colins
Luthier / Guitar Maker
Posts: 2,397 
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Post by colins on Aug 30, 2018 19:02:02 GMT
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Post by lavaman on Aug 30, 2018 22:39:45 GMT
Don't know much about the price of timber (other than 8' by 4' sheets of plywood) but those prices do seem a tad high. One of the many things I like about my prize HB8 guitar is that its beautiful Cuban mahogany back & sides were recycled from a Victorian bureau bought at an antique auction.
Iain
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foz
Strummer
Posts: 20
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Post by foz on Aug 31, 2018 9:04:37 GMT
Woow, that is an incredible price.
There's nothing like a nice story from their marketing department to slap a massive price tag on something.
Andy
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Post by ghnarumen on Aug 31, 2018 11:50:13 GMT
What is ‘The Tree’; I’ve seen this mentioned several places, recently, but without any explanation. Let me in on the secret.
(Okay, I see an explanation on Stewmac’s Web site. I guess the limited supply gives it rarity value.)
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garynava
Luthier / Guitar Maker
Posts: 460
My main instrument is: Stanley No.5
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Post by garynava on Aug 31, 2018 14:58:55 GMT
What a shame it can’t be shipped outside US- I could have done with half a dozen of those!
Cheers Gary
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davewhite
Luthier / Guitar Maker
Luthier
Aemulor et ambitiosior
Posts: 3,548
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Post by davewhite on Aug 31, 2018 16:54:50 GMT
Buy one get twelve free ?  |
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Post by ianh on Sept 1, 2018 15:10:41 GMT
Thanks to colins for drawing our attention to this one. This does indeed look like madness The hype that surrounds this idea of 'The Tree' is the triumph of marketing. One presumes that there are thousands of trees every bit as good as this one. However, like the 'discovery' of America, they haven't been found yet by Westerners with money One can't help feeling there is a touch of colonialism in this approach to tropical hardwoods. I discovered that the per capita GDP of Honduras is $5,492 - in other words, this lump of wood costs as much as an average Honduran earns in a year. My question for the luthiers amongst us is this: why are British hardwoods not so popular for fretted instruments? Is tropical mahogany and its relations so much better? I'd love to start a parallel discussion on the ethics of tone woods, and how they relate to the place things are made..... |
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leoroberts
C.O.G. 
Posts: 26,148
My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
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Post by leoroberts on Sept 2, 2018 6:01:02 GMT
I'd love to start a parallel discussion on the ethics of tone woods, and how they relate to the place things are made..... well there's nothing stopping you... That is, after all, what the forum is here for  |
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garynava
Luthier / Guitar Maker
Posts: 460
My main instrument is: Stanley No.5
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Post by garynava on Sept 2, 2018 15:57:16 GMT
Thanks to colins for drawing our attention to this one. This does indeed look like madness The hype that surrounds this idea of 'The Tree' is the triumph of marketing. One presumes that there are thousands of trees every bit as good as this one. However, like the 'discovery' of America, they haven't been found yet by Westerners with money One can't help feeling there is a touch of colonialism in this approach to tropical hardwoods. I discovered that the per capita GDP of Honduras is $5,492 - in other words, this lump of wood costs as much as an average Honduran earns in a year. My question for the luthiers amongst us is this: why are British hardwoods not so popular for fretted instruments? Is tropical mahogany and its relations so much better? I'd love to start a parallel discussion on the ethics of tone woods, and how they relate to the place things are made..... I've made quite a few mandolins and guitars using English walnut with excellent results. I think luthiers are happy to use alternative woods, it's up to the players to accept it. Cheers Gary |
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leoroberts
C.O.G.
Posts: 26,148
My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
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Post by leoroberts on Sept 3, 2018 7:27:11 GMT
My question for the luthiers amongst us is this: why are British hardwoods not so popular for fretted instruments? Is tropical mahogany and its relations so much better? I think there are quite a few luthiers who use British woods, some through necessity/cost and some through choice, I guess. RosieTGC makes an 'all-English' model - the E-series. I've never played a bad one (which is probably more down to Rosie than the woods but you get my drift...) |
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Post by andyhowell on Sept 3, 2018 7:51:08 GMT
If you are primarily interested in aesthetics the Tree will be of interest. Personally, I don’t really have any interest in this at all. Does the guitar sound good? Is it comfortable to play? All that matters to me.
But anywhere there are collectors you see this kind of thing.
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Post by ianh on Sept 3, 2018 9:02:30 GMT
My question for the luthiers amongst us is this: why are British hardwoods not so popular for fretted instruments? Is tropical mahogany and its relations so much better? I think there are quite a few luthiers who use British woods, some through necessity/cost and some through choice, I guess. RosieTGC makes an 'all-English' model - the E-series. I've never played a bad one (which is probably more down to Rosie than the woods but you get my drift...) Thanks for giving the link to Rosie's Turnstone Guitars site - I've not looked at it before. They are completely gorgeous, and I love the ethics of her E-series |
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colins
Luthier / Guitar Maker
Posts: 2,397
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Post by colins on Sept 3, 2018 9:56:44 GMT
I think a number of builders do all-local wood guitars, it's a big trend in the US. In the UK the problem is finding the right top wood. If you check this thread out from 2015, one of the two guitars I making is an all English wood guitar, using English Walnut for the B&S, Sycamore for the neck and the top from the English version of 'The Tree', well it was the tree from Dave White's front garden, a Port Orford Cedar, the POC produced some of the best top wood I've ever used, and the FB and bridge came from 5300 year old East Anglian bog oak. The guitar was the draw prize guitar at HB6, and is now in the ownership of David Hutton . Both Dave and I whenever possible build with either local woods or from wood that we scavenge from old furniture and give new life to. For instance all of my mahogany necks come from a Victorian bed frame, and my BRW from an old sideboard. I'd sooner give this wood a new life in an instrument than see it end up in the skip at the local dump. |
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colins
Luthier / Guitar Maker
Posts: 2,397
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Post by colins on Sept 3, 2018 12:50:29 GMT
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Post by oustudent on Sept 18, 2018 20:04:12 GMT
What is ‘The Tree’; I’ve seen this mentioned several places, recently, but without any explanation. Let me in on the secret. (Okay, I see an explanation on Stewmac’s Web site. I guess the limited supply gives it rarity value.) I believe it is the only known piece of mahogany that has that quilted look |
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Jo whoever he is.
