Hi everyone, I love my Weber Aspen II, and now my Weber Diamondback F5 with the red spruce top. I'm entertaining the idea of purchasing a used, varnished Weber Fern which is reportedly X-braced. Any comments on X-bracing on a Fern (vs. tone bars)? Any thoughts on varnish (tone, durability) vs. lacquer? Does anyone know if and when the Weber Fern was "changed?" I thought I read there was a change in the overall neck profile years ago (from "fatter" to "sleeker"). Thanks! Jill
Hi Jill, we are very happy that you like your current Webers and are thinking about another!! As for the Fern you are considering I can tell you more with the serial number, but generally speaking an X-braced instrument will have more of a bark, or chop, and will not take as long to play in. Tone bars have more of a bell-like quality and can take quite a bit longer to play in (and more sustain). Bruce has a special recipe for the Ferns and seems to generally prefer a pretty tight grained top (they are standard with Red Spruce these days). This along with the tone bars means that the instrument will mature throughout its life- this sort of top will prolong the play-in time of X-bracing too. Definitely not an instrument for beginners, but may be an interesting addition for you. I don't think we've made many Ferns with X-bracing unless they have a sound hole, of course. However, for instance Yellowstones used to come standard with X-bracing even though we made many with tone bars. The Fern neck has always had our standard profile unless customized (we can make them wider or a little narrower, and have done some with a more V profile- your Diamond Back may have this as TMS has often order them this way). HOWEVER, the Fern used to come with a more extreme 8 inch (instead 10 inch) radius, which you may want to check out and see if you like. Our thoughts on lacquer-vs-varnish are that our true hand rubbed varnish bonds the most with the instrument of any of the finishes- is more than a coating. However lacquer these days is pretty great and we use a non-catalyzed nitrocellulose lacquer where about 10 coats go on over a three day period then are sanded down to about .007 thick. As you know, all finish will wear and develop a well-played look. Hope this helps and let me know if you want me to check out the serial number, etc.
