so who has played or owns a Tunnel 13 redwood guitar ?

[high]

hi there

the tunnel 13 story

http://petrosguitars.com/gallery/Pet...T13_story.html

fascinates me.

Not for the robbery of course, but for the nice redwood beams.

after a recent experience with a beautiful, but sort of dull sounding sinker redwood guitar,
it appears to me, that all the train vibrations could have positively altered the beams like a giant tonerite device ?
A 120 year long treatment ?



anyway, I would love to hear some personal experiences from members
who had the chance to play guitars made from Tunnel 13 redwood.

Or from others, who own these instruments, how great are they ?

thanks in advance.

[Long Jon]

They may very well be really great guitars, they certainly look beautifully made.

but REALLY ! I have never read such a load of unscientific, unmeasurable, frankly “hippie” (and not in a good way,) hype .
Actually I’ll stick my neck out and call it “nonsense” , about the wood having been improved by somehow absorbing a hundred and odd years of “hearing” trains, witnessing murders, and generally picking up “vibes” or something.

IF it is any good it’s because it’s some lovely old mature wood.
If it had come from a barn that’s been standing quiet and empty for a hundred years I think it would be about the same.

[cotten]

I played a couple of them at the Healdsburg Festival, and thought they were both terrific guitars! Great tone, full and well balanced, loud but responsive to a wide range of dynamics. I didn't put a pick to them, but my fingers and ears thought they were wonderful! Why? I put it down to the Petros magic. I have never played one that wasn't fantastic sounding and visually stunning. Fascinating story about that Tunnel 13 wood, of course, but I still think it is the magic!

cotten

[Long Jon]

I bow down to Mr. Cotten, ever the diplomat and fine southern gentleman, he has stated it so much more politely than me and has actually played some , which is what the OP asked about.

Perhaps I shoulda kept my nose out of this , but honestly , the blurb on the link reads like a send-up to me , akin to the brilliant “Artisanal Firewood” spoof on YouTube. I laughed out loud, how many times over do they repeat their mystical claims ?

Don’t mean offence, and I am a believer in GUITARS breaking in ,
but not in lumber absorbing history and imparting it to the artifacts made with it.

[The Bard Rocks]

In a conversation about some extremely aged and storied Sitka, I once asked a very respected luthier how it sounded, as he'd built with it before. "Like wood that was stuck in mud for centuries" was the reply, meaning not as good as regular Sitka. But it was neater looking and had the story to go with it. So if you only wanted to look at your guitar and tell others about it, this wood was a good choice. ....

[brencat]

There was a Santa Cruz Tunnel 13 Redwood over Cocobolo OM that was in the AGF classifieds last year. It was absolutely gorgeous...both the Cocobolo and the Redwood. Apparently, Santa Cruz had gotten their hands on 2 or 3 sets of the Tunnel 13 Redwood, and that OM was one of the guitars made with it. The seller didn't have a sound sample, so I can't comment on tone, but it was custom ordered with a large neck and 2 3/8" string spacing, IIRC, which is a no fly zone for me. Too bad, but my wallet is certainly happier.

Cool story.

[cigarfan]

I consider myself extremely fortunate to have acquired a Tunnel 13 Redwood guitar. Many guitars have come and gone but I can safely say, my Kwasnycia 000-12 of Tunnel 13 Redwood and Bastogne Walnut is not going anywhere. Truly a prized possession. I was intrigued by the wood story but that quickly gave way to love for the tone and playability of this guitar. By chance, this last Woodstock show I was able to play a Petros Tunnel 13 which was very nice. Maybe I'm biased but I like my Kwasnycia better.

My NGD thread from back in 2013 has some soundclips and photos and a link to the build thread here on AGF. Due to the Photobucket debacle, some photos are unavailable but between all the threads, there are still plenty there.

I really think my Kwas is magical mostly because of what the builder did but I'm sure the Tunnel 13 Redwood is lending quite a lot to the package.

[D.Kwasnycia]

Originally Posted by cigarfan

I consider myself extremely fortunate to have acquired a Tunnel 13 Redwood guitar. Many guitars have come and gone but I can safely say, my Kwasnycia 000-12 of Tunnel 13 Redwood and Bastogne Walnut is not going anywhere. Truly a prized possession. I was intrigued by the wood story but that quickly gave way to love for the tone and playability of this guitar. By chance, this last Woodstock show I was able to play a Petros Tunnel 13 which was very nice. Maybe I'm biased but I like my Kwasnycia better.

My NGD thread from back in 2013 has some soundclips and photos and a link to the build thread here on AGF. Due to the Photobucket debacle, some photos are unavailable but between all the threads, there are still plenty there.

I really think my Kwas is magical mostly because of what the builder did but I'm sure the Tunnel 13 Redwood is lending quite a lot to the package.

Hey Dennis, thank you for the kind words of encouragement, So very glad your happy with this guitar!

[D.Kwasnycia]

Originally Posted by Long Jon

They may very well be really great guitars, they certainly look beautifully made.

but REALLY ! I have never read such a load of unscientific, unmeasurable, frankly “hippie” (and not in a good way,) hype .
Actually I’ll stick my neck out and call it “nonsense” , about the wood having been improved by somehow absorbing a hundred and odd years of “hearing” trains, witnessing murders, and generally picking up “vibes” or something.

IF it is any good it’s because it’s some lovely old mature wood.
If it had come from a barn that’s been standing quiet and empty for a hundred years I think it would be about the same.

As a builder There are a few guitars I have built using the Tunnel 13 Redwood, and from my understanding, I thought Bruce Petros and myself were the only one's that had any of the wood, but Im not surprised that there may have been a few other stragglers that got away and are circulating around.
Is it hype? Well, Allow me to comment. I don't think that a train robbery had any effect what so ever on the quality of the wood, but it is history, and history that means something to some and it has some romance to it as well. No, the romance is basically this old wood standing quietly for 129 years, yes in the midst of the rumbling rains. Did the trains rumble? absolutely they did and if you stood near one of the engines, they could be quite intimidating for sure. Now, did the rumbling have any positive effect on the wood? Personally I don't know, but Im sure it didn't have any ell effects what so ever.

This Redwood is basically of some of the finest quality I have seen and the age of the trees at the time of harvesting was between 2000 to 2500 years old. That said, some pieces are not perfect, with some burn marks and grain inconsistencies on the boarding edges. Nothing that can't be worked around.

I feel in my own understanding that the aging of the wood in this environment was to the Redwoods benefit and compared to sinker, by far better. The cell structure of sinker Redwood is changed over time and the resins that were present, are at times not the same at all.

Totally get where you are coming from with, yes a picture has been painted that makes this wood a mystery of some sorts. The fact that this is a very fine quality wood, because of it's age and conditions it was subjected to, makes this Redwood more than just Hype. The story is fun History if anything else.

[docyoung]

Curious how does a Tunnel 13 or 14 combination with Honduras Rosewood in 00 guitar sound? Any comments how that might turn out?

Thanks

[colins]

Originally Posted by docyoung

Curious how does a Tunnel 13 or 14 combination with Honduras Rosewood in 00 guitar sound? Any comments how that might turn out?

Thanks

I’ve owned a T13 guitar but I have not owned any in Honduran rosewood. The T13 guitar had, above all else, the sound associated with that builder. Comparing it with another guitar by the same builder, I found the T13 (with rosewood back) guitar to be warmer than an equivalent guitar in spruce and maple.

Once you know which builder you want, the redwood or the rosewood will add the nuances associated with those woods. And each wood will vary considerably across different sets; I learnt that by watching a world-class luthier tap different sets of the same species of rosewood for me…amazing how much difference even I could hear.

I’m not sure if you are asking in anticipation of a custom build. If you are, my experience is that telling the builder what tone you want is best, then let the builder use their experience to recommend the woods to achieve that tone.

[PWoolson]

I've built with Tunnel 13 quite a lot. I've also done a few with Tunnel 14 but I prefer the fun train robbery story with Tunnel 13.
I've recently procured a bund of "Lost Tunnel" redwood which has the same qualities, air dried for 100 years in protected environment. This Lost Tunnel is something special though. For some reason it's much harder, stiffer and "gongs" like a bell when tapped. My first guitar from this is in finish right now but there is no reason to believe that it will be equal to if not better than the other tunnel tops. I've got three more in production and just based on workability, it's all really good stuff!

[sinistral]

Paul, is the guitar on the far left made with Tunnel 13 redwood?




That was a stunning guitar!

The first I’d heard of the “Lost Tunnel” was at Rudy’s in Scarsdale. Butch Boswell has made some guitars with it.

[Aspiring]

I own this guitar with a tunnel 14 top

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=581765

Hard to say how much of the guitar comes from the top but overall I find it has a great voice.

I picked it up at B.I.G 2 where I was able to extensively play a large number of amazing instruments from multiple luthiers back to back and this one did it for me. Still love it 1.5 years later.

[PWoolson]

Originally Posted by sinistral

Paul, is the guitar on the far left made with Tunnel 13 redwood?




That was a stunning guitar!

It is indeed. That's the guitar that Tim Farrell commissioned to replace his fan fret (the one next to it).

Yes, Butch is the source of all Lost Tunnel. He and his partner found it all and painstakingly milled it all up into guitar sets.