| I first started seeing redwood (Sequoia
Sempervirons) used as a guitar tonewood back in the early '70s when Jean
Larrivee used it on a couple of his early dreadnoughts. Coincidentally
I played one of those guitars recently and it still sounds as amazing as
I remembered it! Since that time, redwood has been used
to great effect by many high-end builders of both classical and steel string
guitars.
Redwood trees are indigenous to the west
coast of North America and have been tested to exhibit some of the very
highest strength-to-weight ratios of any soundboard material.
This tonewood has a sharp, well defined tap tone with a high
harmonic content. Visually, redwood looks a bit like cedar
but a little more red in colour with a deep glow, often with exceptional
strong medullary silking. Tonally, the best redwood compares
to Western Red cedar but with a bolder, crisper, punchier attack
and more richness in the bass!
This is our very first DBJ-C (formerly the
PJ or Petite Jumbo model) with a redwood top but I'm am really hoping it
is not our last. What a truly "alive" sounding instrument!
This guitar is positively BURSTING with layer upon layer upon LAYER of
sound!!! With a very strong, warm bass and lower midrange response
as a foundation, this guitar then sprays you with a shower of overtones
that changes with every subtle change in your attack. This instrument
really will keep even the most fickle fingerstyle connoisseur engaged for
many many years! |
