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We are delighted to present to our customers the worldclass guitars of Thomas Rodriguez. What better way to announce his arrival then to offer you his 100th Concert guitar crafted completely from woods that are at least 40 years old, all hand split by the builder. The quality of the aged woods and the unique top bracing, which incorporates fan braces with lateral braces, give this instrument one of the strongest, most musical voices you’ll find. It will certainly fill a hall and do so with sweet, lyrical notes that dance upon the ears. The combination of power and tone reminds us of other fine luthiers such as Tacchi, Fischer and Ruck. From the builder: The woods used in the 100th guitar are as follows; The top is 80 to 100 year old western red cedar from an exterior column from an old house here in Richmond. The back, sides, peg head veneer, bridge and fingerboard are 50 plus year old brazilian rosewood. All cut from the same tree to assure a good color match. The rosette binding and purflings are made up of maple and mahogany from a 1930’s piano. The dark lines are old brazilian rosewood. The mahogany in the back strip is from the 1840’s salvaged from an old house in Richmond. The neck, back braces and heel block are mahogany from the early 60’s all from the same billet. The top braces are from a billet cut down by a friend at the source in 1970. The linings are basswood salvaged from a hair salon opened in the 1950’s. The nut, saddle neck dot and tie block are 30,000 year old mastodon ivory purchased from the Duke of Pearl. The pearl inlays on the bridge are ground down from an old pearl belt that came from Bora Bora during WWII. In putting the guitar together I took the time to hand split all of the wood for the top, neck and braces. This assures the straightest an stiffest grain in critical areas. – Thomas Rodriguez