At Summer NAMM 2015 Takamine introduced their new TT, thermal top, series. The tops of these guitars are spruce that has been treated to “age the wood”. Available with a Mahogany (EF340S-TT) or a Rosewood (EF360S-TT) back and sides. Both of these guitars come with the TLD-2 preamp system a “hidden” system with no large pre-amp cut into the side of the instrument.
Now, onto my non-scientific explanation of what they are doing to their tops. The process is called “Torrefaction.” Basically they use a kiln and pull all of the moisture out of the wood until it hits a humidity point of zero and then they slowly allow the wood to moisten up again, to ~6% humidity. This causes the wood to bind more tightly and makes it prematurely age and stabilize. Once it has stabilized they build the guitars. In theory this should allow for a more stable instrument (less fluctuation with changing temperatures and climates but should still be treated like a kitten and never left in an uncomfortable environment) which will stand the test of time and be more resonant from the start.
For more information visit: http://www.takamine.com/thermal-top
