INSANITY GRADE KOA! - 'The Joshua Tree' - Acacia Koa Acoustic Guitar Tonewood - Tommy's Tonewoods

Tom Sands
Tom Sands
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0
Published 2021-02-11
This is the most valuable set in my collection, I am completely humbled and honoured to have been trusted enough to be allowed to build with this set from Josh's private collection. Its value extends way beyond the financial, this set has a ton of personal significance for me and will make and utterly spectacular acoustic guitar.

This Koa is utterly sublime in every respect, dense and dark with incredible curl unlike anything I've ever seen. Elaine tells me this will be the only commercially available set, truly once in a life time wood.
All Comments (21)
  • @andynicoll8566
    About ten years ago I bought some Koa from an independent grower in Hawaii that looks very much like that perhaps not quite as flamed but beautiful dark streaks, awesome gold color. I still have a couple of sets left. I made some incredible instruments from it. If you've ever used it for top wood you know how great Koa is. I made a jumbo all Koa twelve string for a customer that was very impressive, loud, full and balanced! I hope Hawaii will manage their Koa and protect it, it is a truly special wood.
  • @RandomShites
    It's so cool to see the respect and admiration you still have for those pieces of wood
  • @christophergatley7875
    That wood is sacred. If you have ever been to Hawaii and were not immediately struck with the energy and the certainty that the heart of the Earth resides there, then keep trying. Koa is a gift from the heavens.
  • @_x__q
    So so nice. Happy to hear about the responsible harvesting also.
  • @jamesparker1063
    there are a million beautiful woods in thuis world; and kos is often very "plain/ordinary" in appearance.....but a highly figured piece of koa IS the most stunningly beautiful of all....uncanny, how it looks like a Hawaain sunset.....I shudder to remember, back in the 70's, when koa was relatively cheap....I think of my local exotic lumber dealer, who had up to 12/4 koa in 12' lengths! AHHH!!!!!!!
  • @Ranger504th
    Possibly the most beautiful wood that I have ever seen. And that is after living in Hawaii for years and going back to visit family numerous times. Insanely beautiful 🤩
  • @MrHeliosoul
    Good picture on the cover of this video hooked me so good I could not resist. I'm so excited to subscribe to this channel, and stoked to be amongst one of the first 1500 subscribers. Just based on the first minute alone I get the sense of extremely high production value. Much more so then more established Channels with over a hundred thousand subscribers. Also this gentleman sounds extremely eloquent on like one other channel in particular that I enjoy but just hearing the gentleman speak makes me feel Dumber even though I actually learn a lot. Guitars in the background look absolutely beautiful. Now back to the video!
  • @ianr9004
    Aloha from Hawaii, so good to see someone so deserving reseving something so special.
  • @ultimatebasses
    Now that is an heirloom set! Definitely a keeper for yourself Tom. I was able to see Koa trees while in Kauai. The National Park staff directed me to a massive fallen tree that was waiting to be removed for harvesting. Had to be 4 feet in diameter. Too bad it didn't fit in my suitcase.
  • @charlesschuster7963
    I worked briefly (summer job) in a sawmill in Hilo, Hawaii in the 1970s, as they cut koa. 1x12 boards less than 2' long were tossed away as waste in the bushes, but I took some home and made surfboard fins. They'd warp like crazy if not glassed right after shaping them. There is a lot of fallen koa in certain mid-elevation privately or publicly owned areas of Mauna Kea, sitting there rotting. I've wondered who might drive up there with a saw and slip away with some logs. Much of it will be waste but at current prices, much of it will have value too. There was an old house up there, simply built entirely of koa. I don't know if it's still standing. Those thin slabs (I have some similar) can cup if you give them a wet look.
  • @ronitsingh85
    your reaction to the Koa wood made my day. I love wood and have 3 pieces of KOA that I picked up for next to nothing at an estate sale. It was in a crate that had an address and it mentioned it was shipped from Hawaii most likely in the 1970s-1980s. Each piece is 2" x 8" x 36". Beautiful 3-D grain of KOA gets you smiling. I plan to cut one to make a small axe handle and small things like that.
  • @kringellocke
    Wow! Lovely wood! Me and my dad built a guitar when I was younger and last year I fell in love with a koa guitar- but my dad suggested to build one ourselves again instead of buying that one I saw. So now I‘m looking for a place where I could buy the wood from. Does your friend Joshua also sell to private people? If he does, would it be possible to get a contact/website? That would be absolutely awesome 🤩
  • @2musiclover534
    Beautiful set. Though the tap tone seem relatively dull compared to other Koa I have handled of the same or better visual grade. For sure, a mastergrade set visually. Enjoy building it!
  • @Matt-qr8vm
    I love these videos man, thanks for sharing your knowledge, whats your thoughts Aussie tonewoods? Have you had a play around with them? How does Tassie blackwood compare next to The og Koa?