unusual burled Koa - Irvin SJ
 

I wanted to post this for fun because of the unusual color and burl on this set of Koa. It is koa, but unlike any I have ever seen before both in color and figure. I believe it is likely from the stump or closer to the stump area of the tree. I actually have several sets of this that came to me via a retired luthier in my area. He contacted me because he was not going to build any more and had a lot of really nice sets of wood that he wanted to go to another luthier. I was very fortunate to be the one he called. He told me he got all his koa from a well establish koa dealer here in western Washington state. Pretty amazing stuff.

I built this guitar for my upcoming show at Wintergrass. This is a huge bluerass festival that takes place Feb. 23-26, 2023 in Bellevue, WA. Tommy Emmanuel with be there along with Jerry Douglas and his band. They also have a long list of amazing bluegrass bands performing all 4 days. A number of luthiers/guitar vendors are invited and I am very happy to be one of them so I will have a table at this event. Here is a link to their site; www.wintergrass.com

In building this guitar I was very curious about how it would sound. The koa had a very nice ring to it, but not like most koa I have built with before. It is always somewhat ambiguous to describe sound, but this really has an enormous voice to it. I was ecstatic when I first played it. I could not be more thrilled about it. It just feels orchestral, sustain and harmonics, balance etc.

This guitar is available by the way, just FYI as I built it for the show. Custom Calton flight case included. Here are a few pics and a link to a simple sound clip that I did. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for viewing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bImKB17mJHU

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Wowzer Wayne, that’s beautiful and sounds equally great too!

Thanks Tim, BTW looking forward to meeting you at the Artisan show in April

That looks fabulous!

Koa is my favorite tonewood and I've chased them for a while in the past. From this perspective, I can say, "WOW! Spectacular!" Some of the most striking Koa I've ever seen. If this is from the stump area, and it looks like it, may I guess that:

1. It is denser (heavier) that most of your other Koa?
2. The fiber has little breaks in them as the weight of the top part of the tree presses on the bottom of the trunk and breaks the fiber, resulting in the look that you have.

Just wonderful!! This is exciting stuff. Thanks for sharing. I wish I had gotten at least a set like this in the past - would be great to have an instrument built from this stuff. Wow, wow, wow! A real pleasure.

Let me echo the others, that is an amazing set of Koa unlike any I have seen as well.

Yes, I believe you're right on all accounts. I was also very cautious about how the sides would bend. but they bent really with ease. I have several more sets of this stuff and can't wait to build with. I also have some 'Lost Tunnel' redwood that I think would pair ridiculously well with it.

Wayne, that is gorgeous! Well done, sir!

Sunset over still waters.....at least that's what it looks like to me.

:D