Founded in 2018, Appalachian Tonewood has a combined 15 years experience cutting the highest quality Red Spruce tonewood.
Appalachian Tonewood (formerly Appalachian Specialty Wood) began working independently in 2018. Travis Holley and Luke Bair, both born and raised in the Appalachian hills of southern West Virginia, combined their extensive experience with tonewood cutting and luthiery to focus on domestic tonewoods, including highly sought-after nonhybridized red spruce.
Travis and Luke brought their skills together as woodcutters and luthiers working to provide the best products for other instrument makers who, in turn, create the best possible instruments. With 15 years of tonewood cutting experience and more than 25 years luthiery knowledge, Travis and Luke know what it takes to build good instruments, and found the best wood for the job in West Virginia.
At the heart of the Appalachian Alleghenies, consistent elevations of 4,000+ feet cause the trees to grow at an ideal density for quality tonewood. ATW has been independent since 2018, and specializes in old growth red spruce as well as a broad range of other domestic hardwoods favored by instrument makers. Hand-selected trees are custom-cut and produced to client-specific dimensions, in a variety of grades.
Our Team
Travis Holley, co-founder of Appalachian Tonewood, has been involved with tonewood for 14 years. After getting his start as a broker in 2007, he moved into production, working with and helping to establish other domestic tonewood companies in the eastern United States and cutting red spruce and curly, soft, and hard maple. In 2018, he began working independently with co-founder Luke Bair as Appalachian Tonewood, plying his knowledge to the supply of sustainable domestic tonewoods from the heart of Appalachia.
Luke Bair, co-founder of Appalachian Tonewood, attended Roberto-Venn school of Luthiery in 1995 and has since worked extensively with instrument repair and high-end guitar companies. After attending school, Luke established two custom acoustic instrument companies and has been building custom guitars, mandolins, and archtops for over 25 years. He brings his in-depth knowledge of instrument necessities and tone qualities to tonewood production, collaborating with Travis to provide the best wood to instrument builders.
Sustainability
We care about the hills we live in. Appalachian Tonewood is part of an effort to shift the industry away from the use of endangered tropical species, and we always advocate for the use of sustainable domestic tonewood options. Appalachian Tonewood focuses on responsible sourcing of available wood, salvaging suitable logs left behind by lumbering operations whenever possible. We also believe in replacing what we take, volunteering and donating to organizations that help plant trees removed by the lumber industry and planting new trees when we can.
Check out the amazing revitalization projects going on in and around West Virginia by visiting the links below.
