The soundboards you read about here may find their way to your next guitar!
Some time between 1955-1964, massive Sitka spruce logs were cut and lashed together to form a floating home for some Alaskan loggers and their families. As you become a client of ours, some of this wood we call 'The Lucky 12 Soundboards' may become a critical part of your next dream guitar.
Keep in mind, as you read on about this beautiful wood, that its physical beauty is certainly intense--yet it is secondary in our excitement here. We are tone lovers first. This wood, in our shared opinion with many luthiers, brings out volume and tone beyond the norm in any maker's guitar.

Fine Guitar Consultants has purchased all of the remaining 12 feet of wood from this unusual log that is wildly double-figured, light, and very stiff soundboard material. The higher stiffness to weight ratio translates to a lighter and stronger top that is more vibrant and a better transmitter of sound energy through the top of the guitar (See our 'BLog' below for news updates). Full 3-dimensional curl and full bear claw figure both appear on the same soundboard! This double figuring has not been seen before or since this discovery, as far as we know. We have shown it to many long experienced guitar makers. Although most of it is for steel string flattop guitars, there are archtop sets and some ukulele and mandolin sets, as well. A number of luthiers examined the wood and the reaction on their faces was fun to watch! Every one of them lucky enough to be involved in our 'Lucky 12 Soundboards' project is excited about using this material.

While limited supplies remain, we offer you the opportunity to upgrade to this wood. Your custom guitar project, when ordered through us, can have a guitar top from the 'Lucky 12 Soundboards.'

Our source for the wood, Brent Cole, owner of Alaska Specialty Woods, sent us the email below and photos at the left. Here are the facts we know, in Brent's own words:


Rich,

These are the only 2 photos I could find of that float. ...The float was part of a floating log camp that were once numerous in SE Alaska. They averaged in size of 60' X 80'. Up to 20 or more of theses size floats where lashed together to make a floating town, where as many as 50 men and some of thier families lived as they logged in various locations around Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. The last Big camp (Gildersleeve Logging) was dismantled in 2001.
It's hard to say with certainty, but the logs that made up the older of the 2 floats in the photo, that the curly bear claw tops are from, were cut [somewhere in time] between 1955 and 1965.
The 3rd photo is [of] myself ripping an 8' section of float log in two. It shows the teredos holes in the bottom.
Hope this helps,

Brent

[Note from Richard: Teredos, commonly referred to as "shipworms," are actually mollusks that bore through submerged wood pilings and bridge supports quite rapidly. Finding some of these holes is evidence of 'ponding.' This means that the wood was at least partially submerged. That is a good thing! There won't be any of these extra, unwanted holes in your guitar from the 'Lucky 12 Soundboards']

About this unusual 'double-figured' Sitka spruce:
Many guitar players and player/collectors have seen bear claw figure in wood in finer guitars. When bear claw figuring is present, it can typically look like a 3-Dimensional claw mark or two in the wood top--usually an anomalie (annoying pain-in-the-butt) that occurs in about one out of every 10 logs. When there is a lot of it and the figuring occurs evenly throughout the top, it is a thing of beauty! Roughly one in several hundred logs exhibits this grain, which some feel contributes to better tone. A couple of long experienced makers have written in luthier journals or spoken at luthier meetings about how this figuring is crystalized sugars in the wood. Their opinions are that these occurrences add an energetic charge to the transferrance of enrgy in the guitar top. Whether this is true or not is open to discussion. It certainly doesn't hurt the tone! More unusual in Sitka spruce is 3-Dimensional curly figure. Brent estimates that maybe one in five hundred logs show this figure to the extent that the wood is workable for an instrument maker while still exhibiting this natural curly figure.

The 'Lucky 12 Soundboards' have, to varying degrees, both bear claw and curly figure present on the same soundboard. [Note: A few soundboards from this 12 feet of wood were sold to guitar makers before we knew about its discovery. Reports have come back to Brent that the guitars are stunning in looks and sound--beyond prior experience.]

At Fine Guitar Consultants, tone is king . Knowing where this wood came from and knowing of its rare physical beauty is very cool...but that is all secondary to the tone! This wood has deep resonant qualities. Its tap tone (literally tapping the wood while holding it to your ear in certain ways) rings like a low brass bell. The longitudinal stiffness (along the grain) is superb.

There will be some sample guitars made from the 'Lucky 12 soundboards' for us here at FGC. (See them pictured here at left as they come in.) Other client custom orders involving the 'Lucky 12 soundboards' are beginning to come in, too.

Call Richard for a quote on a 'Lucky 12 Soundboard' or to discuss other special old, seasoned woods available from FGC for your custom guitar order. If it is true that 'Life is Short'...make the most of it. Go for the pleasures that satisfy you as a guitarist--casual or otherwise! My dear Dad, Jack R. Glick, used to say to me as a child, "You only get to go around once, Richie. If you play your cards right--once is enough."

'LUCKY 12 SOUNDBOARD' UPDATE Blog:

10/27/04
The first Lucky 12 guitar of many coming in, arrives at Fine Guitar Consultants. It is a wonderful Michael Bashkin Placencia model. It is incredible to see the moving figure on the top as it is rotated in the light! Though new, and challenged by the dampening effects of the heavy rains, my ear tells me that this is another truly great instrument by Michael Bashkin.

10/30/04
Today, the 'Lucky 12' Michael Bashkin 'Placencia' guitar is delivered to our client, attorney Jason Kerckhoff (name mentioned with permission!). Jason is thrilled. The guitar has begun to open up sonically since I have carefully begun to play it over the last few days.

11/2/04
Major News!! I feel that I can share with you all what has been going on for the past week as the telephone lines from San Diego to Alaska have been buzzing. Brent Cole, from Alaska Specialty Woods, told me that he was going through a pile of 7 bearclaw logs in his drying room, re-surfacing the ends of the logs that had become oxidized over time. The bottom log in the pile, when re-surfaced, had the double figure of the Lucky 12! Brent found that he had discovered the last 17-foot section of the same ' Lucky 12 ' log. He called us right away, offering us the additional find. After discussing the enormous looming investment seriously, we agreed to take it on. There are now 29 feet of 'The Lucky 12 Soundboards.' The only source for this wood is now Fine Guitar Consultants. We are proud to have this golden resource that can translate into an extra special result on your custom guitar, if ordered through us here at FGC.

11/14/04
The first 'Lucky 12 soundboards' ad is prepared for the magazines. Click here to see the ad. This is our first general announcement to the world and we are excitied.

3/23/04
"The second 'Lucky 12 soundboard' guitar is here! Mark Geiger, at our request, has created a mini-jumbo 12-fret cutaway Lucky 12. What a stunning guitar! From my experience with 'playing in' many new guitars, I can easily sense where this guitar is going to go as its tone and volume unfold. All the character is there. As the guitar is played, there will be more volume and a relaxed, confident presence of the guitar's voice."--Richard
Here are Mark Geiger's comments on working with the Lucky 12 Sitka Spruce soundboards that we are providing: "As a builder I've found that it's relatively easy to get a good bass from sitka spruce, it's the trebles that are hard to coax. Bear claw sitka has long been a favorite for me. Its higher density and greater stiffness perpendicular to the grain brings out the rich trebles to compliment the powerful bass. After working with the 'Lucky 12 soundboard,' I find it has all the positive attributes of bear claw and more. It adds a complexity that is more associated with European, making it much more versatile than the other tops I've worked with. Oh yeah, it looks pretty darn good too."

4/15/05
Our 3rd 'Lucky 12 soundboard' guitar is here. It is our long-awaited Charles Fox sample. (Note: This sample has since been released and sold. We do this periodically to keep things fresh with our luthier samples.) The gorgeous little gem is a 12-fret compound cutaway. The soundboard is another stunner. Sonically, the guitar is a gorgeous, medium-dark tone with clearly defined voices. Another great choice for our clients to enjoy during our blindfold testing sessions!

NOTE: Our 2nd 'Lucky 12' full page ad featured our Mark Geiger 12-fret guitar (pictured here at the left). You may have seen it recently on the inside front cover of 20th Century Guitar magazine.

5/16/05
Bill Piburn, Editor of Fingerstyle Guitar magazine, called to say he wants to do an article on the 'Lucky 12 soundboard' material and Fine Guitar Consultants. I am certainly gratified that after so many years of building FGC, some further acknowledgement is coming our way. This will help get the word to more players who may own several manufactured guitars and want to know what else is out there. We help usher those of you who are curious into this little world of superb, hand made guitars.


5/20/05
Construction is complete on the 'Lucky 12' wood shed. Now it will be insulated and a de-humidification system will be installed. Arrangements will be soon complete for the arrival of the bulk of the soundboards.

6/6/05
Brent Cole has notified us that the rest of the 'Lucky 12 soundboards' have shipped by barge from Alaska to Seattle!

6/14/05
The wood has arrived in Seattle and is being trucked to San Diego. I have some anxiety about whether it can all fit in our new storage shed!...

6/20/05
The wood has arrived! The boxes are moved to the back yard, where they will acclimate for a few days. Luthiers Harry Fleishman and Mark Geiger have agreed to make the trip to San Diego to help grade and store the wood.

6/24/05
There is a sense of our being part of 'guitar-making history' today. While it is an important event, it is a lot of fun and hard work! (Mostly fun.) Harry Fleishman, Mark Geiger, and I examine each soundboard, carefully holding and tapping the soundboards at nodal points that allow the fundamentals to ring (or not!). Soon, we are delightfully amazed to observe that well over 90 per cent of the 'Lucky 12 soundboards' have fabulous, energetic sound qualities.
We have developed a grading system, using 'T' 1, 2, or 3 for tonal grading. Secondary to that are the visual aesthetics, getting a grade of A, B, or C. We are careful and critical of each board, yet find a tremendous number of 'T1A' grade woods. Still in shock over our good luck, a sense of peace and excitement for our clients and the projects to come from the discovery of this superb and rare tonewood makes Annetta and I happy...
With the soundboard of the guitar responsible for roughly 80 per cent of the guitar's voice, the high quality of the 'Lucky 12 soundboards' will inspire our guitar makers to do some of their best work possible. Call us and let's have some fun arranging a 'Lucky 12 soundboard' guitar from any of the makers we represent, for you.



tel (619) 265-5900 fax 619 265-2527 email: rglick@fineguitarconsultants.com

11/22/06
Fast Forward!
During the gap in time since the last entry, all Heaven has broken loose. We were honored with an article in Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine on the Lucky 12 soundboards and Fine Guitar Consultants. This link will take you to a reprint of that article.Orders have been coming in before, after, and since for guitars incorporating this exciting tonewood. Luthiers who have been making these guitars have commented strongly on their positive experiences.
We will post these luthier comments and fill in some entry gaps soon. Meanwhile, call and let's talk about a guitar project for you. Life is short! Let's enjoy it to the fullest.

My Best, Richard, FGC

11/24/06
Luthier comments are in from Canadian Luthier Bob Laughlin:
"I first had a look at the lucky 12 Sitka Spruce at Richard's place in San Diego when I stopped in on a road trip to try to convince him to sell my instruments through Fine Guitar Consultants. The appearance was striking for normally bland spruce with a variety of figures not typically seen in softwoods, or at least not all at the same time. The wood was very stiff cross-grain with a high-pitched singing tap tone. Richard picked out a top for me in his newly constructed climate-controlled shed in the backyard. Checking his notes back inside the house the chosen wood turned out to be one of the highest rated tops by an illustrious panel of luthiers visiting Richard on a prior visit. I was thrilled by the wood and the visit and headed up the California coast for home after a harrowing white-knuckle drive through LA traffic.
Back in the shop in Vancouver I discovered that the wood had other unusual properties for spruce. First of all it was harder than most spruces, even other Sitka's I had run across, particularly the normally softer summer growth. It appeared to be denser but paradoxically the weight did not seem to be any heavier than other Sitka's and even lighter than some. It reminded me somewhat of old Douglas Fir flooring we see in this part of the world. It hardens up after many years of exposure. If you've ever tried to remove nails from 50 year old fir flooring you'll know what I mean. I decided to brace the top somewhat differently than what I am currently doing, mostly to lighten it up. I used one wing brace rather than two (or sometimes three) and even scalloped the x-braces under the bridge wings slightly - something I haven't done for a long time. My hunch was that the top could take on a bigger role in the structural integrity of the instrument.
What does the completed instrument sound like? You should never trust a luthier to describe their own instruments but here goes anyway. The treble has that pure clarity that only the finest spruce seems to have with good balance between all the strings. The dynamics are excellent with little effort required to get sound out of the instrument. On the other hand, the instrument can be pushed hard without breaking up. I hope Richard sells the instrument quickly so I can move on to the next piece of lucky 12."

Bob Laughlin
Vancouver Canada
www.laughlinguitars.ca