The Next 32 Classical Guitars

Western Red CedarWhen I bought a couple of chunks of western red cedar from Jerry Roberts in Nashville, TN about a year and a half ago I didn't know for sure what I was getting in to. I was used to judging tops one at a time, feeling each plate individually - all coming from different trees of course. Judging by the sound of my last two guitars that used this wood, I have really struck a lucky batch of wood. The logs you see at left are the result of me investing yet again in this same tree that was apparently lost to a flood in an Oregon Forest around 20 years ago. They account for another 32 cedar top guitars.

Its a good thing to make a musical instrument from wood. In many ways it is an idealic symbiosis between a human and a tree. Whether one thinks it harmonious or not is quite another matter, but it is, in the least, a relationship that will continue until one of us is alone. 

I like to think that the guitars we make, or at least their music will have the last word. ;)