PROFILE
THE TREE MEETS TUNNEL 13 � Bruce Adolph
Key Features
“ The Tree ” Mahogany back & sides and Tunnel 13 Redwood Top
Western Purflex ® Purfling and T13 Rosette
Arm Bevel and pierced Sound Port
10 degree back angle and fully compensated saddle of 5000 year old Walrus Ivory
When we heard from luthier Bruce Petrose that he had a very special acoustic guitar for sale that
hit the $ 50,000 price range , I had to ask him , “ How that could be ? What tonewoods could you possibly be using to call for that high of a price point ?” Here is the brief overview / story of his answer to my question …
BRUCE PETROS : Rarely does wood attain legendary status . Even more rarely are two legendary woods joined together in one amazing project ! In 1965 , deep in the jungle , a 350 year old giant of a tree , 100 feet tall and 10 feet around was felled and hopelessly trapped in a ravine . It waited 16 years before it was retrieved and dragged over 100 miles to a steam-powered sawmill . When it was opened up it revealed some of the most spectacularly figured Mahogany ever seen . As its legendary status grew it has been dubbed “ The Tree ”. For many years this wood has been coveted by guitar builders for it ’ s beauty and tonal properties . The Tree exhibited three different figures with the tortoise shell figure being the most sought after .
Longer ago in 1880 , high in the Siskiyou mountains , a railroad tunnel was built using timbers from virgin Redwood trees for the tunnel supports . In 1926 , Southern Pacific train 13 , pulling 13 cars , going through Tunnel 13 was held up at gunpoint and four men were killed . This was The Last Great American Train Robbery . A fire in 2003 caused the tunnel to cave in and some of this spectacular redwood was salvaged and sold to Petros Guitars . When these charred timbers were opened up , an amazing treasure was indeed found . This 2,000 year old wood , air dried in the tunnel for 120 years , is some of the finest tonewood the Petros boys have ever encountered . This rare timber has been christened “ Tunnel 13 Redwood ”.
Now , in 2016 , Petros Guitars has joined these two distinguished treasures for the marriage of the century . A one of a kind guitar is built with the two most beautiful and tonally superior , legendary woods in the world . www . PetrosGuitars . com
Additional Specs : 25 1 / 2 ” scale Body 19 1 / 2 ” long Lower bout 15 1 / 2 ” wide Body depth 4 1 / 2 ” Boxwood appointments New , freer top bracing Mahogany neck Ebony FB & bridge
34 Jul � Aug 2016 CollectibleGuitar . com