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According to Manito, "the zebrawood/maple/mahogany bands are set into a perfectly sized groove and permanently set in place using state of the art adhesives that retain flexibilty and will never crack. The clear coat is also engineered to be very tough, yet flexible and it completely seals the band underneath it. The band, the polymers and the shell all move evenly together and will never try to separate".

Spalted wood looks very nice, but wouldn't you rather use wood that is as healthy as possible even if it would look a little less interesting, considering the price and the production time involved?

Ebongo, Spalted wood is by definition not structurally affected or compromised in any way. Spalted or pigmented wood is just as strong and most importantly, just as resonant as unspalted wood. Some types of spalting can even happen while the tree is still alive and standing.