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Sometimes Older is Better

and sometimes being a little picky is a good thing too!

We began buying our collection of woods in 1988. When we first started looking for wood to build guitars with, we wanted a reliable source that could meet our special requirements. We soon learned there weren't a lot of choices.

Since 2000, our goal has been pretty simple: find the best wood to build the best instruments we can. Every one on our team are everyday players, including the owners. We've seen trends come and go. We've also learned that quality never goes out of style.

     Hand-selected

  • We buy our tonewood from only 5 suppliers.
  • We visually inspect every board foot of wood before we buy it. No drop shipping. No surprises.
  • All of our suppliers allow us to surface plane woods we're interested before we buy them. This reveals the true character of the wood. Our suppliers understand our clear requirements about kiln drying schedules, drying methods, storage conditions and moisture content (felled tree and milled wood).
  • Our suppliers provide certification (as do we) of the botanical species for every piece of wood we buy. "True to Species" is a CTLS guarantee.
  • We have the same policy with our suppliers as with our customers: If you're not DELIGHTED with the wood, just send it back for a full refund of the purchase price.
  •      Properly Aged

  • All of our tonewoods are stored in a constant temperature of 70 degrees farenheit (21 celsius),and a constant relative humidity of 45 to 50%
  • All necks, fingerboards, tops, billets and slabs are air dried for a minimum of 2 years per inch of thickness (twice the industry standard). To our knowledge, no else can offer this assurance.

  • Our approach takes time, but it's the best way we know how to make sure our tonewoods will provide pleasure and playability for longer than their owners can play them.


    Happy building and playing from the ChristopherTonewood.com team!