Once again, we’re checking in with Minnesota-based luthier T. Drew Heinonen. Heinonen is building the Fretboard Journal an OM-style guitar which we’ll be unveiling at the 2016 Fretboard Summit. As you’ll hear in this podcast, we sent Drew a wide variety of domestic tone woods to choose from – from highly-figured koa to Black locust and walnut. We also sourced some bracing material from Michael Gurian, a Lutz top from Pacific Rim Tonewoods and a Red spruce top from the Hampton Brothers.

During this conversation, we talk to Drew and get his reaction to the various tonewoods we mailed to him. We get his thoughts on thickness sanding, how much (if at all) a luthier can affect the tone of the raw materials he’s using and a lot more. Last but not least, we finally decide on the raw materials we’ll be using for the Fretboard Summit OM.

Special thanks to Stewart MacDonald for sponsoring this episode of the Fretboard Journal Podcast. Music by Jon Rauhouse. Read more about T. Drew Heinonen here.

Bracing stock.

A figured koa back that came to us via Michael Gurian of Gurian Instruments.