the right circumstances, torrefaction (also known in the industry as thermal modification) can improve the acoustic properties of the wood, resulting in guitars with a richer dynamic range and a fuller tone. But that’s not all.

Built-in Resilience

Torrefaction has been around since the days of the Vikings, but is a relatively new development in the guitar world. Thermal modification uses a specialized kiln to apply heat to wood in the absence of oxygen. It’s a sophisticated technology that combines water, pressure and heat to age the wood without overcooking it in the process. The benefits of our thermally modified tops are:

• Soundboards that are more dimensionally stable
• Increased longitudinal and radial stiffness (MOE)
• Decreased density
• Soundboards that are more uniform in color
• Increased Q (diminished damping)

Soundboards that have been torrefied are modified at a cellular level, making them less hydrophilic and more water repellant. They are less affected by changes in humidity, which leads to less shrinking and swelling.