Luthite
Encyclopedia
Luthite is a light-weight synthetic material developed by Westheimer Corporation http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5905219.PN.&OS=PN/5905219&RS=PN/5905219 (a US-based Cort Guitars
importer) for the construction of bass guitar
and guitar
bodies.
Luthite was developed as a substitute for wood, for as a synthetic composite material there is much greater control over the consistency of production. Additionally it is able to be formed to almost any shape, i.e. 3D shapes out of plane, where the wood equivalent would require a very large body blank or laminate
s. In spite of these advantages, it possesses considerably less resistance to impact than its wooden counterparts. This renders finished instruments more susceptible to being chipped during use or cracking if dropped.
The tone
of luthite is different from many tonewood
s, this may be seen as an advantage or disadvantage according to personal preference. This is probably much less of an issue in basses, since most typical guitar materials (wood, luthite, etc.) don't resonate at those low frequencies anyway.
Whilst primarily used in Cort’s Curbow series basses, the Ibanez
Ergodyne series basses and guitars were also made of luthite until 2006.
Cort Guitars
Cort Guitars is a guitar manufacturer centered in South Korea. The company is one of the largest guitar makers in the world, and produces instruments for many other companies.- History :...
importer) for the construction of bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
bodies.
Luthite was developed as a substitute for wood, for as a synthetic composite material there is much greater control over the consistency of production. Additionally it is able to be formed to almost any shape, i.e. 3D shapes out of plane, where the wood equivalent would require a very large body blank or laminate
Laminate
A laminate is a material that can be constructed by uniting two or more layers of material together. The process of creating a laminate is lamination, which in common parlance refers to the placing of something between layers of plastic and gluing them with heat and/or pressure, usually with an...
s. In spite of these advantages, it possesses considerably less resistance to impact than its wooden counterparts. This renders finished instruments more susceptible to being chipped during use or cracking if dropped.
The tone
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
of luthite is different from many tonewood
Tonewood
Tonewood generally refers to any wood which may be used in the construction of a musical instrument. Many acoustic properties are often assigned to specific wood species; however the description of these properties is itself a large subject and beyond the scope of this article...
s, this may be seen as an advantage or disadvantage according to personal preference. This is probably much less of an issue in basses, since most typical guitar materials (wood, luthite, etc.) don't resonate at those low frequencies anyway.
Whilst primarily used in Cort’s Curbow series basses, the Ibanez
Ibanez
is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass produce...
Ergodyne series basses and guitars were also made of luthite until 2006.