There have been several threads about redwood tops on this forum, so, I thougth I would post a review of my new Millenium Rewood toped Yamamoto OMY.
Tony Yamamoto is a fairly new luthier builiding out of his home in Concord, CA. I first became aware of Tony's work while reading a report on a local luthiers gathering in that area. It was reported that he specialized in the OM size guitar which was exactly what I was looking for. Turns out he works exclusively through a guitar store in Livermore CA. called Fine Fretted Friends, and it proprietor, Michael Ferucci, a really great guy. I was able to meet with Tony and Michael to demo a couple of Tony's guitars and soon discovered that Tony is building impressive guitars at an impressive price point. So, we started talking about the possibility of building a custom OM for me.
I wanted to use mahogany for the back & sides. Tony showed me a piece of Beeswing hog that was just what I had in mind. He then said he likes to pair hog with cedar. I said how about redwood for a little more headroom? At the mention of redwood, Michael's eyes lit up and said that he might have a source for a truly special redwood top. Sure enought, after 2 months, Michael was able to secure a piece of genuine Sequoiadendron giganteum, or, Giant Redwood, the so called "millenium redwood" that is, at the very least, a thousand years old. The result follows.
While this guitar has plenty of volume, it has a delicate, almost feminine and extremely clear voice which sustains for what seem like forever. The bass notes, while not powerful, are satisfyingly complete. All this coupled with the punchy midrange one would expect from the Redw/hog combo. The tone is rich at the lightest touch. It is feather light and squirms in my arms like a baby. I have to take my clip-on tuner off when I play because of the loud rattle it makes trying to hang on to the headstock.
Tony's fit and finish are first class. Very clean in all aspects. The bloodwood binding and pau abalone rosset, position markers, and logo were my contribution to the project as well as the 13 fret configuration for increased volume with fret access. Michael was great to work with. A real plus was a 60 day or less build time with no deposit. Michael simply said, "we are going to build it, if you like it you can buy it, if not, I will sell it through the store." That took all the pressure of the "leap of faith" ordering process.
It is just a matter of time untill word gets out about Tony's guitars. All in all, a highly satisfying guitar buying experience.
Here is Tony's link:
http://www.yamamotoguitar.com/
Here is a link to more pictures:
http://imageevent.com/vmleoni/apmyam...24&w=4&x=0&p=3