ISO: Haida Gwaii Acoustic

[ronmac]

Some years ago I sold a Haida Gwaii acoustic guitar on this Forum and would love to locate it. If it is being loved by the current owner that is great, but if there is a chance it can make it back to me I would welcome a conversation.

Anyone here remember seeing it?

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[Borderdon]

Beautiful guitar. Is the luthier on Haida Gwaii ?
If so, and they managed to build some of the magic of the place into the instrument, it should be extraordinary.

[ronmac]

Yes, a beautiful guitar I have missed, and would like to locate.

Here is the story of the guitar company, told by one of the founders...


(written by Rob Bustos and posted on the Paragon user forum)

This is the story of the Golden Spruce tree and how Haida Gwaii guitars
was founded.
Some years back, a very special Spruce tree, on a remote Island in
Haida Gwaii (The Queen Charlotte Islands), came into the public eye, in
a big way. This tree was known to the Haida people as "The Golden
Spruce Tree". It as unique in all the world for it was the only known
specimen of coniferous tree that had GOLDEN NEEDLES! In essence, it was
an albino. Scientists had, previously, tried to grow more of these
trees from it's seeds, but to no avail.
The Haida have a legend concerning the origin of the tree, but as I
have only heard a couple of versions of the tail, I will keep it brief.
A young boy wanted to leave the village but was warned by his father,
the medicine man, that if he left, he may never return, and NOT to look
back, as he was leaving. Like the story of Lot's wife, in the Bible,
the boy turned around to look at his life-long home, one last time, and
as he did, he instantly began to grow roots and turned into the Golden
Spruce.
In 1998, the Haida council sent two young brothers, Greg and Chris
Williams, to Vancouver to learn how to build guitars from Jean
Larrivee. The brothers believed that they were to be apprentices under
Jean, but soon discovered that their "apprentice" was a spot in the
production line. It was around this time, that the Golden Spruce had
caught the attention of the world because, as a protest against logging
old growth trees, an activist had CUT THE TREE DOWN! The logic of this
move has baffled many, including myself, and the man responsible
disappeared directly after, with his boat having been discovered in
pieces, washed up on the shore. It is through personal information,
that I believe him to be alive and in hiding elsewhere in the world,
with many a Haida who would love to have a little chat with him. This
man is also reported to be the only white man to have seen the
legendary White Raven, which inhabits the Island and is said to be an
omen, when seen. The following day, he drove his car off the road and
into the ditch! The following week, the Golden Spruce was cut down.

Anyway, after Greg and Chris Williams began working at Larrivee, we all
began hanging around after work and on the weekends. I'd never met
anyone from Haida Gwaii--or even knew that this as the proper name of
The Queen Charlotte Islands before--but had heard something about the
Golden Spruce on the news. When I asked Greg if he knew anything about
it, he told me, "Yeah, I have a chunk waiting for me to build guitars
out of!"
That got the wheels turning about the possibilities of producing these
very unique guitars together that would incorporate native art into
acoustic guitar design, and we all decided to give it a go.
So began the very painful process of trying to get a blessing from the
Haida council and try to obtain the spruce. Oh yeah, and government
funding, which is a whole nother ordeal we went through.
So we began. We never did get a piece of the Golden Spruce, even though
we had a majority of support from Haida councilers. It came down to one
man's decision, in the end, and that was to let the tree rot where it
lay. This decision was based on a belief that the tree should return to
the Earth, and not live on as musical instruments. I can't take a firm
position on the outcome because I, very much, respect where the
decision was coming from. I was, however, a bit dissapointed. Never the
less, we continued to make guitars and that, in a nut shell, is what
brought us here!

[Borderdon]

Interesting story. Having worked briefly on Haida Gwaii years ago, I remember visiting the Golden spruce as it was quite an attraction.
The decision to let the tree decay and return to the earth is similar to when a totem pole finally comes to earth, it is left to quietly rot away.

[ship of fools]

boy that was a real beauty. I also remember another guitar that Rob had built that was similar that he was showing at the Vancouver guitar show I still kick myself for not just buying it at the time. good luck on your search for it. ship

[ronmac]

Originally Posted by ship of fools

boy that was a real beauty. I also remember another guitar that Rob had built that was similar that he was showing at the Vancouver guitar show I still kick myself for not just buying it at the time. good luck on your search for it. ship

Thanks, ship. I live in hope.

I sold this at a time when my health and finances were suffering. I got my health back.

[bho]

Pictures of the Golden Spruce, and more of the story, here

http://symphontreemusic.com/golden-spruce/

[ship of fools]

I am glad to hear that you are recovered from your health issues, never any fun when stuff happens to us ( I myself havent been able to play for more then 10 minutes maybe 2-3 times a week ) but we go on dont we. ship

[ronmac]

Thanks, Ship!

Still hoping...

[ronmac]

Bump to get some weekend views.

[ronmac]

Still searching...

[Dktz]

Ronmac,
In Vanvouver BC two days ago I played a guitar very similar to yours at the Spirit Wrestler Gallery. Http://spiritwrestler.com You can find it on the website.
One of the proprietors told me that it is the first instrument built by Haida Gwaii. I thought it sounded very nice, although it needs new strings. I only played it finger style.
It has rosewood back and sides. Probably not Brazillean, as the price ($5500 ca) seemed too cheap to reflect that. However, they are not a guitar shop. He told me it was mahogany, and I said "It sure looks like rosewood". Then he looked it up and corrected himself.
It appeared brand new. I figure this guitar must be over 16 years in their shop! Might be an opportunity for some bargaining! I'm not in the market, got enough to play already, so I'm not pursuing this.

Good luck,
Dave

[ronmac]

HI Dave,

Thanks for relating your experience. I have seen the HG on their website, and believe it is there more as an object d'art, rather than an instrument for sale.

Even if the price was much lower I am doubtful I would purchase. My search is for a unique guitar that I was reluctant to sell, but circumstances at the time forced me to make some tough choices.

It may be irrational, but I am only interested in serial #28

[bryantjudoman]

What a work of art that guitar is. I live in vancouver so the coast native art really resonates with me.

[HaidaGwaiiMelb]

I have HG guitar serial #11. Its a 12 fret.