[guitaradam]

Hey folks,

I decided to start a thread regarding a special project that Tyler Robbins and I have been doing together for the past little while. I think it's a fun project that many might find interesting for a few different reasons that I'll explain. Additionally we decided to approach this as a team. As we both add to the thread, we each have a perspective and insights as builder and player that hopefully complement each other.

I've had a limited presence on AGF as a person who posts. I am a frequent visitor and find the topics, audience and discussions engaging. So I guess I'll start with this one.

OK here goes.

Skipping some history and such, I decided to reach out to Tyler and inquire about a commissioned build. His artistry was unique. The lines on his guitar, his headstock and his ornamentation work was clever, fresh and clean. To be frank, I had heard quite little of his actual tone and sound, but enough to pique the ears and "tune in" to what he was doing.

So again, I reached out. Tyler, I suppose could be called a relative newcomer builder and he is developing his craft and refining his touch. And yet, our dialogue and discussions made me feel that I was dealing with someone who had a deeper well of knowledge than I had anticipated. He instilled confidence and calm. Here's what transpired.

I asked if Tyler was taking build requests to which he responded affirmatively. We discussed many of his previous builds, woods used, guitar sizes, esthetics, etc. At some point, I asked him about Brazilian. I told him I hadn't seen a "Robbins Brazilian" yet? He indicated his extensive experience working with Bryan Galloup, and time using Bryan's deep stash of brazilian, but acknowledged he'd never used Brazilian on his own instruments. We also talked about his time with the Galloup School and Tyler's thoughts on the science of sound creation, how to create a consistent outcome, especially as a younger builder looking to create a name for himself. We talked both the art and science of luthiery for quite a while. Back and forth and back forth. His love of luthiery was evident and though a simple and quiet fellow, was engaging, thoughtful, respectful and desirous to develop a good relationship with a potential client and ultimately blow my socks off with a stunning build.

As some point, I brought up The Somogyi Incident: an attempt by Ervin to create three identical guitars using three sister sets of brazilian for the back and sides. Only the tops were different, one cedar, one european and one sitka. It was a sensationally engaging project and the results were delightful. Never had something like this been attempted. As we discussed the Somogyi experiment, an idea brewed. I threw out an idea. Flip the idea on its head. Create 3 separate guitars using different back and side sets, and use 3 identical wood tops, or at least as "identical" as one could find.

The idea seemed to resonate with Tyler and he latched right on enthusiastically. And off we went to find some wood. After some time, we settled on three sets. The first was a sensational set of Brazilian, dark and chocolatey with lighter veins streaking through. The second, a delightful set of quarter sawn Madagascar Rosewood. And lastly, a sexy set of Macassar Ebony. For the tops, Tyler diligent worked through many tops and found an almost identical trio of Italian tops. Top shelf kind of stuff. Identical in virtually EVERY measurement possible by any luthiery standards and quality control. So it began...

to be determined was esthetics and styling and all that but the idea was born:

Guitar 1: Brazilian Rosewood/Italian
Guitar 2: Madagascar Rosewood/Italian
Guitar 3: Macassar Ebony/Italian

What would the results be? Could we control the tops closely enough to be able to truly hear the differences between the different wood sets? How would they color the sound? Lots of talk of measurements and gauges and thicknesses and stiffnesses - is sound creation a science? Or are there undefinable, unmeasurable variables, like a masters touch or the contributions of different wood sets... Intriguing don't you think? We haven't heard the results yet, but are getting close. We want to share the story and journey with you.

to be continued...

I'll invite Tyler at this point to jump in on this thread and share some initial pictures of the wood sets (Tyler is a phenomenal photographer as well) and some thoughts on the early stages of the builds...

Tyler, the stage is yours...