I thought I would jump in here, since I have recently started cutting and drying my own wood.
First off, for instruments, don't bother with any log under 12" in diameter. You will not get anything out of it that will be stable enough, even if it is properly dried.
Do not confuse dead trees/logs with dry wood. logs hold moisture a long time, and dry unevenly, causing checks and other defects. Logs should be sawn as soon as possible. The exception, of course is for spalted wood. Spalt does not occur in the standing tree. It is a fungus that affects timber on the ground, often cultivated by the ambrosia beetle.
Rule of thumb for air drying is 1 year per inch of thickness, but that will rarely get it down to a moisture level acceptable for instrument building, and is dependent on proper stacking, relative humidity, and air flow. Drying must be controlled until the wood reaches 20% moisture content to prevent checking and cracking. It was said earlier that 5% is best, but you are not likely to find wood that dry. Actually, drying to 5% is risking other kinds of degrade. Most hardwood is kiln dried to 7 or 8 percent, and by the time you get it, it has usually crept back up to 10 or 12 unless it is kept in a humidity controlled environment.
I'm not trying to discourage anyone from producing their own instrument wood from salvaged logs. I just want to point out that, unless it is done properly, the results will be dissapointing. I hate seeing good timber go to waste, and I try to saw up as much as I can, but only a small portion of even the logs I buy proves usable for instrument building.
That said, file that chain and let 'er rip!