"Abalaminate"

[ikkyu2]

As I learn more about PRS guitars, I am trying to expunge all the information I've learned from Ed Roman's website. As most of you reading are aware, Ed Roman writes things that have a grain of truth to them but they're so slanted and biased as to be ridiculously misinformative, even when you can't point to any factual error. (I wonder why Ed didn't go to law school? He's a natural.)

I digress. I'd like to know about inlay material. I know that some inlay is abalone shell laminated onto plastic, and that's called AbaLaminate - a brand name, I presume?

What I don't know: is all shell inlay done this way? All PRS inlay? Just some PRSes?

I'm also curious as to what the stuff is on my own PRSes, as they're definitely very different.

All birds - a 2004 BLE McCarty with "green ripple"; a 1999 plain old Archtop II; and a 2004 CuRo22 Artist. Of the three of them, the Artist has by far the flashiest looking inlay - every color of the rainbow on these birds.

Any real, non-Romanized explanations are welcomed ;)

[barrysrq]

PRS has used "Abalam" in recent years, a kind of pressed-together material from large flakes of Abalone, presumably with a binding polymer. This cuts price and improves consistancy, but what you see is abalone.

The artist package uses a similar material from South Pacific Puau shell, with a wider spectrum of color.

Way back, Mother-of-Pearl was used for some birds, was abandoned for Abalam.

[cSuttle]

Abalam/Paua shell was not so much a cost cutting measure as a necessity. The larger Abalone shells have been almost completely fished out. The last Abalone I was offered were 1"x1" squares. Just about useless. An Abalam sheet is 9"x 6". This you can do a lot with. Large pieces can be easily cut from the sheet. Pretty much all the inlay guys are using this now. Plus Paua is more colorful than the real stuff and has great grain pattern.

Mother of Pearl you can still get in big pieces and looks much better than the manufactured counter part. Most of the good inlay guys are using the original stuff here.

[Bruce O'Donnell]

The process to make Abalam was developed by Larry Sifel at Pearl Works (the company who does the majority of PRS's inlay work) and Chuck Erikson (aka the Duke of Pearl) to provide better yield of a diminishing resource. Out of 100 lbs of abalone shell the average yield was 5 lbs of blanks. Chuck Erikson found a Korean manufacturer who could slice abalone into thin sheets, and Larry Sifel developed the laminating process that turns them into blanks. No limit to the color, size, or thickness of the blanks, and it increased the yield by five-fold.

[ikkyu2]

Thanks for the info, guys.

[Phil Macino]

Great info.

[AxeSlinger]

This thread is a clear example of why I love this place! This is fantastic information and a cool learning experience!

[Adam]

Phil, it might be a good idea to archive this one - it answered some questions for me that I never even thought to ask, but have always wondered.


What do you think?

[Vinni Smith]

I spoke with Ed about details like this and I know his position but I do not agree. At all!

Personally, I prefer the new Ablam" birds over the original 1-2 piece birds. I think the new ones are a thousand times more colorfull and it is probably better on our environment.

Actually, I do not agree with Ed on many topics but the biggest one is whether old is better than new. I personally hate the way old guitars smell, feel, sound and look. I am NOT a "classic" collector. Out with the old and in with the new, that's what I say. I play a 92custom24 with a brazilian fretboard and as it is still a very good instrument, I will be replacing it with a newer updated version of some sort. I have a '96Santana I that I just love and I am sure that will be replaced some day.

I also dissagree with him on the "hell from hell" issue. I personally feel that if someone really has that much problem playing with these new heels, they simply need to practice more and become a better player. I have very small hands and have played a Les Paul for years and years, all the time reaching around the body to access the A octave scale. Playing my Santana I with the big heel is Disneyland compared to a Les Paul.

I get a lot of enjoyment talking to Ed on the phone and I can actually say I like the guy but we do not see eye to eye. But that is what life is about and I look at it this way, the world would be pretty boring if we all DID agree and if we did not have people like Ed Roman and Ted Nugent around.........

[Jo]

I'd be interested in what you guys think these birds are?
Just plain abalam? (Did PRS ever use plain/real Abalone or was it always Abalam?)

BTW. the birds on the BLE's were supposed to be "pink heart abalone" tho' strangely enough every other bird on my McRosie BLE is pink, while the other seems to be more greenish.

Anyway, what would you say these birds look like (CLiff?) - Plain ole abalam?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/MyGuitars/PRS%20CE-24%20Birds/ce24-3.jpg

[cSuttle]

Hey Jo,

They look like Paua (abalam) to me. You rarely get Blue Paua with that much pink in it, but it's a made by nature material so you never know. Unless of course this is a PS guitar and then I guess it could be Pink Heart. A little green for pink heart, but some times.

The 12th fret is really the give away. Red Abalone wouldn't have that much grain.

Very nice looking birds though. I like em. :)

[ikkyu2]

BTW. the birds on the BLE's were supposed to be "pink heart abalone" tho' strangely enough every other bird is pink, while the other seems to be more greenish.

From the PRS Model History:

BRAZILIAN SERIES McCARTY: 2003. McCarty, Brazilian fretboard and headstock overlay, pink heart abalone birds and signature, the word “Brazilian” is inlayed on the face of the headstock in green abalone ripple, gold/nickel hybrid hardware configuration, 10 top only. Limited run of 500 guitars all signed and numbered.

But on my BLE, the signature and the little word 'Brazilian' look pink, and the birds look green - go figure? They also look a lot like the ones in your picture, with lots of pretty black swirling pattern.

This site, MOP supplies (http://www.mopsupplies.com/) has some really nice pictures of abalone inlay blanks, as does Custom Inlay. (http://www.custominlay.com) And there is the Ed Roman page (http://www.edromanguitars.com/tech/inlaymaterials.htm) too.

[Rusmurf]

Green Ripple looks a lot like Paua?

Reu

[Jo]

Hey Jo,

Very nice looking birds though. I like em. :)They are nice, aren't they. And they're the birds on my lowly CE.

From the PRS Model History:

But on my BLE, the signature and the little word 'Brazilian' look pink, and the birds look green - go figure? They also look a lot like the ones in your picture, with lots of pretty black swirling pattern.Oops, my bad, I didn't explain myself clearly enough. On my MrRosie BLE, (supposed to be pink heart) but every other bird on it, is pink, one pink, one green, one pink, one green. Most odd, but kinda cool at the same time.

Here's a pic from my BLE, you can't see the colour change between the birds too good, but you get the pink / green / pink idea.

The 3rd fret bird is very green, while the 5th is pink, 7th is green etc.. Is yours something like this?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/MyGuitars/PRS%20McCarty%20BLE%20Rosewood/ble11.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/MyGuitars/PRS%20McCarty%20BLE%20Rosewood/ble12.jpg

[Tikki]

I'd be interested in what you guys think these birds are?
Just plain abalam? (Did PRS ever use plain/real Abalone or was it always Abalam?)

BTW. the birds on the BLE's were supposed to be "pink heart abalone" tho' strangely enough every other bird on my McRosie BLE is pink, while the other seems to be more greenish.

Anyway, what would you say these birds look like (CLiff?) - Plain ole abalam?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/MyGuitars/PRS%20CE-24%20Birds/ce24-3.jpg
That's some real nice birds you have there dude. Shame they don't offer them on the CE's anymore. :(

[Jo]

That's some real nice birds you have there dude. Shame they don't offer them on the CE's anymore. :(Thanks...:) but really don't you mean "dudette"????? ;)

:D

[Tikki]

:o I am so sorry. I humbly apologize. New to these parts, and need to learn my genders. Ms Jo I assume?

[ikkyu2]

Here's a pic from my BLE, you can't see the colour change between the birds too good, but you get the pink / green / pink idea.

The 3rd fret bird is very green, while the 5th is pink, 7th is green etc.. Is yours something like this?

No, my BLE McRosie's birds all have at least one big splotch of green, and in general they have a lot more black in them. Let's see if I can dig up a pic, with the caveat that getting these colors right in pics is devilish difficult (as I am sure you already realize).

Hmm, this pic was not taken by me, but it is the only pic of my McCarty's birds I have. You can't see how green they are all that well:

http://homepage.mac.com/d_halgren/PRS/wwb9.jpg

And, under this follows a pic of my Cu22Ro AP's birds, which I did take myself and tweaked in Photoshop until the bird colors were most evident:

http://homepage.mac.com/d_halgren/PRS/birds.jpg

Last but not least, may as well show off the Archtop II's bird-board:

http://homepage.mac.com/d_halgren/A2/neck.jpg

Hope these pics don't annoy any one!

I have wondered whether the PRS birds don't all interlock in some jigsaw-puzzle manner to save on Abalam blanks. I would not be surprised to discover that the hummingbird beak was originally poking into the falcon's tail - and now that I reread what I have written, that will be the last word on THAT topic, thank you very much :D

[cSuttle]

Green Ripple looks a lot like Paua?
Actually Green Ripple is nothing like Paua at all. Here is a link to my materials page and you can check it out of yourself.

http://www.sharkinlay.com/materials.htm

[Anders Destium]

Great informative thread. I always wonder why PRS inlays stand out to other guitar inlay's. I was at a Dutch guitar forum meeting saturday and my Cu22 Artist had the most prominent inlays by far!

>Jo
You're a great photographer, are you using the close-up function of your camera or not. And is it flash or natural? I never seem to grasp the fundamentals of good photographing, and the pics of my guitars are an exponent of that. I have to this point never been able to show the real color of my inlays :(

[Jo]

I am so sorry. I humbly apologize. New to these parts, and need to learn my genders. Ms Jo I assume?Ms Jo it is :) ... you don't by any chance like eating Tikki Masala do you? ;)

..... I would not be surprised to discover that the hummingbird beak was originally poking into the falcon's tail - and now that I reread what I have written, that will be the last word on THAT topic, thank you very much Actually Ikky, I was thinking more like your 12th fret bird had taken a poop on the 11th fret of your AT's fretboard. :D :D

[Brian D]

Nice birds there Jo!

I don't have pics, but mine all seem to have a greenish tint which matches my Teal Black finish rather nicely.

[Vinni Smith]

I have NEVER seen birds like that on an old PRS.

Never

Those are beautiful

[Bruce O'Donnell]

Did PRS ever use plain/real Abalone or was it always Abalam? PRS used abalone shell until the end of 1991, and for a period in 1992 used Mother of Pearl due to a shortgage of quality abalone shell. In part this is what prompted Pearl Works to come up with a way to improve the yield of abalone, and PRS has used Abalam and Agoyalam (paua) ever since.

BTW - what Ed Roman fails to mention is that virtually every guitar manufacturer who used abalone inlays switched to Abalam the minute it became available. Pearl Works either took down or is redoing their website, but they listed Martin, Taylor, Collins, Fender, and a who's who of others as customers.

[Tikki]

[QUOTE=Jo]Ms Jo it is :) ... you don't by any chance like eating Tikki Masala do you? ;)

:confused: I am not familiar with that person, and would surely never consider eating them. My real name is Stanley, but was nick named by my niece after Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo.

Back to the birds: I have often found many variances in the colors of the birds, especially the abalone shell. The PAUA seems to be more consistant. I really love the way the PAUA reflects light, and looks as if the birds are back lit.

[ikkyu2]

Actually Ikky, I was thinking more like your 12th fret bird had taken a poop on the 11th fret of your AT's fretboard. :D :D

Hahaha! You just had to go there didn'tcha?! :eek: :p

It's just a funny reflection. Not bird poop - honest! My experiments with fretboard conditioners have not gone that far -- yet --

[Ron Thorn]

"Red" and "Green" abalone is actually referring to the outside color of the shell, none of which is used for inlays - it's more of a bark.
I have a couple dozen red abalone complete shells (not slabbed) here at the shop, many of which are entirely green inside. So, pink/green/red can vary considerably and often look alike, thus adding to the confusion.:rolleyes:

Ron

[ikkyu2]

Holy cow, straight from the keyboard of Ron Thorn to me!

I love this place :)