Weekend with Joel Michaud

[iim7V7IM7]

You can see the wild interlocking grain well in those shots...

"The Tree" can present a challenge to bend rims due to this, particularly Venetian cutaways. Many builders will not execute a cutaway with it as a result. I know that Joel uses a Scoop and Florentine cutaways which are easier to bend. Also, his use of laminated sides likely minimizes the risk of breakage when bending sides.

Moving to a decorative mahogany makes a lot of sense commercially. Joel being in Canada likely has many International clients and mahogany easier to export given the newer CITES Appendix II addition of all Dalbergia. I can see for a number of reasons why it is a desirable wood for Joel.

[IBKuz]

Originally Posted by Marcus Wong

I don't know enough about hockey to even pretend I know what you're talking about Joel's a player himself though!

Haha ... sorry about that Marcus, I was making a bit of a insider joke. Calgary and Edmonton are sister cities in Alberta, with rival hockey teams. There is a long standing joke about not supporting the other team, depending on where you live. Since a lot of people move between the cities, there are actually lots of devided loyalties when they play games in each other's home town.

Nice "Tree" sets, you were lucky to see so many in one place. I guess Joel will now be the "Canadian Tree King" of sorts

[Howard F.]

Originally Posted by Marcus Wong

Oh wowow, that's a sister set with my "The Tree", someone gonna be happy!

[Neelix]

Originally Posted by Howard F.

Oh wowow, that's a sister set with my "The Tree", someone gonna be happy!

Hi Howard F,

That would be me! Can't wait!

Thank you Marcus!

Paul

[IBKuz]

Originally Posted by Neelix

Hi Howard F,

That would be me! Can't wait!

Thank you Marcus!

Paul

Paul, you ARE a lucky guy

[Neelix]

Thank you IBKuz!

Can't wait to see yours! I am really enjoying your build thread.

Cheers!

[Howard F.]

Originally Posted by Neelix

Hi Howard F,

That would be me! Can't wait!

Thank you Marcus!

Paul

Congratulation Paul, this is gonna be a stunning guitar for sure. Look forward to following this build!

[Neelix]

Originally Posted by Howard F.

Congratulation Paul, this is gonna be a stunning guitar for sure. Look forward to following this build!

Thank you Howard!

Is yours already built or coming soon?

[Howard F.]

Originally Posted by Neelix

Thank you Howard!

Is yours already built or coming soon?

It's already sent to finisher and should be ready in a couple weeks. I'll bring it to the woodstock show.

[Marcus Wong]

Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7

You can see the wild interlocking grain well in those shots...

"The Tree" can present a challenge to bend rims due to this, particularly Venetian cutaways. Many builders will not execute a cutaway with it as a result. I know that Joel uses a Scoop and Florentine cutaways which are easier to bend. Also, his use of laminated sides likely minimizes the risk of breakage when bending sides.

Moving to a decorative mahogany makes a lot of sense commercially. Joel being in Canada likely has many International clients and mahogany easier to export given the newer CITES Appendix II addition of all Dalbergia. I can see for a number of reasons why it is a desirable wood for Joel.

Breaking a side must be pretty disastrous with a wood as scarce as this

The new CITES regulations on Rosewood does seem to be quite a pain but I haven't really noticed any issues being brought up yet. Are all the luthiers just generally well prepared with the necessary paper work or is it just not really enforced yet?

[Marcus Wong]

Good eye Paul [emoji14] And I can't wait to see your finished guitar Howard. It's one heck of a guitar!

[palolowarrior]

The new CITES regulations on Rosewood does seem to be quite a pain but I haven't really noticed any issues being brought up yet. Are all the luthiers just generally well prepared with the necessary paper work or is it just not really enforced yet?

Marcus, I concur, after having received a post CITES imposition Brazilian Rosewood guitar from Joel Michaud that came through without a hitch. Joel had all the tedious paperwork done quite expeditiously. I am sure that Kevin Hennig of Symphon Tree Music was as instrumental as it was through him that I was able to "jump ahead of the line".

[Neelix]

Originally Posted by Howard F.

It's already sent to finisher and should be ready in a couple weeks. I'll bring it to the woodstock show.

That's great! Can't wait to see some pics!

[Marcus Wong]

Originally Posted by palolowarrior

Marcus, I concur, after having received a post CITES imposition Brazilian Rosewood guitar from Joel Michaud that came through without a hitch. Joel had all the tedious paperwork done quite expeditiously. I am sure that Kevin Hennig of Symphon Tree Music was as instrumental as it was through him that I was able to "jump ahead of the line".

I hope you are enjoying your Michaud! It must sound incredible as I have one similar one to yours I see you have quite a few holy grails for sale GLWS

[Marcus Wong]

I'm not sure if this is the same with other luthiers, but Joel has made A LOT of other things that aren't guitars. You cannot enter a room in his house without seeing his handiwork around.

Instruments wise, he has built quite a few! Here is an electric guitar he has built out of Ziricote:



And then him shredding on it:



A violin:



A Weissenborn:



A uhhh.... I've no idea what this is called. I wonder if anyone has ever built something like this before!



Something similar to a Yang Qin:



The bike that Joel is holding is one that he built himself, with bamboo as the frame. And yes, Joel is quite a bike fanatic as you can tell from the number of bikes in his garage (most belong to his room mate though )



Not to mention, he had built a decent sized bouldering wall right in his own backyard which I somehow can't find the photo of haha and countless other pieces of furniture around the house. Pretty neat!