Greta Tree Guitar New Build
 

I'm excited to start up a new custom "Tree" build today. This is my fourth "Tree" guitar and will be the Greta grand auditorium model.

Here is the back set with some closer shots to show the amazing figure on this tortoise shell quilted set:

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For the sound board we selected a very old curly Redwood top with a lot of color character:

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Some additional features decided on so far will be:
Florentine Cutaway with access beveled top edge
Arm Bevel
Sound Port
25" String Scale Length
1 3/4" Nut
2 1/4" Saddle String Spacing

There will be more decided on as we are in process.

And we're off!

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Mark

Looks like an amazing set of woods, Mark!

Looking forward to seeing you perform your magic--will be following along!

Amazing. I lust after a guitar with this wood. What a treat that you are fortunate enough to get to build several of them!

That's some of the most 3-D Tree I've seen - WOW!!:eek:

I'd have trouble spending so much time looking at that gem and not playing the thing!
Mr. Hatcher, you continue to exhibit mastery of your craft!

That is an incredible set of The Tree. Maybe my favorite. Mark, you have such a great wood collection!

Impossible
 

...for me ro not be captivated by this wood. I am anxious to follow, even more so than usual...and that says a lot ;)

Thanks Nemoman, These are great woods to start out with. I'll try not to disappoint.

Thanks, It is a treat! I have another Tree guitar schedule late next year and a probably, maybe one in the works.

Thanks fitness1, I can't wait to see it when the finish is on!

Thank you Naboz, I have a bench at the back of my studio that I call the dart board. I stage the woods and various parts there on upcoming builds so they are in view. I can drop off candidate parts there and see how they get along as ideas come together for the future build. I don't put The Tree sets up back there because they are just too much of a distraction. They stay in the wood rack.

Thanks Jamiejoon, That set is a wonderful example of tortoise shell quilting from The Tree. I believe that figure is truly unique to The Tree.

Thanks for commenting!
Mark

That figure is mesmerizing. When the finish is on the pockets come alive with motion and the bordering veins seem to just rise right off the surface.

Wow
 

Now, THAT is The Tree indeed. Stunning. Can't wait to see it finished.

I mentioned to Mark previously that although the Tree is absolutely perfect in its figure, for me the star of this show will be that curly redwood top. With finish that thing is going to be out of this world gorgeous.

I wonder how much a set of 'Tree' mahogany like that costs. Stewmac are selling back and side sets of the 'Tree' that aren't as extraordinary as that for $6,000 per set. There are luthiers who will make you a very nice guitar for $6,000.

SCGC charges $10,500 for The Tree. When it first hit the market, it was far cheaper.

Thanks for commenting PTL.

Thanks Tom, That Redwood top is really nice. I expect to have another guitar with a similar sister top set back from the finisher on Friday next week. I stil have one more sister cut from the same board.

Dave it isn’t cheap and as sets like this run out the price will only go up more. How much would you pay for the only certified unicorn horn? And how much would the nuts and saddles you made from it sell for?

SCGC is smarter than I am!

Mark, you build with some very fine woods! That Tree set is one of the nicest I have seen.

Ken

Thanks Ken! I’ve seen comments on forums with concerns on whether a set of The Tree have documentation certifying it actually is from The Tree.
I believe with the better Tree sets, especially ones with the tortoise shell quilting, the best document to verify a Tree sets authenticity is simply a picture of it. That is how rare that figure is, it comes from just one tree.

Mark

More Pictures
 

Here is the Redwood top being joined:

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Then the trick was to find a fretboard that goes with it:

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Macassar Ebony wins the day!

Meanwhile the sides are bending:

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And the back is getting it's backbone:

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Thanks for looking!
Mark

That is hard to beat
 

..optically.. what a good looking combo of woods and fretboard!
Curious about what else is coming for appointments and - most of all -
how it is going to sound as a pairing.
:D

Other appointments will be a Florentine cut-away with an access top bevel, an arm bevel, a sound port, and likely a number of accent inlays with various woods. We're working through the details now.
We selected this soundboard to go with The Tree back set because of the quick response, especially to a light touch to go with the playing style of the client.
The Tree wood is very dense for Honduran Mahogany and sounds and acts more like Cuban Mahogany in my experience.

Here's some more pictures. This is a side being laminated. I am using Honduran Mahogany to go with the Tree sides:

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Here I am shaving down the center back graft. This graft supports the glue joint holding the two sides together. The graft needs to be shaved down leaving just enough cross grained wood to secure the joint and no more. Any more wood left than necessary, especially on the edges, only creates stress lines going right down the grain line of the back.
This is a typical example of many in guitar building where we don't want to target as little or as much, the target is the right amount.

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Then comes the "H" logo.

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Thanks for viewing!
Mark

You can almost see the Startrek 'Live long and prosper' hand sign on the bottom part of the back set! Either that or the Texas Longhorns 'Hook'em horns'

Thanks for commenting Tom. Be careful, that figure will just draw you in!

I'm going to have to stop in more often...I love these woods, and your artistic skills are going to turn this into something truly special. Looking forward!

Thanks for dropping by Mike! These are beautiful woods to work with. Lately I've been doing some of the basic construction as we work out the finer details.
The guitar will be trimmed with Macassar Ebony similar to the fretboard.
Since we have a lot of darker colored woods here we're planning to lighten it up a bit with some lighter colored flourishes. There is a lot more to come on this one!

Mark

Setting up Sides
 

The side are laminated and joined:

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I have also set up the Spanish Cedar support for the arm bevel and the cutaway comfort bevel:

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Meanwhile I have been working on the neck:

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The center laminates are cross grained Macassar Ebony with Maple borders. The neck itself is Honduran Mahogany.

Thank you for viewing!
Mark

..beauty unbounded.. disguised in a box.
Cool to get those step shots of the process...it seems so natural to see a finished guitar... but all the little things and bits that need to be done in the correct order, always with a picture of the desired outcome (and sound) in mind.. awesome if you can pull that off !

Spectacular wood. Looking forward to seeing it come together.

Thanks Lonzo, there are a lot of elements that have to come together. Fortunately, it all comes in smaller bites. There are basically for small projects: top, back, sides, and neck that all start out independently so you can take a breather from one and skip to the next if need be. In the end it all starts coming together in big pieces.

Thanks for commenting FGBR!

Mark

Sides Set
 

I have the sides pretty well set with the Spanish Cedar support wood in place for the arm bevel and the cut-away bevel. I'm careful to hollow these supports out some to save weight and air volume. This theoretically also helps with bass response. Of course, I have no way to test that so like many things on a guitar I'll put it in the best practices category. In any case, it saves weight and body air volume which is what I want and even though it's on the inside I think it looks cool.
I do have to say that if as builders we only did things that could be absolutely proven, guitars would sound like crap and would stay that way! :)

Anyway, here's a picture:

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M

A very elegant interior, Mark--I'm excited to follow this one along!

Thanks Nemoman!