Legend of The Music Tree
April 12, 2022 11:58 AM Subscribe
"Not long ago, while browsing a craft fair in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, I spotted a guitar like no other I’d ever seen. It hung half-hidden behind a display of cutting boards and wooden bowls in the booth of woodworker and luthier David Smith. Noting my hungry stare, Smith gently lifted the instrument from its perch and urged me to give it a try. I cradled it under my elbow and plucked a few chords. The sound was resonant and true. But the most remarkable part was the look of the thing: Its back and sides rippled like a full moon reflecting off a dead calm sea. Mesmerizing.
“What you’re staring at is The Tree,” Smith said, smiling. “It’s the rarest and most coveted wood in the world.” [nopaywall]
A primer on tonewood.
A primer on tonewood.
This is like reading a murder story that glosses over the crime to rave about what beautiful things could be made from the victim's bones. I don't give a shit about magical guitar tone. Rich assholes and the people who cater to them ruin everything.
posted by emjaybee at 12:12 PM on April 12, 2022 [38 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 12:12 PM on April 12, 2022 [38 favorites]
Although the wood makes no difference for an electric, I am not sure about the acoustic.
But I bet it's a lot less important than people think!
posted by timdiggerm at 12:14 PM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
But I bet it's a lot less important than people think!
posted by timdiggerm at 12:14 PM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I have to agree with emjaybee. :(
posted by Glinn at 12:22 PM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Glinn at 12:22 PM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
The plank of wood Jared shipped to Forsland—eight feet long, two feet wide and one inch thick—arrived in disguise. The 2003 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna had made it illegal to transport big-leaf mahogany as raw timber across national borders without a special permit. To avoid breaking the law, Jared instead sent Forsland a table—its legs were made of ordinary wood and its top was made from the Tree slab, and shipped the package marked as a table. (A number of actual tables made of The Tree have been dissembled and converted into tonewood for musical instruments.) As part of the agreement, Jared sent enough wood for Forsland to make a second guitar to do with what he pleased.
So, basically, smuggling.
Mahogany is now one of the tree species covered under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). It's an "Appendix II" species, meaning it's a "species not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival."
High-end guitars (or any guitar) made by reputable luthiers should come with CITES compliance documentation where needed, like this Collings or this Taylor (see also Taylor's CITES page).
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:32 PM on April 12, 2022 [21 favorites]
So, basically, smuggling.
Mahogany is now one of the tree species covered under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). It's an "Appendix II" species, meaning it's a "species not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival."
High-end guitars (or any guitar) made by reputable luthiers should come with CITES compliance documentation where needed, like this Collings or this Taylor (see also Taylor's CITES page).
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:32 PM on April 12, 2022 [21 favorites]
So, basically, smuggling.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 15:32 on April 12
This is one of them eponysterical things isn't it?
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:45 PM on April 12, 2022 [23 favorites]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 15:32 on April 12
This is one of them eponysterical things isn't it?
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:45 PM on April 12, 2022 [23 favorites]
"Not only did the guitars all have very similar ratings—in many cases, the expert musicians could not even distinguish one guitar from the other."
Pretty guitars for rich men from rainforest timber from poor nations, that don't sound better than more ethical guitars.
Was it an Iain M Banks novel that had an instrument made from the distorted bones of twin children who were still alive to be played?
posted by happyinmotion at 1:07 PM on April 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
Pretty guitars for rich men from rainforest timber from poor nations, that don't sound better than more ethical guitars.
Was it an Iain M Banks novel that had an instrument made from the distorted bones of twin children who were still alive to be played?
posted by happyinmotion at 1:07 PM on April 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
Looks much like burl to me.
Trees are so wonderful! They make shade and oxygen, and lift spirits.
Some need to be let alone. Some deserve veneration.
Some are good for building homes.
posted by Goofyy at 1:36 PM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
Trees are so wonderful! They make shade and oxygen, and lift spirits.
Some need to be let alone. Some deserve veneration.
Some are good for building homes.
posted by Goofyy at 1:36 PM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
>Was it an Iain M Banks novel that had an instrument made from the distorted bones of twin children who were still alive to be played?
Use of Weapons had a chair made from bones, maybe that’s what you remember.
posted by graphweaver at 2:04 PM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
Use of Weapons had a chair made from bones, maybe that’s what you remember.
posted by graphweaver at 2:04 PM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
So is the Smithsonian Magazine competing with the NY Times Style Section for the Hate Read Crown?
I kind of get it but I also don't. All I could think was what if you replaced The Tree with the The Elephant Tusk. There is a reason to burn ivory.
I realize this is all a very negative take etc. but this kind of valorizing is out of date. It isn't 1954 anymore.
posted by Pembquist at 2:46 PM on April 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
I kind of get it but I also don't. All I could think was what if you replaced The Tree with the The Elephant Tusk. There is a reason to burn ivory.
I realize this is all a very negative take etc. but this kind of valorizing is out of date. It isn't 1954 anymore.
posted by Pembquist at 2:46 PM on April 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
Didn't we already cover this?
As far as I can tell, no. That other post was about electric guitars, in which it was discovered, IIRC, that the distance of the pickups from the strings is what made the biggest difference to tone. I believe it was even pointed out in that video that the reason wood in an electric guitar doesn't make a difference is because all of the amplification is electronic, while in an acoustic guitar all of the amplification is from the wood, so the wood might make some difference.
The more relevant comparison, as mentioned in this article, is to the blind tests on Strads.
posted by clawsoon at 3:05 PM on April 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
As far as I can tell, no. That other post was about electric guitars, in which it was discovered, IIRC, that the distance of the pickups from the strings is what made the biggest difference to tone. I believe it was even pointed out in that video that the reason wood in an electric guitar doesn't make a difference is because all of the amplification is electronic, while in an acoustic guitar all of the amplification is from the wood, so the wood might make some difference.
The more relevant comparison, as mentioned in this article, is to the blind tests on Strads.
posted by clawsoon at 3:05 PM on April 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
Was it an Iain M Banks novel that had an instrument made from the distorted bones of twin children who were still alive to be played?
Are you thinking of The Fluted Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi?
posted by Thella at 4:11 PM on April 12, 2022
Are you thinking of The Fluted Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi?
posted by Thella at 4:11 PM on April 12, 2022
So, I get all the snark in these comments. just want to weigh in that it is a beautifully written story, tho maybe not 'woke', but expresses the passions of those involved thoughtfully, with an eye to the craft. Makes me think of my late brother, a talented guitarist & performer, who had his own stash of rosewood for his mandolins, and would have appreciated this story. I rate it 4 out of 5.
posted by TDIpod at 4:26 PM on April 12, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by TDIpod at 4:26 PM on April 12, 2022 [7 favorites]
>Are you thinking of The Fluted Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi?
Thanks Thella, that's the one.
posted by happyinmotion at 6:16 PM on April 12, 2022
Thanks Thella, that's the one.
posted by happyinmotion at 6:16 PM on April 12, 2022
I don't think you have to be 'woke' to not celebrate the destruction of ancient rainforest trees, but maybe I am out of step with the current zeitgeist.
posted by jordantwodelta at 6:41 PM on April 12, 2022 [11 favorites]
posted by jordantwodelta at 6:41 PM on April 12, 2022 [11 favorites]
→
or they might end up in an Alaskan classroom if someone tries to ship them without docs
posted by scruss at 7:54 PM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
High-end guitars (or any guitar) made by reputable luthiers should come with CITES compliance documentation where needed
or they might end up in an Alaskan classroom if someone tries to ship them without docs
posted by scruss at 7:54 PM on April 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'm guessing no-one wants to hear about my tiger-scrotum djembe
posted by elkevelvet at 8:08 PM on April 12, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by elkevelvet at 8:08 PM on April 12, 2022 [9 favorites]
I can tell the difference between my Yamaha FG350, Martin D-15, and Martin D-28.
The D-15 and D-28 are the same size, with a similar bracing pattern and scale length. The D-15 is a solid mahogany body; the D-28 has a rosewood back and sides and a Sitka spruce top. Other fixtures are similar. Their tones are different, and I love them both like I might love two children--lots and lots, but in different ways. I'm fond of the Yamaha the way I might be fond of my high-school prom date--it was great when I was a kid, but that was a long time ago.
I played several Yamaha FG350s (over a span of months) before I bought mine. Its sound was qualitatively different from its brothers. I prefer the sound of either of my Martins, but for subjective reasons. The Yamaha I bought is a low-end instrument. The two Martins are at the high end of low-end instruments. I've had several other guitars, including two classical guitars, but time has blurred their sound in my memory. As a non-expert, I believe the difference between a medium-priced guitar and one that can cost six digits is largely an illusion. But not always.
One of my musical buddies bought a Martin D-18 in 1935 when it was new. I played it a few times before he finally sold it. This instrument is iconic, and its price has little to do with its quality. When I played it the bass notes were rich and clear and tones at the 14th fret were clean and resonant. I might have mortgaged my house to buy it, but I never got the chance. Before he passed away he sold it to some schmuck in Portland for $20k.
I don't argue with those tests proving that quality is illusory. Who would? Apples are being juggled with oranges. The algorithms describing price are different from those that describe quality. I don't know the (real) numbers, but you'll pay something like four times the price for a ten percent increase in quality. In guitars, the quality can be expressed as artful inlays and purling, or in creating specific acoustic parameters through bracing patterns, glues, etc. As for me, I'm not interested in laying out an extra two or three thousand dollars for spiffy inlays or clever gee-gaws, and I won't be the guy making bids on Johnny Cash's D-28 if it ever comes on the market.
If I have a point to make, it's that low-end guitars tend to sound like all the others with similar nomenclature, but if you want to spend one or two thousand, you can shop around and get one that whispers your name and begs you to take it home.
Reputable luthiers, and manufacturers such as Martin, have taken up the banner of using sustainable woods for their instruments. Keep in mind that the proverbial "they" have a vanishing supply of vintage woods they acquired before our modern sensibilities woke us to the current tragedy of the commons. They will not part with that stash without bickering. Why should they?
posted by mule98J at 11:23 PM on April 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
The D-15 and D-28 are the same size, with a similar bracing pattern and scale length. The D-15 is a solid mahogany body; the D-28 has a rosewood back and sides and a Sitka spruce top. Other fixtures are similar. Their tones are different, and I love them both like I might love two children--lots and lots, but in different ways. I'm fond of the Yamaha the way I might be fond of my high-school prom date--it was great when I was a kid, but that was a long time ago.
I played several Yamaha FG350s (over a span of months) before I bought mine. Its sound was qualitatively different from its brothers. I prefer the sound of either of my Martins, but for subjective reasons. The Yamaha I bought is a low-end instrument. The two Martins are at the high end of low-end instruments. I've had several other guitars, including two classical guitars, but time has blurred their sound in my memory. As a non-expert, I believe the difference between a medium-priced guitar and one that can cost six digits is largely an illusion. But not always.
One of my musical buddies bought a Martin D-18 in 1935 when it was new. I played it a few times before he finally sold it. This instrument is iconic, and its price has little to do with its quality. When I played it the bass notes were rich and clear and tones at the 14th fret were clean and resonant. I might have mortgaged my house to buy it, but I never got the chance. Before he passed away he sold it to some schmuck in Portland for $20k.
I don't argue with those tests proving that quality is illusory. Who would? Apples are being juggled with oranges. The algorithms describing price are different from those that describe quality. I don't know the (real) numbers, but you'll pay something like four times the price for a ten percent increase in quality. In guitars, the quality can be expressed as artful inlays and purling, or in creating specific acoustic parameters through bracing patterns, glues, etc. As for me, I'm not interested in laying out an extra two or three thousand dollars for spiffy inlays or clever gee-gaws, and I won't be the guy making bids on Johnny Cash's D-28 if it ever comes on the market.
If I have a point to make, it's that low-end guitars tend to sound like all the others with similar nomenclature, but if you want to spend one or two thousand, you can shop around and get one that whispers your name and begs you to take it home.
Reputable luthiers, and manufacturers such as Martin, have taken up the banner of using sustainable woods for their instruments. Keep in mind that the proverbial "they" have a vanishing supply of vintage woods they acquired before our modern sensibilities woke us to the current tragedy of the commons. They will not part with that stash without bickering. Why should they?
posted by mule98J at 11:23 PM on April 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
Yeah for non guitarists, there is zero question that wood matters a lot for acoustic instruments and I don't know any guitarist or luthier who'd say otherwise. The "tonewood fallacy" is specific to *solid body electric* guitars. That said, one reason I play and love Taylor acoustics is that they pioneered using sustainable sources of wood. But if you can't hear the difference between a spruce and a mahogany topped guitar of the same design that's you. I can and so can any serious acoustic guitarist.
posted by spitbull at 1:42 AM on April 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by spitbull at 1:42 AM on April 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
I don't give a shit if the guitar sounds like the voice of god itself. The mahogany trade is inextricably bound up with settler-colonialism, slavery, and irreversible ecological destruction that continues to this day. For an excellent book on the subject, see Jennifer Anderson, Mahogany: The Costs of Luxury in Early America (2015).
posted by jedicus at 6:43 AM on April 13, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by jedicus at 6:43 AM on April 13, 2022 [7 favorites]
That is true of many other products and materials, including woods like ebony and rosewood and koa.
posted by spitbull at 1:34 PM on April 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by spitbull at 1:34 PM on April 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
The haters are ignoring that the tree was already cut down and dead. If you're going to hate somebody hate the loggers who killed it, not the guitarists who salvaged it.
posted by Joan Rivers of Babylon at 3:20 PM on April 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Joan Rivers of Babylon at 3:20 PM on April 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
World Resources Institute - "Building a Sustainable Guitar: Mahogany."
Taylor Guitars -- "Sustainability." (Describes community/forestry projects in Cameroon and Hawaii)
I mean the iPhone most of us are using to read metafilter uses minerals sourced in places colonialism hasn't stopped. You cannot name one material used in modern industry that doesn't have a carbon footprint, or whose history of sourcing is in no way implicated in slavery, colonialism, or ecocide.
It's all problematic.
I'll be hanging on to my all-mahogany 1991 made in Japan (guitarists know what this means) Telecaster Thinline for now. Semi-hollow and an acoustic wooden bridge with a piezo in it means the wood does influence the tone of that electric somewhat. I can't leave the country with it but that won't be a problem.
That said I absolutely now attend to the wood sources and choices as an ecological issue when I buy new guitars. Which I do sometimes. I have quite a few.
posted by spitbull at 4:22 PM on April 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
Taylor Guitars -- "Sustainability." (Describes community/forestry projects in Cameroon and Hawaii)
I mean the iPhone most of us are using to read metafilter uses minerals sourced in places colonialism hasn't stopped. You cannot name one material used in modern industry that doesn't have a carbon footprint, or whose history of sourcing is in no way implicated in slavery, colonialism, or ecocide.
It's all problematic.
I'll be hanging on to my all-mahogany 1991 made in Japan (guitarists know what this means) Telecaster Thinline for now. Semi-hollow and an acoustic wooden bridge with a piezo in it means the wood does influence the tone of that electric somewhat. I can't leave the country with it but that won't be a problem.
That said I absolutely now attend to the wood sources and choices as an ecological issue when I buy new guitars. Which I do sometimes. I have quite a few.
posted by spitbull at 4:22 PM on April 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
the tree was already cut down and dead
A Guitar Lover’s Guide to the CITES Conservation Treaty gets into some of the weirdness around that. To your point, what about when something is reclaimed from an already-extracted source? Tortoise shell and ivory come up a lot in that respect, because some luthiers are able to source these materials from of all sorts of antique non-instrument doohickeys.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:56 PM on April 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
A Guitar Lover’s Guide to the CITES Conservation Treaty gets into some of the weirdness around that. To your point, what about when something is reclaimed from an already-extracted source? Tortoise shell and ivory come up a lot in that respect, because some luthiers are able to source these materials from of all sorts of antique non-instrument doohickeys.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:56 PM on April 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
"The haters are ignoring that the tree was already cut down and dead. If you're going to hate somebody hate the loggers who killed it, not the guitarists who salvaged it."
This attitude ignores the fundamental fact that the reason the tree was cut down in the first place was because there was a market for the wood. That's the issue.
That's like saying 'well it's OK to buy a stolen car radio because it's already stolen. It's not like I asked someone to steal it for me.' You didn't, but you've created a market for stolen property by buying it.
posted by jordantwodelta at 7:44 PM on April 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
This attitude ignores the fundamental fact that the reason the tree was cut down in the first place was because there was a market for the wood. That's the issue.
That's like saying 'well it's OK to buy a stolen car radio because it's already stolen. It's not like I asked someone to steal it for me.' You didn't, but you've created a market for stolen property by buying it.
posted by jordantwodelta at 7:44 PM on April 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
Tree sets for sale at least, at one spot.
An example of an 000 style guitar
The Preston Thompson dreadnought. This one-of-a-kind guitar is priced at $20,085 and 75% of the sale will go to two charities (NPCF and College of Idaho)
Dream Guitars inventory of Musser "the Tree" guitars
posted by blob at 8:05 PM on April 13, 2022
An example of an 000 style guitar
The Preston Thompson dreadnought. This one-of-a-kind guitar is priced at $20,085 and 75% of the sale will go to two charities (NPCF and College of Idaho)
Dream Guitars inventory of Musser "the Tree" guitars
posted by blob at 8:05 PM on April 13, 2022
Hmm, already dead trees /= already stolen car radios. Car radios can be returned and put back in a dash.
posted by spitbull at 2:34 AM on April 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by spitbull at 2:34 AM on April 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
Just to be clear, my mahogany Telecaster works every week. It's a tool I use to make part of my living. Not a museum piece I hang on my wall. It's 31 years old and has played hundreds of gigs and I've fully restored it once, myself, by hand, to like new condition. Unclear why that's different from someone buying a car made of steel and plastic and rubber and driving it until the wheels fall off. And then putting them back on.
I mean can we talk about rubber and colonialism?
posted by spitbull at 7:10 AM on April 14, 2022 [2 favorites]
I mean can we talk about rubber and colonialism?
posted by spitbull at 7:10 AM on April 14, 2022 [2 favorites]
Oh, as someone who knows nothing more about the The Tree than the article provides, I'm just doubting the provenance of $6K sets from some anonymous website whose proof of authenticity is a widely available photo with an arrow drawn on it.
Hopefully the contact form goes directly to a chortling Customs agent. And if not, say goodbye to your bitcoin.
Maybe the domestic trade is still legal? If so the prices still seem way too low.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:12 AM on April 14, 2022
Hopefully the contact form goes directly to a chortling Customs agent. And if not, say goodbye to your bitcoin.
Maybe the domestic trade is still legal? If so the prices still seem way too low.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:12 AM on April 14, 2022
(make that $5K, yet.)
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:18 AM on April 14, 2022
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:18 AM on April 14, 2022
Vendors of stolen car radios and objects made from contraband wood, take heed:
https://tinyurl.com/ydh9sv5n
SLYT
( A video about stolen stuff played on instruments, made of...well...stuff )
posted by mule98J at 7:41 AM on April 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
https://tinyurl.com/ydh9sv5n
SLYT
( A video about stolen stuff played on instruments, made of...well...stuff )
posted by mule98J at 7:41 AM on April 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
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