Talking Titanium

First of all, what is ‘billet’ titanium?  Billet material is ‘bulk’ material that is forged at the mill.  It is forged in large sizes, then drawn into various shapes and sizes for use.  Billet material is free from impurities.  But most importantly, it has a consistent grain structure that is closely aligned and densely formed.

When metals are cast, a few things happen: First, as the material is poured into the mold, it entraps air.  This reaction with the atmosphere creates impurities.  It also creates porosity - a spongelike structure.  Also, the grain of the material is not uniform.

The interior of castings have definite voids and holes.

At 1mm scale the random array casting material is clear.

When billet material is machined, material is removed but the grain structure is preserved. The structural integrity and ability to transfer acoustic energy is maintained.

Even at 20um magnification, Titanium still shows its uniform grain.

As you can see in this picture, titanium has a definite grain even at 200x greater magnification as the cast material shown above.

This grain structure is why Titanium has superior properties in musical instruments.  More string energy is transferred into the body of the instrument.

This provides the greater sustain and clarity that is the trademark of TiSonix products.

TiSonix: Simply Superior Sound!

Between January 15 and 18 in Anaheim, CA the largest music industry trade show is held.  NAMM attracts manufacturers, artists and other music industry people from around the world.  This provided a great venue for TiSonix to introduce several new products:

• Vintage ‘Ash-Tray’ bridges for tele-style guitars.  These have the same appearance ans other ‘Ash-Trays’, but they are machined from billet titanium for superior performance.  They provide a solid, stable support for either barrels or individual saddles.  TiSonix offers them in a 3 or 4-hole mount.
• Compensated Barrels.  Historically, Tele-style barrels have been unable to intonate all six strings accurately.  Getting it ‘close-enough’ has been part of the traditional Tele- headaches.   Now, TiSonix offers a Compensated Barrel that will accurately intonate all six strings and deliver that TiSonix titanium difference!  Unique to TiSonix is their compound-bias groove.  This provdes a groove over the slanted barrel the maintains a stright string path.  This prevents string breakage associated with other compensated barrels and does not provide unusual string coloration due to a crooked string path.
• Titanium Sustain Blocks for Tremolos.  Guitar players havelong known that titanium trem blocks provide greater sustain and purer tones.  However, they have been extremely expensive.   The modern manufacturing techniques of Tisonix brings a precision, oversized block at a lower price point that is affordable to more players.  It comes in the proper sizes to fit Floyd Rose and other popular trem systems.
• String Insert Blocks for Floyd Rose.  Players have been plagued with string insert problems for many years.  Original string inserts are prone to crack or ‘mushroom’ under tension.  Once deformed they may be extremely difficult to remove.  TiSonix solves these traditional problems by offering am Insert Block machined for heat-treated billet titanium.  These String Insert Blocks are guaranteed never to crack, break or deform - ever!  Not only does TiSonix provide an unbreakable part, you also get the superior sound results from using TiSonix titanium.

These new componets received a great deal of attention from luthiers, custom-builders and players.  You cna look for TiSonix titanium components to begin showing up as standard equipment on severl custom guitar builders finest instruments.

Premier Guitar Magazine came by the booth to check out the action.  You can see their video report here:

Premier Guitar magazine features TiSonix

To see some more of the action at NAMM, check out our additional reports.

John Bolin is proudly offering a limited edition, 30th Anniversary Guitar.  After supplying artists like Jimmy Page, Steve Miller, Lou Reed, Doc Watson, Albert King, Bo Didley, Joe Perry, Keith Richards & Ronnie Wood, John Bolin may be best known for supplying the outrageous guitars for ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons and Dusty Hill.    John is famous for saying, “It’s about the music”.  So when it came time to create his special edition guitars, he chose TiSonix titanium hardware for the bridge, saddles and tailpiece.  We at Tisonix were please to provide custom laser engraving.  (Please note: the Blue color is not painted or applied - it is part of a proprietary laser combustion process.)

For more information about John Bolin’s guitars please check his website.

For more information about TiSonix’s ABR-1 titanium bridge and tailpiece please visit our webpage.

TiSonix components on Bolin's 30th Anniversary Special Edition.

There is ‘titanium’ and then there is ‘TITANIUM’.

There is a grade of titanium called ‘Commercially Pure’ (CP).  It is a malleable form that is used in stampings and can be formed into shapes.  It has the advantage of being corrosion free.  Its ability to transfer acoustic (vibrations) energy is superior to many other metals, but it is not optimal.  It has a Rockwell hardness around B90.  This hardness is compromised for the convenience of forming.

To improve these acoustic properties, titanium can also be cast.  These titanium alloys may be more rigid - perhaps Rockwell hardness of C25.  This will improve acoustic energy transfer, but cast titanium has its drawbacks.  While casting, titanium reacts with atmospheric gases and creates porosity within the casting.  Microscopic voids are inescapable in titanium.  These voids interrupt the grain of the material, providing a sponge-like structure which restricts its efficiency.

TiSonix machines their parts from a forged titanium billet.  This means that the material has an extremely tight grain structure without any voids.  It is also much harder.  Rockwell ratings are C35 to C45.  While it makes this material very hard to machine into a finished part for your guitar, the tightly uniform grain of the titanium molecules provides the greatest efficiency to transfer the sound of your strings into the music we hear.

TiSonix is committed to producing the finest sounding guitar component possible.  That is why we machine our parts from titanium billet instead of lesser materials.

TiSonix - Simply Superior Sound.

For those who have wanted a definitive, illustrative example of how Tisonix Acoustic Bridge Pins improve the sound of your guitar, we have posted a short video on YouTube to provide a side-by-side comparison.  We took a well respected, high quality guitar (by Martin) and recorded a series of notes using their stock bridge pins.    Then, we restrung the same guitar using TiSonix pins and recorded the same notes.  By creating a split-screen image of both notes, you can see how much longer TiSonix bridge pins improve the sustain.

To view the video go to www.YouTube.com and search on ‘TiSonix’ - or view it here…

TiSonix Bridge Pins superior!

Now…

We have followed it up with a side-by-sie comparison of Telecasters.  One has the origianl Fender bridge, saddles and ferrules.  The other one has the TiSonix Bridge, Titanium saddles and Ferrules.

See the difference here:

Titanium Telecaster Test

TiSonix - Simply Superior Sound

TiSonix is sponsoring their first-ever, Demo Day.  Scheduled for Nov 15th at World Music in Santa Clarita, CA.  Customers coming into the store will be able to play a number of guitars with TiSonix titanium hardware installed.  Identical instruments with stock hardware and TiSonix Titanium will allow players to A/B test how TiSonix improves sustain, and sonic quality.

Lori Martinez, co-owner of World Music, is pleased to host this inaugural event.  “It is a way for customers to come in, try new products, and know they are buying the best”.  While the Demo Day permits testing many products made by TiSonix,  it is focused on their Acoustic Bridge Pins.  It allows customers with stell string acousitc guitars to purchase a set of strings and get free re-stringing.  They can install titanium Bridge Pins on their guitars with a ‘no-obligation’ test-play.

This first-ever event is shaping up to be an exciting time with local, professional players planning to stop in, demo the products and talk with customers about the amazing sound of TiSonix products.   Initial interest in the event may develop into a regualr, touring event for TiSonix at music stores around the country.    For more details about wat is planned on Nvember 15th at World Music, please call their store at 661-288-2616 or visit their web-site.

Check out Premier Guitar’s feature interview from the LA Amp Show held a few weeks ago.  Lance Allyn presents most of TiSonix’s product line and shares some facts about what makes titanium a great material for guitars and how TiSonix makes superior parts.

View the video here on YouTube! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbnQtNIjzzc

Tell us what you think of Lance’s comments and TiSonix parts!

Lots of great guitarists stopped by the booth to see and play TiSonix hardware…

Ronny North is excited to check out TiSonix gear

Ronny North is impressed with the TiSonix Locking Nuts, unbreakable with tremendous sustain.

Michael DeTemple already uses titanium parts in his guitars.

Michael knows how titanium components make a great guitar sound better.  He has been using titanium saddles in his guitars for years.  Michael stopped by to inspect the quality of TiSonix parts.

Steve Travato from USC

Steve Travato, Music Professor at USC, stopped by to see what new products TiSonix was offering.    Steve was a tremendous instructor for Lance as he developed his talents.  He stopped the booth to check out TiSonix gear.  He picked up a set of Bridge pins for his acoustic guitar.

The TiSonix booth was always active with many players stopping by to find out why titanium parts are so much better than what they are used to….

First unveiled at 2008’s Winter NAMM show, TiSonix titanium products have continued to make believers out of all who pick up a TiSonix equipped guitar and play it, feeling the response, hearing and seeing the sustain from both amp and watching the needle on a tuner.

Our innovative designs and superior craftsmanship caught a lot of attention in Nashville during Summer NAMM ‘08, so much that Premier Guitar magazine included TiSonix in their Summer NAMM wrap up issue (August 2008) as some of the “best new gear the show had to offer.

The LA Amp Show in early October created the same TiSonix titanium buzz seen at previous shows as guitarist played and compared a stock high end electric guitar with an exact model equipped with a TiSonix titanium bridge. Even unplugged, the results are obvious to those who really know guitar.

- Lance Allyn, Tisonix, Inc.

Titanium is an element in the Periodic Table.

It is as stong as steel, but 45% lighter.  It is used in alloys for many applications where performance and strength are more important than cost.

Its corrosion resistance and stability makes it suitable for surgical implants.

For music purposes, its micro-crystaline structure is highly efficient in transferring vibration.  This permits the string vibrations to be transferred to the soundboard with the least dampening and coloration by the guitar’s hardware.

TiSonix uses premium titanium materials and machines them from billet form (not cast) to preserve the greatest material properties.

We welcome your questions and comments about Titanium and how TiSonix manufactures its parts.

This is a new blog-site sponsored by TiSonix.com - Precision Titanium Guitar Parts.

TiSonix is committed to manufacturing the best sounding guitar parts in the world.

By combining the remarkable properties of titanium with precision machining capabilities and the know-how of generations of master luthiers, TiSonix is certain you will agree that these parts are the best money can buy!

This site is where TiSonix will share thier knowledge with you and look forward to listening to what you are passionate about - great guitars and music!