“Blacktail”

Body 15.5″ across the lower bout.  Red cedar top, yellow cedar back and sides.  Mahogany neck with an ebony fingerboard.  Maple binding.  Spalted birch rosette. 

This guitar was made for Wes and Sue Tyler who own Icy Straits Lumber in Hoonah.  They wanted a guitar made of woods that they sell.  I had never made a guitar with a red cedar top, and I had never used yellow cedar for back and sides.  Usually the top is spruce, which is white, and the back and sides are dark, and much more dense.  This guitar was an experiment, and one that turned out very well.  I think it is visually striking, and it has an unusual sound quality, too.  The sweetness of the tone is surprising to everyone who plays this guitar.  As one player commented, “If sound were described like aromas, this guitar would be like cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven.”  Warm and sweet. 

Chichagof Island has a lot of Sitka Blacktail deer, and I decided it would be appropriate to put one on the fingerboard.  The inlay is made of walnut, maple, bone and antler.