Acacia KOA top and back

    Beautiful hand selected KOA for the top and back, joined glued and rough cut to shape. Acacia koa is a species of flowering tree in the pea family. It is found in the Hawaiian Islands, where it is the second most common tree. Its name in the Hawaiian language, koa, also means brave, bold, fearless, or warrior.
     The Maori have a long history of warriors who are renowned for their fearlessness, not to mention it is the traditional wood used in ukulele making, which makes it the perfect wood for this commission.
    Koa is truly one of my favorite timbers to work with of all the species I have used in instrument making it holds one of the highest places in my heart and mind. Acacia has been used for so many things over the years but I find it truly shines in instrument making. Because we will be using Honduras mahogany for the neck and the kerf lining and koa for the back and sides, with spruce braces, it should impart an amazing woody and warm yet bright tone. Though we can never say for certain until the strings go on and it starts to break in, after making instruments for a while you begin to have an idea of how certain instruments are going to sound by adding up ring tones in your head from each piece of wood. 
    

Maori Carving

    Delving into the Maori culture has been a fascinating study for me, the art and the vitality the richness and the spirituality, the amazing strength of the Maori peoples hearts and minds stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of humanity. We are all one people with many diverse cultures and backgrounds, some day I hope we can see that.

Hells Gate New Zealand

Maori Greeting

    There are so many things about the land of New Zealand and the Maori people that I can take inspiration from during this build. So many designs and symbols and beautiful scenery to draw from and so much culture and history to explore. Honestly I feel humbled and grateful to be able to work on this special instrument.
    This is just a quick update, my process is not blisteringly fast, I take pride in each commission that comes into my studio. Wood is always moving and changing with moisture and climate changes, even the slight moisture content in glues can cause the wood to swell and change and move. I give every single operation time to adjust before I move to the next phase, until I am sure that everything has acclimatized to its new condition.
    A quick update on the Colonial Themed Guitar project, the carbon fiber supports are almost complete and soon we will be on to the final finish work inside the guitar body before moving on to the back of the guitar, hopefully we will have pictures and more information in the next few days.
Thank you for sharing this journey with me, please come back often.

J.V.