I love spalted wood, especially spalted Maple. My affection toward this unique combination of color and pattern goes back to the 1980’s, when I became introduced to the work of James Krenov. In 1983 a friend and I discovered a huge spalted Maple tree, in the woods to the rear of a house we were working in as cabinet makers.
We divided up the wood and over the years I slowly used most of my stash for inlay work and decorative accents. It only seemed natural to me to begin to use some of this beautiful vintage wood in my guitars. And while I am certainly not the first luthier to use spalted wood, I do rely on its unique and intricate patterns as a signature element in my rosettes and end wedges. You can click here to visit a gallery showing some of the work involved with designing and making a segmented spalted Maple rosette.
