Official Luthiers Forum!

So what would you say is a good price for a set? What would be the top price you would pay for a quality set?

Just curious.

Thanks

Ed

I used a set from LMII. It is not "sinker Redwood", but is beautiful and sounds great. I think the price is appx. $60. Get it while you can. Pals, Vic.

Most of the good stuff has already been sold since there were limited quantities of this stuff available. About $120 was the going rate for a high-quality set a couple years ago. I picked up about 50 mastergrade sets of Sinker Redwood when it first came on the market (very glad I did as the stuff I see now generally doesn't compare). If you can find it, I would expect to pay about $140 for a premium set now. You can still find lesser quality sets for under $100.

50 sets, hmmm now I know where to go if I need master grade sinker hahaha

I don't believe sinker is any better than regular redwood if the grain count is the same. I think the sinker thing is a scam.

_________________
Michael F Smith
Goat Rock Ukulele
http://goatrockukulele.com

Sinker can be better looking, but that is of course subjective. That fact along with the rarity of it make it pretty expensive. I have one gorgeous set of master grade sinker and several sets of master grade curly redwood. I like the look of the curly stuff better, but I don't notice much difference in tap.

I don't believe a single builder has claimed Sinker Redwood is better than regular Redwood. The one advantage is that when I had access to the stuff, every single bit of it was ridiculously high-grade material. The cost and value of the Sinker Redwood is in the aesthetics -- the color variation can be absolutely incredible. The material also can look amazing under a finish as the wood shimmers from all the minerals. In other words, it most definitely isn't a sham -- you are simply paying for aesthetics.

Three years ago I paid $130 for a sinker redwood top that I think is gorgeous. I'm building with it now. Whether or not I would pay that much or more again depends on how this one turns out. I'm a slow builder, so I won't know for a while.

_________________
George :-)

Dynamite looking top George! Is that from Micheletti?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

_________________
Pat

Thanks, Pat. Yeah, I find these stripey ones really appealing. Wish I had 50 of them stashed somewhere. :-) It may have been from Micheletti originally, but I bought it from Lance.

_________________
George :-)

Thank you for all the replies.

So what would you class as a top end set of sinker redwood.?

The picture posted is the sort of thing I am attracted to. Is that a good example of high quality sinker redwood? Can anyone post pictures different grades of the stuff?

Thanks

Ed

I bought a very nice set of sinker from Vince at Pacific Coast Woods for $150. I have seen some other nice sets out there for $130-150 but most of them were not as nice or to small for my jumbo model (which is not very big at 16 1/4 x 20 1/4). I also bought two sets of old growth redwood from him that are very nice. I think it was $60 per set

_________________
Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Top grading is relatively stable from species to species. Certain things like wide grain spacing is more accepted in certain species and not acceptable in others (Adirondack vs Engelmann). Redwood is graded exactly the same as you would Spruce. You are looking for flawless, clear grain that is quartersawn with nice medullary rays. With Redwood, you should expect to see a significant number of grain lines per inch - more than you would with Spruce. Also, the top should be cosmetically appealing. Generally speaking, that means homogenous straight grain; however, with Sinker Redwood, the striping and variety of colors is what makes the wood so attractive.

a few months ago i read that the responsible environmental protection agency in ca had introduced a set complex permiting procedure requirements which threatened to make the recovery of sinker logs too expensive to be profitable.

i've not heard anything further about it but if true the product can only become rarer/more expensive!

That has been the case for the last 6 years. The only Sinker Redwood available is from the logs they initially pulled from the rivers.

I'm pretty sure that set came from RC Tonewoods. We have very nice sinker RW that isn't from Rick.

_________________
Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

Good to know, Bob! I may be back for more!

_________________
George :-)

That is a nice top for sure.

_________________
http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

Mmm... looks like chocolate.

_________________
George :-)

Blurry? I'll keep my eyes peeled.

_________________
Mountain Song Guitars www.mountainsongguitars.com

I recently picked up a couple of curly sinker redwood sets from The Zootman. I paid top dollar, but well worth it for such beautiful curl and terrific tap.

_________________
Mountain Song Guitars www.mountainsongguitars.com

Filippo we can get stuff like that. We don't because the stripped sets sell faster. The darker and more stripes the better.

_________________
Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

I loooooove the uniform dark chocolate Redwood.

_________________
-Marcus
http://www.bailieguitars.com
Instagram | YouTube