Built by one of our favorite luthiers, Arthur "Butch" Boswell, in his shop in Bend, Oregon. All Boswell guitars come with a hand-written spec sheet and deluxe hardshell case.
The top wood of this guitar comes from an abandoned railway tunnel in Northern California, where Butch went exploring on a hunch; he thought he might find some incredible wood for building guitars after the success of the findings at another historic railway tunnel in the Siskiyou Mountains of Oregon, Tunnel 13. (That was where the infamous "last great American train robbery" took place in 1923. It was actually a botched mission that killed several innocent rail workers and jump-started American forensic science, but remains part of old American West lore.) Butch's idea turned out to be extremely fruitful as he discovered a hidden trove of gorgeous old-growth redwood that had been cut down over 150 years before. He and his build partner personally collected and treated each beam of Lost Tunnel redwood themselves, yielding some of the most beautiful and resonant guitar tops he'd ever encountered.
This particular guitar was the very first one to be built with a Lost Tunnel redwood top.
SPECS
Top: "Lost Tunnel" redwood
Back & sides: Honduran mahogany
Fingerboard: Old growth Brazilian rosewood
Bridge: Old growth Brazilian rosewood
Binding: Old growth Brazilian rosewood, with holly dropped purfling line
Bracing: Adirondack spruce forward shifted, scalloped top x-bracing, ladder braced back
Trim & appointments: All Brazilian rosewood, including primary soundhole rosette ring
Fretwire: Jescar gold EVO
Finish: Vintage dark mahogany color with high gloss finish
Special detail: Three Sisters inlay at 12th fret (3 volcanic peaks in the Cascade Range)
Comes with a deluxe hardshell case
****************************************************************************************
ABOUT THE BUILDER
Butch worked for Rudy as a repair tech over 20 years ago at the original Rudy's Music Stop on 48th Street. After relocating to the West Coast, Butch has been building guitars for the past 20 years and has, in our minds, perfected the craft. A self-proclaimed "wood junky," Butch is constantly searching for old-growth tonewoods and even sources them himself during intense mountaineering expeditions. In addition to the Boswell guitars we stock in our shop, we also take custom orders.
In Butch's words:
"Each instrument is built completely by hand, sourcing only the highest quality, old growth materials possible, and put together with the highest attention to detail. Hide glue is the primary adhesive used, and every instrument is finished in 100% pure, un-catalyzed nitrocellulose lacquer.
Every guitar I make is essentially a 'Custom Shop' instrument, meaning, there is no ‘standard’ model. Each one is tailor made. The process requires a solid understanding of what each player is after, and in turn becomes a personal experience for both myself and the customer. Models, options, and wood selection are all just the basic starting point."
