I am going to list for you the top ten builds I'd like to build from the woods I have in my wood locker. They will be what I am calling my Perfect Pairings offering. Each week I am going to post up a paired top and side set and I am going to explain the characteristics of these woods and what makes these a perfect pair. In some cases these will be what I consider the best particular woods in my inventory, in other cases it may be just why these are a perfect pair. In all cases when I am in my shop and considering what I would really like to add to my build list these are the top 10. I will also be posting these pairs on a thread on the AGF Marketplace forum explaining the pricing and the incentive I'll be adding to encourage others to want me to build these too.
So in no particular order for the first week's posting I am putting up the best spruce top set I have ever owned or seen and a back and side set from "The Fiddleback Tree":
I'll start with the top. It is an alpine Swiss Moon Spruce top that I have had hidden away for nine years. This is a very stiff example of Spruce but, it is also the lightest Swiss Spruce I have ever seen. It's light even by Western Red Cedar standards and it is gorgeous. It has even grain, color, and shimmering medullary rays. The tap tones are fabulous as well as how they sustain.
The Honduran Fiddleback Tree back comes from a log processed by Hibdon Hardwoods. The log produced 400 back sets and have the most even and prominent curl most experienced folks have ever seen. Like the quilted "Tree" it is a very stiff and it is hard Mahogany more like Cuban than Honduran.
What makes these a perfect pair is the hard Mahogany combined with a Western Cedar fast response on a spruce top. This will be a very well balanced, responsive, and full sounding instrument. Not to mention just flat out gorgeous. It would be particularly well suited for my larger guitars, the small jumbo Josie or the grand auditorium Greta:
I have started this year out building another Fiddleback Tree guitar with a very nice Englemann Spruce top. After my initial impressions of this wood I am anxious to line up another as we'll not see this wood available for long.
You can see that build in process on my Hatcher Studio '19 thread.
So this is the first of ten. You will be able to see the pricing and incentives in the AGF Marketplace forum. Collect all ten!
