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Flaxwood's new Hybrid guitar launched at Winter NAMM

Flaxwood's new Hybrid guitar launched at Winter NAMM
The new HYBRID model from Flaxwood guitars has merged a traditional wood body with a neck made from natural fiber composite to offer guitarists a more familiar instrument while retaining the company's famous tone
The new HYBRID model from Flaxwood guitars has merged a traditional wood body with a neck made from natural fiber composite to offer guitarists a more familiar instrument while retaining the company's famous tone
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The new HYBRID model from Flaxwood guitars has merged a traditional wood body with a neck made from natural fiber composite to offer guitarists a more familiar instrument while retaining the company's famous tone
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The new HYBRID model from Flaxwood guitars has merged a traditional wood body with a neck made from natural fiber composite to offer guitarists a more familiar instrument while retaining the company's famous tone

A few short years ago, Flaxwood challenged traditional thinking about what is necessary to produce great guitar tone. Its guitars are made by breaking down recycled wood fiber, mixing it up with an acoustically sensitive polymer and then injection-molding it into the familiar shape of a guitar. In an effort to introduce the technology to a wider audience, the company has allowed a traditional axe to mate with one of its own. The result of this unholy union has now been born. The appropriately-named HYBRID has a European alder wood body and a bolt-on Flaxwood neck and is available in single coil or humbucker pickup configurations.

The company's Jussi Reijonen told Gizmag that Flaxwood is "combining the advanced material technology used in our earlier models, with traditional wood guitar luthiery, in an effort to get closer to the players who are more familiar with traditional designs."

The body is crafted from non-endangered European alder body that's supplied from certified sustainable resources. The 22 fret natural fiber composite bolt-on neck, the primary ingredient of which is recycled Northern Spruce, helps provide the company's trademark sustain, responsiveness and stability.

The HYBRID is initially available in two model types. The 3SC version has three Seymour Duncan SSL-2 single coil pickups and a blend control which adds gradual neck pickup signal, in addition to the volume and tone knobs. There are a couple of Seymour Duncan humbuckers on the 2HM version, with volume and individual pickup tone controls.

The new model is shipped with Elixir Nanoweb 0.010 to 0.046-inch strings, benefits from a Tune-X tuning system and is available with either a stainless steel hardtail or tremelo bridge. Launched at NAMM in Anaheim recently, the Flaxwood HYBRID is crafted in Finland and carries a suggested retail price of US$1,299.

4 comments
4 comments
Aaron Garth
Err... no 24-fret model?
windykites
it sounds like the fingerboard is a piece of MDF. I can\'t see the advantage of this over a piece of real wood. The price is pretty steep as well. Notice they haven\'t gone the whole hog and used MDF to make the body, as well. The whole idea seems pointless.
Keith Reeder
\"Notice they haven\'t gone the whole hog and used MDF to make the body, as well.\"

They were doing that a long time before they released this one.
Iván Imhof
@ windykites1 The whole idea works pretty well. I have a wonderful Flaxwood Liekki, that has no wood in it, just what you call MDF. Well, term-wise it is, but it's a big mistake to confuse it with the material used in cheap furniture, etc. This guitar sounds brillant, absolutely comparable with my Gibson or Fender. The neck is one of the most comfortable I ever played (and I played dozens of guitars). So don't judge by prejudice. ALso, a low quality Youtube video could show quite superficial tonal characteristics only...