First off, let me say that if some level of virtuosity were required for a person to be able to appreciate a great guitar, or even a merely beautiful guitar, a great many including myself would be working at a more mundane pursuit. You do not need to practice for years to appreciate beautiful tone in a guitar.
Mahogany is the true standard of the guitar world, IMO, and I am glad to hear that you, TJNies, have come to recognize it. This material comes in many flavors, and none is bad in my experience, but the "Tree" stands alone at the pinnacle. Fortunately, it was a very big tree, and there was quite a lot of it. I have to assume you have looked closely at pictures and have noticed that even the most mundane pieces of the "Tree" are very well figured. The best pieces of the "Tree" are spectacularly well figured, and that is what 2 of the three guitars I've made from the wood are. Actually, the 3rd guitars is made from as spectacular an example, but cut on the quarter instead of the face, so less impressive in appearance, though possibly structurally superior.
Some people say the "Tree" sounds like Brazilian rosewood rather than mahogany, but I suspect they may not be all that familiar with BRW. The "Tree" does have a significantly richer sound to my ear than typical mahogany, but not in the same way as BRW. And please remember I am referring to my own work, I have heard other maker's results that were quite different from my own. All three of my "Tree" guitars simply sound exceptionally beautiful, even in the body of my own work. There is simply no way I am aware of to convey the truth of this, but if one had one of these three guitars on the lap and played it for an hour and then went back to whatever else one usually plays, most people with any guitar experience at all would think it obvious. IMO, of course.
My usual policy on sales of inventory guitars is that I will ship, once the check clears, and absorb the shipping in the purchase price. The buyer get a few days to make sure they bond. If the buyer doesn't bond, once the guitar has arrived back in identical condition to when it left, I return the full price LESS the cost of round trip 3 day expedited shipping: between $300 and $500 depending on location in the lower 48. If the buyer chooses to trade the guitar in down the line, it is worth its full original price in trade value against any instrument I have made with a price 150% higher or greater. On instruments priced at less than150% greater, the trade-in is worth 2/3 the price. If that is too hard to decipher, no worries, I can work it out for you.
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