16. Efecto del enriquecimiento ambiental materno y del desafío inflamatorio durante la
16.1. Efecto del enriquecimiento ambiental materno y el LPS sobre la unidad feto-
BY MARC GREILSAMER
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Makers & Shakers
Case designer Jeff Hoffee
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New Gear Eastman E10 orchestra model90
Great Acoustics John Denver’s Yamaha L-53I
n recent years, increasingly, and repeatedly, frustrated by the Dana Teague has become lack of quality acoustic guitars available in the entry-level market. Now, Teague, president of instrument distributors Dana B. Goods, has taken matters into his own hands by developing his own line of affordable acoustics. Named after his daughter Grace, the Grace Harbor line will be his company’s first proprietary brand, with Grace Teague herself playing a major role in qualitycontrol and setup of the new instruments. “All Grace Harbor guitars are simple in style, feature durable, quality craftsmanship inside and out, have great tone, and are made to play,” Dana Teague says. The company settled on a manufacturing facility in China that has worked extensively with American guitar makers in the past. The new line grew out of an off-the-cuff dialogue with the manufacturer that Teague had while visiting China last year. In the ensuing months, Teague worked closely with the builders to develop appropriate designs that would satisfy his goals for appear- ance, playability, and cost.
One of the highest design priorities for the Grace Harbor line is the bracing process. Top braces are affixed in vacuum fixtures, then chis- eled by hand for maximum flexibility. Their pro- prietary gluing system used for the bridge and neck joint is believed to provide optimum strength and enhance the transfer of vibrations. To protect tone, Teague opted for a slightly thicker neck profile than the sleeker neck size
currently in favor with many builders, and for nut and saddle material he chose PPS (polyphenylene sulphide), an engineering plastic used in electrical insulation, gaskets, and other materials.
The new product line is launching with six distinct models, all with laminated sapele backs and sides, Indian rosewood fingerboards and bridges, and nato necks. The dreadnought-sized GHD-100 and GHD-100CE (with cutaway and electronics) will feature laminated spruce tops, while the guitars in the 200 series boast solid spruce tops and are available in four styles: classical (nylon-string), dreadnought, grand concert, and parlor.
The parlor model is of particular interest to Teague and company. “Grace and many of her friends naturally gravitated towards parlor- sized guitars,” he notes, “because they were slightly smaller and easier to play. However, many parlor-sized guitars lack balanced tone and projection due to the smaller resonating chamber and relatively slim necks.”
Teague is confident that his GHP-200 parlor (with its standard 25.4-inch scale length) will address these commonly seen issues.
T h e G r a c e H a r b o r g u i t a r s w i l l l i s t f o r between $429 and $519, and each comes with a hard-shell case.
I n o t h e r n e w s , D a n a B . G o o d s a l s o announced that they are renewing their distri- bution agreement with Japan’s Aria Guitars, which will include a number of Aria’s solid-top acoustic models. AG
SHOPTALK
Grace Harbor Grand ConcertMARTIN HOSTS
ITS FIFTH
BI-ANNUAL
WOOD SUMMIT
Back in May, C. F. Martin & Co.
h o s t e d t h e F i f t h B i - A n n u a l Wood Summit at its Nazareth, Pe n n s y l v a n i a , h e a d q u a r t e r s , convening members of govern- m e n t , n o n p r o f i t g r o u p s , a n d industry leaders to discuss a range of subjects related to wood sustain- ability and environmental steward- ship. Among the topics covered: CITES (pronounced si-tees, the agreement known as the Conven- tion on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) and its domestic coun- terpart the US Lacey Act, chain of custody DNA tracking, and sourcing of alternative materials. AG checked in with one of the event’s facilita- tors, Michael Dickinson, Martin’s
exotic, alternative, and sustainable wood sourcing specialist, to learn more.
“This year’s Wood Summit was interesting because it was the first
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78 August 2015
time we did not have a theme,” D i c k i n s o n t o l d m e b y e m a i l . “Letting the speakers talk about t h e s u b j e c t s o f t h e i r c h o i c e allowed for a more frank and open discussion of today’s most impact- ful subjects.”
Not surprisingly, Dickinson cites the world’s various regulatory poli- cies—the Lacey Act, the EUTR (European Union Timber Regula- tions), and others in Australia and (coming soon) Japan—as having the most significant impact on today’s guitar-building industry, not t o m e n t i o n t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l restrictions posed by CITES.
“One can imagine the amount of paperwork required for several dif- ferent governmental bodies, for the exact same information, can be quite daunting to all of us in this industry,” Dickinson notes. “My hope is that events like ours will help us under- stand why the information is col- lected, what each agency uses the information for, and how it relates to sustainable forest practices world- wide. As much as I complain, if all it takes is me completing forms . . . to stop some guy in Brazil from cutting down a rosewood tree illegally, I will happily complete the paperwork until my fingers fall off.”
Dickinson is hopeful that DNA tracking will play a major role in g u a r d i n g p r o t e c t e d t i m b e r. “ I imagine the day when I say, ‘Sorry, s i r, I c a n ’ t b u y y o u r l u m b e r, b e c a u s e i t s D N A f i n g e r p r i n t m a t c h e s t h a t o f w o o d f r o m N i g e r i a , n o t C a m e r o o n . ’ W h o knew that every tree has its own sequences, just like us humans? Or who would have ever thought you could match a tree to a guitar built in the US?”
Saving the rainforests, Dickin- son believes, will require a mix of new plantations along with new technology. For example, Dickin- son is excited about newly devel- o p e d m e t h o d s o f c h e m i c a l l y
modifying softwoods to produce materials on par with natural hardwood timber. By being able to control factors such as density and color through this treatment, the versatility of responsibly harvested s o f t w o o d s c a n b e g r e a t l y expanded. “Think of the possibili- ties,” Dickinson says. “Thousands of applications from one species. It is mindboggling and exciting to consider how many old growth forests could be saved by this process.”
Dickinson also shared the story behind Martin’s kiln in Guatemala. “By purchasing mahogany from the Mayan biosphere,” he notes, “not only could we track the tree back to the forest, the whole forestry plan in that area allows small vil- lages to reap the benefits. They are building schools and a solid infra- structure, and our Martin Guitar kiln is making it possible for them to have year-round employment. The coolest thing is it also helps preserve the Mayan ruins. By selec- tively harvesting in the biosphere around the ancient buildings, scav- engers are less likely to pillage for fear of running into a logger.”
A l s o n o t e w o r t h y f r o m t h e Wood Summit was the presenta- tion by the Maple Propagation Project. “What we are talking about here is basically cloning,” Dickinson says. “That is complete and total sci-fi movie stuff. While I do not understand the technology, as a guitar-building and wood afi- cionado, I think being able to have a constant supply of figured maple is very exciting. But even better, if we are that close to being able to clone wood, then we are even closer to me being able to get an actual light saber, and that would be awesome!” —M.G.
B.C. RICH GOES
ACOUSTIC—AGAIN
Thanks to B.C. Rich’s strong presence in the electric realm of hard rock, few players realize that Bernardo Chavez Rico’s
company began life in the 1960s as makers of acoustic guitars. After a lengthy layoff from the acoustic scene, B.C. Rich announced its plan to return to the acoustic guitar market with a line of five new models. What’s more, the company will be using its own history as a roadmap.
“We are constantly studying our own storied history,” says company spokesman Josh Vittek. “We monitor what
B.C. Rich fans discuss online and listen to their comments when they contact us. The early B.C. Rich acoustics are this really great underground legend. All the talk about them is totally organic and based on the approach Bernie Rico and the craftsmen took to them over the years.”
No doubt that history is a driving force behind the new models. B.C. Rich adhered to many of the primary construc- tion methods of those legendary acoustics, aiming for a famil- iar design and appearance, while adding a number of modern techniques to the mix. “Bernardo’s Guitar Shop, a Los Angeles store in the 1950s, offered handmade custom classical, folk, and mariachi guitars,” Vittek explains. “By the 1960s, the shop was the place to hang and get your guitar repairs taken care of. People were bringing in their Gibson and Martin steel- string guitars for modifications. At that same time, Bernardo’s son Bernie, who was now working in the shop, saw the trend in steel-string acoustics, and Bernie and the luthiers began building their own steel-string models.
“But they did it their way; they didn’t copy the others. The guys in the shop cut, shaped, and built everything by hand with chisels, hammers, and knives. There was even a window between the showroom and the wood room where customers could see the guitars being made.”
The five new B.C. Rich acoustics, all dreadnought-sized, include the laminated spruce/sapele BCR1 (natural) and BCR2 (black finish), the cutaway BCR3 with flamed-maple top (available in four colors), the cedar-topped cutaway BCR4, and the top-of-the-line BCR6, which offers a solid spruce top and rosewood back and sides. All but the BCR1 will include Fishman Sonitone electronics. Some of the new models are currently available, with the rest coming later in
the year. —M.G.
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