[tadol]

Well – old growth generally means wood that’s come from a forest that has not been previously commercially logged by man –  a settler or farmer may have taken out a handful of trees, but most of the growth is natural and from a continuous ecosystem that hasn’t been radically interfered with – just wind, water, fire basically. Once man goes in and chops a bunch of trees down (usually clear-cutting) then the next growth doesn’t germinate and grow under the same conditions as the original forest. It generally gets a faster start, is more mono-species, and grows more quickly with the abundance of water and light, and doesn’t have the same slow growth rings and density that the older trees developed having to compete for those same resources in an established forest. So, there are trees that are a couple hundred years old, but they are a new generation, and while large and very good material, its not the same as the real “old-growth”. We are probably one of the last generations that had the luxury of using true old-growth lumber to build our decks and fences, and doors and moldings. The hope is we protect as much of that habitat that’s left as we can, as it isn’t just the trees. But an awful lot of it is on government land, and the dollars it represents with little to no investment required are one of the reasons those lands are under attack – and we are in danger of losing even more with a coal-crazy leadership –

[tadol]

We managed to get a 20′ container of balls unloaded and into the warehouse this AM, about 20 minutes before it started pouring – I was pretty concerned we’d end up soaked to the bone, but it all worked out good!!  Minimal leaks at the stores – anyone hear anything about the burn areas? Bet those are a mud-slide mess –

[tadol]

I think it also has to do with how close to truly quartersawn the material is – its not uncommon to see it in perfectly quartered sitka, which frequently was cut from very large diameter trees with little to no rotation in the trunk,  but is hard to see evenly in adirondack tops as the trees are much harder to find large enough and straight enough to get the same cut (plus adirondack tends to favor a bit more spiral growth) –

In b&s material, you find many species don’t tend to show it, and in the few that might, its harder to find material cut from trunks large enough or cut to show it off – true quartersawing can be a bit wasteful, which is ok with softwoods where the smaller pieces still have use as braces, but the far more costly and smaller rosewoods and such tend to get cut for optimal yield –  going a few degrees off quarter and getting another set or two is almost always preferable to getting the perfect quartered cut just to show a little chatoyance –

 

oops – just realized this was in the ask scgc section – pls move or delete as appropriate

• This reply was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by tadol.

[tadol]

Well, you know you can get a rough idea of the minimum age of a top by counting the growth lines – its not uncommon for tops to be cut from trees that are 150+ years old, and its certainly not unheard of for luthiers to store tops for decades, and for them to leave them to other luthiers when they can’t continue building. What the story on those particular tops might be, I’m afraid I don’t know –

[tadol]

The “gang” –

And the ever lovely Ms Carolyn Sills –

[tadol]

I’m planning on making it!

[tadol]

I am on the hunt to try out an El Rey – the specs all look really good!

[tadol]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>The new space would be nice,  if not in a particularly unappealing  part of town. And Europe ends tomorrow ( ? ) – so the show will be at a beautiful little social club in the Berkeley hills that’s been there about 110 years now.  More details as we figure them out!</p>

[tadol]

A SC eir/Sitka OM is the single best all-around do anything, go anywhere, keep forever (or even longer) guitar I can imagine – just wonderful!

The only downside is having to decide where you go from there – maybe a nice ‘29 00, or do you go for a 12 fret dread? Maybe a 12 string! Or better – a baritone!!

While you agonize over that, you’re gonna be lovin’ that OM!  ?

[tadol]

I was extremely happy to be able to provide minor financial assistance to help Eric get that CD out, and while I haven’t gotten my copy yet (may be in the mail – I’m not there to look for another week plus) I am even happier to say he is gonna do a concert for us in Berkeley on Dec 1st, and if any forum members can make it here, you are most cordially invited to attend!!

[tadol]

I used to say I couldn’t make a list because of my wife found out, I’d be in big trouble. She convinced me it was much more important that we list them on the insurance just in case,  so I did make a couple lists and sent them to Carolyn to get some insurance values. All I can say now is that when I die, my wife will be offering the single greatest inventory of SC guitars in North America –

The bad part is a fair number are in my workshop/studio space, which I am giving up to move to a new larger warehouse space – but it’s nowhere near as secure, so I may have to let a few go since there’s no room at home for them, and I’d hate to think of anything bad happening to them while in my care –  ?

[tadol]

That Polytune has always looked good – but I’m gonna leave that as a “suggestion” for the wife come birthday time –

please post your thoughts when you’ve had some time to play with it –

[tadol]

I remember the 40th well – got to meet so many great people, even played a little guitar with Sonia –

 

Big thanks to Richard and crew for keeping true to the ideal, and preserving the dream –

[tadol]

I’m almost scared to look at the just shipped – I keep telling myself I have all the guitars a few people need –

[tadol]

Hard to believe how old our icons are getting – me, I don’t look in mirrors –

Best wishes to Dickey – hope he’s playing again soon –

[Author]

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