How many versions of "The Tree" are there?

[Slothead56]

Originally Posted by LakewoodM32Fan

Imagine the lost possibility of instruments that could have been made, instead we got these...

Don’t be surprised if you get a nasty-gram from the folks over at the AFF...American Furniture Forum....

[Pattern]

I’ve never heard of The Tree before either but I’m interested. I knew the Wye Oak back in the day before a storm finally took it out. That tree was almost 500 and looked cool but it had nothing on The tree from that picture - what a beast.

I guess the tree being “famous” gives the instruments from it a little mystique. It’s like having a guitar played by John Lennon or an instrument that survived a famous warehouse fire or something.

Whenever things have a recognizable past or origin they are magically imbued with ..mojo? Swagger? I don’t know. It’s real though, or at least our assigning importance is real

[TJNies]

If I recall, Bruce Sexauer mentioned that the figuring makes The Tree more susceptible to cracking.
I guess sound is like any other tonewood; some are exceptional, others not so much, within the same species.

[Naboz]

Thanks, Mark L, for the article.
I'd be afraid to play a guitar built with The Tree, as I prefer mahogany to RW, and having strummed myself into bliss would be hocking my car or something!

[BBWW]

Having been a source of this wood for many builders, I'd say I have supplied over 500 sets in the last ten years or so, that is around 500 board feet of the 12,000 that was available. I'll pick up another 100 BF this year. Most of what I find are from retired furniture and cabinet makers. Much of what I have sourced came through Robert Novack, who pulled it out of the jungle.

I work hard to obtain the provenance of all the wood I buy. That said, I have seen a few sets over the years that may have "questionable" heritage. :-) Having handled as much of this wood as I have, you really do come to recognize "The Tree" and especially in large boards.

[H165]

There's alot of marketing baloney (IT WAS UNBELIEVEABLY DANGEROUS AND DIFFICULT TO RETRIEVE!! ) and (IT'S ALMOST GONE FOREVER!!!) in that article, but The Tree has certainly produced some pretty guitars.

I'd love to hear the results of blind audio testing in batches of five against Brazilian; that comparison (more marketing) makes no sense at all to me.

As noted above, there's a particular Brazilian tree that is sometimes cited during dicussions of a few batches of Martin guitars. That contributes to the idea that more than one wood source nicknamed "The Tree" exits.

[BBWW]

It is unknown who coined this tree as "The Tree". Robert Novack had no idea it was called that as of 2016. Some say it sounds like just plain old Honduran Mahogany other builders like Harvey Leach have built identical guitars of "Tree" and Brazilian and stated that The Tree sounded more "Brazilian" than the Brazilian? I have always said it sounds like Hog on steroids.

Yes there is hype and history here. I got my first set from Luthiers Mercantile in 1992. It cost me $350.00! About the same price as Brazilian back then. Breedlove made me a beauty out of it. I loved it so much it became a passion.

Before I sound TOO self-serving I will bow out of this conversation.

[gmel555]

I laughed out loud when I saw the title of your thread. Indeed for such a rare, unique wood it seems kinda counter intuitive that decades later it's still available, but as others said, it was a huge tree and guitars don't use that much body wood. I think each guitar made with it gets a lot more "press", than other guitars. But still, sometimes I envision folks at locally situated mahogany mills suddenly shouting: "hold up a minute guys, we just got word of another 'The Tree' we can get."

[Erithon]

Originally Posted by H165

There's alot of marketing baloney (IT WAS UNBELIEVEABLY DANGEROUS AND DIFFICULT TO RETRIEVE!! ) and (IT'S ALMOST GONE FOREVER!!!) in that article, but The Tree has certainly produced some pretty guitars.

I'd love to hear the results of blind audio testing in batches of five against Brazilian; that comparison (more marketing) makes no sense at all to me.

It really was quite challenging to remove. That's why it was stuck in the ravine for so many years. I wouldn't call that baloney. It doesn't make it sound or look better, sure, but it is a cool story.

Is it almost gone forever? Yes--in the sense that there is only one Tree--and no--in the sense that there are still sets out there and as long as tables and other furniture are being reclaimed as guitar sets there will be for a bit. But those sets are only getting more and more expensive.

It does not sound like Brazilian. Folks who say that either don't know what Brazilian sounds like or don't know what Mahogany sounds like lol. It clearly has the fundamental warmth of Mahogany, though I do think it sounds more like Cuban than Honduran Mahogany. That makes sense because it is denser and harder than your typical Honduran. So you get some additional overtones and midrange. But that doesn't make it better (a singer, for example, might prefer the more scooped midrange of typical Honduran Mahogany). What's really special about the Tree is its figure. It is arresting, even mesmerizing, and wholly unique. Most Mahogany is pedestrian. With a good set of the Tree, the level of chatoyancy is unreal: better than even the finest quilted Maple.

[redir]

Originally Posted by BBWW

Having been a source of this wood for many builders, I'd say I have supplied over 500 sets in the last ten years or so, that is around 500 board feet of the 12,000 that was available. I'll pick up another 100 BF this year. Most of what I find are from retired furniture and cabinet makers. Much of what I have sourced came through Robert Novack, who pulled it out of the jungle.

I work hard to obtain the provenance of all the wood I buy. That said, I have seen a few sets over the years that may have "questionable" heritage. :-) Having handled as much of this wood as I have, you really do come to recognize "The Tree" and especially in large boards.

Are you only selling tree sets? I clicked the links in your sig but your one URL there is broken.

[BBWW]

Originally Posted by redir

Are you only selling tree sets? I clicked the links in your sig but your one URL there is broken.

I don't maintain my QuiltedMahogany.com site. Just never felt I had the inventory to do that. Most folks contact me through my Facebook site.

https://www.facebook.com/The-Tree-Qu...56266954411686

I only sell Tree Mahogany and on occasion some LS Redwood Tops...another wood getting very hard to find.

I'm old, LOL. Don't tour anymore, I guess no one does right now. I don't keep music going at www.reverbnation.com/jayhowlett

Thanks,

Jay

[redir]

Originally Posted by BBWW

I don't maintain my QuiltedMahogany.com site. Just never felt I had the inventory to do that. Most folks contact me through my Facebook site.

https://www.facebook.com/The-Tree-Qu...56266954411686

I only sell Tree Mahogany and on occasion some LS Redwood Tops...another wood getting very hard to find.

I'm old, LOL. Don't tour anymore, I guess no one does right now. I don't keep music going at www.reverbnation.com/jayhowlett

Thanks,

Jay

Good to know, thanks.

[ruby50]

Het BBWW

I have seen the photo fo the giant tree in post #7 with reference to other woods. Is that a picture of the actual "The Tree"?

Ed M

[BBWW]

Originally Posted by ruby50

Het BBWW

I have seen the photo fo the giant tree in post #7 with reference to other woods. Is that a picture of the actual "The Tree"?

Ed M

The photo is "exaggerated" because of the wide base roots. No Super 8 film was shot of any part of this and not much thought given to just still shots at the time. I have heard that photo is both correct and misleading.

It was however still a massive mahogany tree. Robert Novack said that 12,000 BF came from it. That could have been 12000 guitars. 3000 was Tortoiseshell, 6000 or so "sausage curl" and the rest mixed figures.

[Tnfiddler]

As much as I love guitars, am I the only one sad that such a majestic tree was cut down????