Most UNIQUE sounding tonewood ever?!
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- Опубликовано: 29 авг 2024
- Lost Tunnel Redwood, what a crazy tone! Courtesy of Butch and Rod at Boswell Guitars (boswellguitars...). You dig it?
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Tom Sands is a luthier renowned for creating some of the most responsive guitars in the world. Since apprenticing for Ervin Somogyi, Tom has taken his talents to North Yorkshire, building custom acoustic guitars from the Tom Sands Guitars workshop. Subscribe to the channel for weekly videos, ranging from Tommy’s Tonewoods, Guitar rundowns, to beautiful live sessions from independent artists. Join the community here, we love ya x
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Hey Wood Lovers, thanks again for watching! Give us a like and comment so the algorithm knows that wood is cool. ❤
I have used a lot of the Tunnel 13 and Tunnel 14 Redwood, dating back to about 2011, when I bought a dozen sets of it out of the back of Rod LaCoste's station wagon at the Healdsburg Guitar Festival. I've since gone back and bought more sets, and they are absolutely extraordinary. The tap tone just knocks you back on your heels. The stiffness both ways is about as perfect as it gets. I have about fifteen specimens now, with wide variability on appearance- some have a subtly shimmering curl figure, some very straight-grained and consistent, some of them have the most astonishing medullaries I've ever seen. Some have up to 60 grain lines per inch; you have to use a magnifying glass to count them. This is truly Holy Grail top wood. All of it is sumptuous and beautiful. And one of the things I love most about it is, it's pretty well seasoned- 150 years or so; and there is no karmic debt incurred from using it, because none of the remaining majestic forest giants were molested. I made three Tunnel 14-topped guitars last year. It would actually be quite difficult to make a merely average sounding guitar with this wood. It's an obsession!
Yeah I know what you mean! I have around 8 sets with some nice stains in them from weather in the tunnels. I also have lots of Sinker Redwood but the Tunnel sets are superior. I''m Redwood Loco! and wish to build an acoustic guitar and semi hollow electric with them. But I have never endeavored such a project. This wood demands the utmost respect and reverence. I was thinking of buying an acoustic kit from Stewmac and replacing the top with one of the Tunnel sets. But I'm nervous about that! 🤣🤣🤣
I’m really excited to build with it!
I had the opportunity just yesterday to play a Boswell with Lost Tunnel soundboard and gorgeous koa back and sides. Everything about that guitar was built to the highest standard of design and craft, and as for how it plays… well, in the 60 years I have been playing guitar, I have never encountered a finer instrument. (Apologies to my 1965 Brazilian rosewood D-28.) I also got to tap-test four sample pieces of the Lost Tunnel wood, and they were all different (from bell to bongo) but all very alive and resonant. Magnificent trees X the vagaries of human history X time = tonal magic.
Yeah butch knows how to build em!
This is wonderful tone wood - but I do have to say, every time I hear the Lucky Strike, I am blown away. That wood just brings a smile to my face!
Thanks, John
Gig Harbor, WA
It’s good stuff
Another great episode!
Love redwood,
Really want a Redwood + Honduran mahogany combo,
I'm sure it'll sound great
I know someone who can help you with that
@@TomSandsGuitars 🤣😅
A very distant (but eventually reachable) dream!
Cant wait to see a guitar with this!
Wood is cool. Redwood is the coolest. Sinker redwood is the coolest of the cool. Tom the wood whisperer. I learn so much from your videos. Thanks tom!!!
Glad you enjoy them!
Wood is DEFINITELY Cool! I’m curious about Padauk as I’ve heard very good things recently about it! Cheers 😊
Wood is cool!
It is!
I got to tap on a piece of lost tunnel a few weeks ago and was gobsmacked at how resonant it was.
Do you remember which beam it came from?
@@TomSandsGuitars I sure do not. Next time I'm at my friend's shop I'll inquire.
Beautiful wood!
Yup!
Sounds metalicy
Usually a good sign!
To find the tunnels. Get a hold of the old maps and plans for the railway. Should be public record.
Simple!
@@TomSandsGuitars Simple, but time consuming. I live in SoCal. I should look into this.
@@midlifemotox should be a fun bit of detective work!
Hey Algorhythm!!! Wood is cool
Wood is very cool!!
Nice! Very partial to the redwood myself.
Going through your catalog, I don't see that you have ever played with any Alaskan yellow cedar. Would like to see what you think of that.
Lovely examples!! Quick question, (for Tom, or any of you guys that may know), with these tones that are resonating from the wood, is it possible to "tune" a guitar to a specific key? So that it would play better in G rather than E tuning, for example? And would it be possible to adjust the top to have multiple "keys?" I'm guessing it sort of does by its natural design, but can it be carved that way? Thanks for the great vids, Tom!!!
You can tune a soundboard/soundbox to support a certain response. There is a fantastic book by giuliano nicoletti which spells this concept out very neatly. @iuliusguitars
@@TomSandsGuitars Thank you, kindly!!
Oh man that is so cool!!
Do you know when the “Lost Tunnels” were dug/built?
Ooh great question, I do not. You should get some of this stuff, I think they’re releasing some news sets soon
@@TomSandsGuitars Heckya! Thanks man!
These are all some of the first plates I could clearly hear the tap tones and harmonics on my phone speakers, but that A Plus set... Did I hear that correctly, was anyone else hearing a major second in the overtones? Amazing stuff, that.
Sounds like the Tunnel sets I have. Got any leads on an acoustic builder I could hire?
I will have to give it another listen!!!
Phenomenal ring even with no headphones?
We have European spruce in the home centers over here
I do live in Europe 😏
Is it any good though?
What would be better than the Tunnel top soundboard?
African ebony fingerboard fretted with area 51 UFOs wing wire, titanium saddle in Brazilian bridge and wires made of Propeller bronze recast from Portugese Navy frigates!!! Here's a next build recipe, Tom.
Do you want a job?
@@TomSandsGuitars Hi Tom, once in my life I did make a saddle for an HD-28 Martin and it came out with more volume and separation of strings tone when strummed . Oh, I spent 44 hours on that task . No one will pay that time for just a saddle ha ha ha . But sweet to hear this one .
I have a Lowden OM with Redwood Soundboard I purchased about 30 years ago. It sounded great when I first got it, loud, airy, complex. But, over time it has lost those qualities, and I would say it hasn't aged well. I don't know if that is a characteristic of Redwood or not. I wish I had bought a guitar with a Spruce to instead. YMMV 🤷
Have you taken it to a luthier?
@@TomSandsGuitars No, not worth it in my opinion. I have examined it thoroughly for loose braces, cracks, etc. I lost some respect for Lowden when I discovered a design flaw in their string-through bridges. Over time, the upward force of the strings cuts through or compresses the wood of the bridge block, thereby reducing the "break angle" at the back of the Saddle, and thus the volume. I brought this flaw to their attention, but all they did was make excuses and tried to blame me for the problem. I plugged the holes with the same kind of Rosewood, and redrilled them by hand - not easy. That restored some of the volume. A bridge with string pins avoids this kind of problem, and I will avoid string through bridges.
What I'm curious about is if you have heard anything about Redwood soundboards not aging well, unlike Spruce?
@@picksalot1 why is it not worth taking the guitar to a luthier?
@@TomSandsGuitars Because I can work on it myself, and sending it to Lowden is prohibitively expensive, and of doubtful value. Have you heard of Redwood soundboards not aging well?
@@picksalot1 I haven’t heard that, and can’t think of a reason it would. You wouldn’t necessarily need to send it to Lowden, but it might be worth getting another pair of eyes on it.
Where does one get their hands on some of this?
So how does one go about getting a set or two? You make mention of grade, can we buy from Boswell?
I believe Butch is releasing some more sets shortly
@@TomSandsGuitars thx Tom. Ill inquire!
I'm missing my Sunday Coffee content Tommy.... Sounds like your busy and made a trip over here to Canada!
Wanted to thank you for this episode as I was able to snag (x3) tops from Butch's latest batch of redwood beams.
TC
I love building with Red... but it's dents if I look at it!
That is one big issue with it
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉yssssssss
Wooo!