Delve into the captivating story of Parker Guitars, instruments renowned for their exquisite craftsmanship and unique connection to a legendary mahogany tree. This exploration uncovers the allure of “The Tree,” a five-hundred-year-old giant from Belize, whose wood became the heart of exceptional guitars, including those crafted by the esteemed luthier Ken Parker. Discover the journey of this extraordinary wood, its impact on guitar making, and the deeper narrative it carries about history, value, and the soul of an instrument.
When author Ellen Shell stumbled upon a remarkable guitar at a Maine craft fair, she was instantly captivated. It wasn’t just another guitar; it possessed an unusual beauty, a dark wooden surface that seemed to ripple like water, telling a silent story. This encounter sparked a quest to uncover the origins of the wood, leading Shell to “The Tree”—a single, magnificent mahogany that had stood for half a millennium in the Belizean rainforest.
SHELL: What it looks like in a sense is almost like a topographical map with these whirls and dips and seems almost random but it all sort of comes together in this very unusual way. You know, it’s something you almost have to see to believe because the way I’m describing it doesn’t do it justice at all. But it really pulls you in. It’s very, very evocative. It seems to be telling you a story.
Intrigued by its unique appearance and the exceptional sound it produced even in her own hands, Shell learned from the woodworker, David Smith, that the guitar was made from wood sourced from “The Tree.” This revelation opened up a world of wonder, initiating her journey to understand the mystique surrounding this extraordinary material.
Close-up showcasing the mesmerizing, topographical grain of wood from The Tree, highlighting its unique and evocative patterns.
The Tale of “The Tree”: From Belizean Forest to Revered Guitar Wood
“The Tree” began its life around the 1460s in the Chiquibul forest of Belize, a region just south of Mexico. Reaching an astounding size of one hundred feet tall and twelve feet in diameter over five centuries, this mahogany behemoth witnessed generations come and go in the surrounding ecosystem. In 1965, local loggers, drawn to its immense size and distinctive, twisted form reminiscent of an ancient olive tree, decided to fell it, hoping for exceptional wood grain within.
SHELL: What they saw was this twisted, tormented tree. I think of it as a gigantic olive tree.
Their intuition was right. Old-growth mahogany from Central America was already a coveted rarity, and “The Tree” was particularly exceptional. Felling it was a monumental task, requiring days of labor with hand saws and axes due to its immense size and the density of mahogany.
SHELL: Now you have to imagine this, this thing was twelve feet in diameter. Think of a six-foot-tall person, two of those, that’s what it was in diameter. No one knows how long it took to cut this down, but it probably took days.
However, misfortune struck when the felled tree twisted and fell into a ravine, proving too difficult to extract from the dense jungle. Abandoned for years, the legend of this extraordinary tree reached Robert Novak, a Florida-based wood importer with a taste for adventure and rare hardwoods.
Novak, captivated by the tales of “The Tree,” embarked on an expedition into the Belizean jungle. Against all odds, he located the ravine and the colossal mahogany. Transporting it, however, presented an even greater challenge. Undeterred, Novak persevered, driven by an “obsession” with acquiring this unique wood. He returned years later with a plan to cut the tree into manageable sections on the jungle floor, haul them through the dense terrain to a river, and then float them to the nearest large sawmill in Belize. This arduous process ultimately yielded approximately 12,000 feet of this exceptional timber.
Ken Parker and the Allure of “The Tree” Mahogany
Among those who heard whispers of this extraordinary mahogany was Ken Parker, a renowned luthier celebrated for his innovative and artistic guitar designs. Even before many in the guitar-making world were aware of “The Tree,” Parker encountered a brochure in the early 1970s advertising this unique wood.
PARKER: I knew about this tree material probably a long time before any guitar makers knew about it… 1972 or something. We got a four-color brochure on this tree material from somebody that had some for sale. And I can’t remember the prices exactly, but it at that time was an unbelievably extravagant expense.
While initially deterred by the exorbitant price, the image of “The Tree” mahogany and its potential for crafting exceptional instruments lingered in Parker’s mind. Mahogany is prized in guitar making, particularly for backs and sides, and the prospect of using wood from “The Tree” was irresistible. Despite the cost, Ken Parker eventually acquired a supply of this precious material, recognizing its unparalleled beauty and workability.
PARKER: So yeah, I have, I have a nice supply of it.
Luthier Ken Parker displays a piece of mahogany from The Tree at his studio, showcasing its remarkable figure and rich color.
What made “The Tree” so special to luthiers like Ken Parker? Its visual appeal was undeniable. The wood possessed an extraordinary figure, with undulating ribbons of light and a depth that seemed to shift like looking into a pond.
PARKER: Well, why Emma it’s just so plain as the nose on our faces, I mean, it’s just, it’s stupefyingly interesting to look at. I mean, if somebody gave you a piece of it, you’d say, “Ah! What’s this?” I mean, it’s completely arresting and there’s nothing like it.
Beyond its aesthetics, “The Tree” mahogany was also a dream to work with. Parker described it as “creamy” and “yummy,” noting its ideal density, stiffness, and exceptional stability. It lacked the “bad habits” of other woods, making it incredibly rewarding for a craftsman.
PARKER: And it’s a fantastic material from the point of view of the fabricator. I mean it’s sort of medium everything. It’s medium stiff, medium dense, it’s super stable, super stable compared to other materials. It’s delicious to work with. I mean, it’s, it’s creamy, it’s yummy. It doesn’t have any bad habits.
The Met Museum Archtop Guitar: A Parker Guitar Masterpiece
Ken Parker’s dedication to his craft and his appreciation for “The Tree” mahogany culminated in a remarkable commission in 2015. Tasked with creating an instrument for The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s prestigious collection of guitars, Parker knew that “The Tree” was the perfect choice. He crafted an exquisite archtop guitar, utilizing the rare mahogany for the back, sides, and neck. This instrument, now a centerpiece of the Met’s collection, exemplifies the beauty and sonic potential of Parker guitars made with “The Tree” wood.
PARKER: It was designed to be a special piece for a special application. And so I used my special material.
The resulting Parker guitar is a masterpiece, showcasing the wood’s rich colors, from deep reddish hues to chocolate browns, interwoven with shimmering golden highlights. The wood seems to move with the music, embodying the life and history of the ancient tree.
Ken Parker’s Archtop Guitar, crafted from The Tree mahogany, displayed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, highlighting its artistic design and exceptional materials.
Beyond Sound: The Story and Soul of “The Tree” Guitars
While Ken Parker appreciates “The Tree” for its aesthetic and practical qualities, other luthiers, like Reuben Forsland, are drawn to its deeper narrative. Forsland sees “The Tree” mahogany as wood imbued with history and emotion, its unique figuring a “wood painting” reflecting its five-century struggle for survival in the Belizean rainforest.
FORSLAND: One of my thoughts was, I want to work with things that tells us a story, connects with us emotionally. And I thought, well, The Tree mahogany has this magical story.
The twisted grain, the result of growing alongside a ravine and enduring countless storms, tells a story of resilience and adaptation. For Forsland, and perhaps for many who are drawn to guitars made from “The Tree,” it is this story, this connection to nature and time, that adds to the wood’s allure. Forsland even used “The Tree” mahogany to create a custom guitar for the legendary Slash of Guns N’ Roses, further cementing its iconic status.
Luthier Reuben Forsland expertly steam-bends mahogany from The Tree, shaping it for a guitar and demonstrating the craftsmanship involved in working with this precious wood.
The Lingering Shadow: Mahogany’s Troubled History
However, the captivating story of “The Tree” and the allure of Parker Guitars crafted from its wood cannot be separated from the darker history of mahogany. The very rarity that makes “The Tree” so valuable is a consequence of centuries of exploitation and deforestation.
SULLYCOLE: You know, the guitar is such an iconic instrument. There’s so much mystique around having a special kind of guitar…we’re kind of overlooking a relationship to resources.
Jennifer Anderson, author of Mahogany: The Cost of Luxury in Early America, highlights the devastating impact of the mahogany trade, beginning in the 1600s. European colonists, driven by a desire for luxury and status, ravaged Caribbean and Central American forests, relying on the forced labor of enslaved people to extract these magnificent trees. This brutal industry stripped landscapes bare and inflicted immense suffering.
ANDERSON: Most of these trees that were being used, were, some of them easily a couple hundred years old. So mahogany is essentially a non-renewable resource. It’s very difficult to find these trees of the size that once were harvested because so many of the really big ancient ones were cut down.
Today, old-growth mahogany is endangered and protected. While “The Tree” was harvested before stricter regulations, its story serves as a stark reminder of the environmental and human cost of our desires for rare and exotic materials.
Myth vs. Reality: The Sound of “The Tree”
Despite the mystique surrounding “The Tree,” and claims of its unparalleled sonic qualities, Ken Parker and scientific studies suggest a more grounded reality. Parker, while acknowledging the wood’s exceptional nature, emphasizes that it is still “just wood.”
PARKER: I mean, it’s wood. It’s really nice wood. I’m trying to tell you I love this wood, right? But it’s just wood, you know, it’s not magic. It’s mahogany. It’s a lot like other mahogany is of similar density. And you know, it’s exemplary, it’s amazing. But does it do things that other woods can’t do? No, and that would be an unreasonable thing to say.
Blind listening tests conducted by neuroacoustic experts have shown that even experienced guitarists cannot reliably distinguish guitars made from different woods, including “The Tree” mahogany, based solely on sound. The perceived superior sound may be influenced by the wood’s beauty, rarity, story, and the hefty price tag associated with it.
SHELL: When I tried it, that’s exactly what I thought. This instrument is just exquisite. I mean, listen to this, even I can make this sound good. I mean that was my interpretation. I’m not good, but you know, I was projecting onto it. You know, you see it, you know, the story behind it. And, I think the cost is also a factor. It’s very, very expensive. It’s magnificently beautiful. And that makes you feel very differently about it.
Reuben Forsland meticulously tests the sound of a guitar crafted from The Tree, emphasizing the importance of both visual and sonic beauty in luthierie.
The Enduring Legacy of “The Tree” and Parker Guitars
With only a limited supply of “The Tree” mahogany remaining, its legacy is increasingly intertwined with the instruments crafted from it. Luthiers like Ken Parker and Reuben Forsland see themselves as custodians of this legacy, keeping “The Tree” alive through the music created by their guitars.
FORSLAND: That’s the part that just really excites me. ‘Cause, it’s the players bring it alive and they’re experiencing it. They’re manipulating what I’ve made. And then people get to experience it. This thing that has such a broad reach. That’s extremely powerful.
Parker Guitars, born from innovation, artistry, and a deep appreciation for exceptional materials like “The Tree” mahogany, represent more than just instruments. They embody a story of nature, history, craftsmanship, and the complex relationship between humans and the resources we value. As Althea SullyCole suggests, music provides a powerful platform to reflect on these relationships and to consider our responsibilities towards the environment and its precious resources.
SULLYCOLE: Music gives us that space to experience the emotional landscapes of different people from extreme distances, you know, both literal geographic distance but I think also historical distance.
The tale of “The Tree” and Parker Guitars serves as a reminder of the enchanting stories that materials can hold and the importance of considering the full narrative behind the objects we cherish. While the myth of a uniquely sounding wood may be debunked, the real magic lies in the enduring legacy of craftsmanship, history, and the power of music to connect us to both the beauty and the complexities of our world.
