— Choosing one of over 100 Exotic Veneered shells will set you apart both visually and sonically.  

— All Exotic Veneer Prices INCLUDE the veneer, a Keller VSS maple shell, and veneer application to the shell.

— AAA grade veneers are applied with a vacuum system that keeps the glue layer as thin as possible and tightly adheres the veneer to the shell.  

— Vacuum veneering retains the resonance of the shell better than any other method by exerting nearly a ton of clamping pressure per square foot. 

• Please Note:  Just like fingerprints, veneers all have their own unique patterns. The samples below are good guides but the actual veneer that is on your shell may look slightly different.  Color may vary from the samples too. The samples are unfinished and pretty much any finish is going to make any of the shades a little darker and richer looking.

• Please Note:  If you are ordering a shell pack, plan ahead and get ALL the drums you are going to need. For a multi-shell order, the veneer pieces used will be from a sequentially cut group of veneer. This means that the slices of veneer are all from the same portion of the log. Please be advised that matching the figure and color precisely at a later date will be very difficult.  It is better to save your pennies and do it right the first time. If you want to be safe, you can purchase the raw, extra veneer sheets from us and save them for the future.[hr]

Below is a list of the different cuts, grains, and patterns that determine a woods appearance:

• Quartercut: the grain is in a linear pattern
• Figured: a very generic term that refers to highlights or interesting grain patterns produced by the way a log is sliced.
• Quartercut & Figured: the grain is in a linear pattern, but there is also figuring that will be greatly enhanced when finish is applied. You can see these as the darker areas of the wood that do not match up with the actual grain of the wood.
• Curly: usually highlights or wavy patterns that run perpendicular to the grain direction.
• Quilted: a pillowy and extreme 3D figuring.
• Fiddleback: similar to curly, but more consistent and defined as stripes.
• Pommele: varies in look from species to species, but typically a mottled figuring.
• Burl: widely varying grain and highlight patterns. Often has small voids in the veneer piece that need to be filled in with filler or epoxy.
• Crotch: has “plumes” of figuring and is highly contrasting in its shading.