What Does Torrefaction Sound Like? - Alvarez TV 

Chris Meikle is a VERY intelligent man. If I had a company I would want him to run it. You KNOWS his high end acoustic guitar customer and is focusing on THAT person rather than ANYTHING else. He knows they go to RU-vid to hear the guitars they are considering. EVERY acoustic guitar maker should be doing this! Many do it by giving guitars to reviewers (think Orangewood and Recording King) and that is FINE, it works, but there is without doubt an added veritas and large dollop of credibility to have a senior person in the Alvarez organization take the time to produce these videos which go into UNPRECEDENTED depth about the guitars they make, you talk about OWNERSHIP and standing behind your product! Wow. I feel like Mr. Meikle is ULTRA sincere and COMMITTED to making the best acoustic guitars he can make for the money. This is modern 2023 marketing at its best. Kudos to Mr. Meikle.

I’m a Southern man myself so i prefer to deep fry my guitars

I bought a rare and new DYM75 4+ years ago; and today I bought the DYM60HD. I was hoping to see the actual ovens and the woods being torrefied in the process. OH well. Next time. I enjoy this channel.

Interesting video. I had not heard about the stabilization advantage that torrification produces. It makes perfect business sense to torrify the tops to minimize cracking issues and resulting call backs and repairs. It must be challenging to maintain stability in guitars that are shipped around the world in different climates. Thanks for the information!

Interesting content. Still not sold on a French Fried top. Slight difference

Good afternoon gentlemen, Nice to see you again. My favorite guys to watch talk about guitars. Thanks again for everything you do!

thanks for the vid. it takes time effort and money. I respect the fact you care enought to answer the questions, and put in the effort to provide some content and perspective. # 2 for me please, all day long. it's got the most "piano"., and roundness. it's an organic material: wood and craftspersonship will add nuance. there is an unquestionable difference in tone (headphones), and one's preference will be personal. bottom line, thanks for doing this. it's certainly at least an 8/10 on the guitar geek scale. lovely guitars.

Very nice guitars. Torrefaction works! Stay with it guys! Alvarez always raising the bar! 👍👍🎶🎶🎶🎶😎😎😎😎

My GYM70CESHB developed a buzz only on the 12th fret on the 6th string in January.(purchased it in March of 2022) since it was only one fret on one string I left it alone and lived with it and it went away around the end of March. I am in a dry climate, so I figured it just needed time to get used to where it lived.

Excellent comparison and loads of interesting info. Thanks! I liked the tone of the Goldilocks in the middle.

Great content as always!! Thank you for all you do! Listening multiple times with decent headphones I did hear a big difference in brightness between the first 2, a more subtle difference between the Second and Third examples. The third example actually became a bit tinny. Of course the RU-vid seems to compress things (or alters the sound in some way) that it would likely sound quite differently in a live setting hearing the pure acoustic sound of the instruments.

Professor Chris, I am not sure about Torrefaction, its like coming to a climax without the joy of getting there! I think that you have to get to grow with your guitar before maturity. Thanks Chris and Dee for another very informative video.👍👍👍

I could listen to you guys play all day, it’s just such pure sound.

Phenomenal video! Very intriguing

Alvarez guitars are the best

Just bought an AGFM80CEAR , I’m so happy with it

An enjoyable and informative video as usual from you guys. While I could hear the difference between the 3 guitars in the ABC test, I expected more than one E chord strum with the thumb, especially given the title of the video. I like that you do the torrefaction to a lesser heat on your guitar tops as it reduces the chance for odd-looking dark streaks which is common on many low to mid-price guitars with torrefied tops these days.

There were definitely differences I liked the third one at 150

Do you still recommend using humidifiers during dry winter weather?

The 150°C sounded amazing

Very educational video. My preference of the demos is the 3rd guitar, with the highest temperature. Wondering if my recently purchased AG60-8CESHB has a torrefied top? Also, quite sure that my MD5000 predates the torrefaction method. While torrefied tops can add to the sound of a good guitar, they still don't have the effect of natural aging. For example, my FYM-66HD and DYMR70SB are both cannons, with superior volume as well as unsurpassed sound. Keep using the method if it makes the guitars sound better. However, please stay from the temperature that causes the zebra-like effect. Can't wait for those new archtops to appear in a video!!! Any thoughts on a Yairi archtop?

I am not an acoustic player per se so this is lost on me, however I do plan to purchase an LJ2 to keep in the car. I think it would be great if Alvarez decided to refine and reintroduce jazzer models for the American market....patterned after an ES335, ES 339, GB10, L5, G6120, etc. My ideal body width would be 15 1/2" and a neck scale of 25". Add 2 humbuckers and a Bigsby tailpiece and I'd order one for sure...gotta have beautiful finishes though...Ice Tea Burst, transparent Wine, Natural, maybe Tennessee orange. 😊

I understand that my 90 DY61 had the wood under water for 4 years before it was dried and used to make guitar tops, can you tell us more about that? Is it still done? Was it done? thanks

Is it also so that torrefaction allows you to use fresh wood and therefore do not need a big stock of wood to sit and become ready for guitar building? I am buying the VOC story etc but I think what happens to the lignin is that it melts and becomes redistributed before it stiffens again. That is something that likely doesn’t happen when wood naturally ages. Is it better or worse? I don’t know. It is up to personal preference.

I’ve wondered about this and if firegrain method would also work? Promark drumsticks and some woodworking companies use firegrain or torching method to strengthen the wood too so I’ve wondered if it’s been experimented on acoustics and electric guitars. I know Promark claims it makes the sticks closer in weight and sound too which helps the drummer because it is annoying when your sticks are if different weights and sound.

I bought a Fym60hd a year ago. It sounds so much better a year later. I bought a torified guitar about the same time. It sounds the same. No improvement. And it doesn't sound nearly as good as my Yairi. I think I prefer the journey of breaking in a non torified guitar. Since wood characteristics change eith each piece of wood. Some will certainly sound better than other torified tops. And is voicing a top affected by torification? And does the price tag goes up with it?

Faith claim torrification on their their PJE legacy series ages them 20 years. Difficult to prove, but accelerating the natural process makes sense. Clearly you agree. I heard a difference with the third one ( highest temperature.)

Definitely like 2nd sample more than the 1st, not so sure 3rd one is better than the 2nd one

Question is, we torrify guitars yet after it’s bought and at home we need to humidify it.

If i leave my heating on full overnight will my guitar be worth 10 times as much? 😅

So they do it for stability not tone, but they call it "Advanced Tonal Response." Hmm. Seems like they should have named it "Advanced Structural Stability." No pun intended with the acronym... I think it does both things, and I love my new torrefied guitar!

How about a charcoal top? Max torrefaction.

It feels counter intuitive that baking the wood is a good idea. For years we have been told to keep instruments out of strong sun and away from heat sources. Interesting. Without a doubt a guitar I have had for 45 years has really improved in tone warm and woody . if this process does not destroy the integrity of the wood then it does look like a good way of speeding things up. ps If you turn the heat up too much do you get a carbon fibre guitar or just a bunch of drawing sticks - ?😊 pps I'm not convinced that Viking ship technology and techniques is appropriate for guitars .. ppps . I do wonder if torrefied guitars will last well for 50 years - will they age prematurely?

Do the tops of the Regent guitar series go through the process of Torrefaction? Do all Alvarez guitars go through Torrefaction?

I really enjoyed Chris’s description of the process. I had a Materials Science professor years ago, who always joked that an undergrad’s answer to most questions was, “you heat it up,” meaning that we didn’t always understand the nuances of a process. Chris clearly does, and his connection to the manufacturing process reflects well on the whole brand.

I like these guitars but I don't see anything like it on Sweetwater

So what temperature should I set my oven for for my guitar?😂 (Yes, I'm joking.)

That is useless if your nut is very wide and your fingerboard is very sharp edges..sound is nothing if your playability is punishing!!!

FIRST!

I stopped watching these shows. It is always disappointing. Why? I happened to be a member of a group guitarplayers which is completely ignored. We don't count. Though we are almost 15% of all players, we just do not count. Who we are....? The lefties.