CRAFTING FINE ACOUSTIC and electric guitars with redwood tops is a specialty of Grez Guitars. But while the company is located in Petaluma, California, on the cusp of wine country and sustainably managed redwood forests, Grez has a different source for this tonewood. From the 1800s and well into the 20th century, countless stands of centuries-old trees were wantonly clear-cut for lumber. As a result, old-growth timber is now a prized commodity that has to be salvaged from old structures‚ such as a decommissioned bridge built in the 1920s, which provided redwood timber for Grez’s Smugglers Bridge Folsom guitar.
The company recently sent us a special Mendocino semi-hollow guitar that features an — differs from the standard Mendocino by having a slightly wider body — 14 inches versus 13.25 inches — as well as an f-hole, to give it a slightly more pronounced acoustic voice. It’s available without the f-hole if a looser low-end is preferred.
