The world’s supply of exotic tonewoods is dangerously depleted. In a January 2009 article entitled "Guitar Heroes" by Drew Pogge in E/The Environmental magazine, Bob Taylor of Taylor Guitars says, “Our beloved Brazilian rosewood was taken from us more than 25 years ago. Adirondack spruce was logged out. Today, we see the signs of our current woods being diminished to a point of unavailability.”
Are Rosewood Guitars a Luxury of the Past?
In Acoustic Guitar’s February 2008 article, "The Future of Tonewood", Teja Jerken looks back on early warning signs that have troubled instrument makers for decades. With wide logs no longer available in 1965, Martin introduced guitars with 3-piece Brazilian rosewood backs. After Brazil’s embargo on rosewood in 1969, Martin resorted to making guitars with Indian rosewood. Today, the number of mature Indian rosewood trees is shrinking, and a new generation of saplings won’t take their place for 180 years.
To put the tonewood crisis in perspective, Ivory for nuts and saddles was once a mainstay of quality guitars. Today, Brazilian rosewood is protected right alongside it . “There’s been more and more logging and exporting,” says Rick Nelson of Flaxwood Guitars. “Hardwoods are becoming increasingly difficult to find. CITE (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) is worldwide legislation that protects wild flora and fauna, including trees. It was established to prevent international trade from threatening species with extinction. In other words, certain products and species were in demand, and legislation had to be put in place to preserve what was left.”
Are Guitar Players to Blame for Today’s Environmental Crisis?
Instrument makers and musicians don’t shoulder all the blame for the shortage of tropical hardwoods. In the same article from E/Environmental mentioned above, Taylor estimates his company uses 50 spruce logs each year. He says saw mills turn that many logs into construction lumber in an eight-hour shift.
Though guitar manufacturers and musical instrument makers bare less blame than the furniture or building industries, many are working together to find a solution. Individual musicians are also ready to help.
Guitar Manufacturers Respond to the Environmental Crisis
Rather than waiting for the world’s supply of tropical hardwoods to vanish, several guitar manufacturers are taking the lead and designing superior instruments from sustainable sources. Seagull and Zuni, for example, decided to leave exotic tonewoods to the rainforests. These companies craft superb guitars from local cherry, maple, and cedar. In the same spirit, Martin Guitars offers its Sustainable Wood Series, in some cases reclaiming local hardwood destined for the paper mill.
Perhaps the most radically green approach came from a small guitar company in Finland. Flaxwood hit the high-end guitar market in 2005 with an innovative knack for manufacturing its own tonewood. “Heikki Koivurova felt that if he could come up with an alternative to traditional wood it might be possible to combine traditional luthiery and the modern technology of injection molding,” says Rick Nelson of Flaxwood. “He wanted something that would be a replacement for traditional tonewoods, because he knew the wood was becoming more difficult to obtain and the consistency of the wood varied.”
Flaxwood guitars are made primarily of ground spruce. This renewable resource is mixed with a binding agent to create a semi-liquid substance. “The guitars are injection-molded at very high pressure in a controlled environment,” explains Nelson. “What they end up with is the perfect substitute for tonewood. It has a density almost the same as ebony but in the manufacturing process, most of the grain structure and moisture content of the wood is eliminated. Unlike traditional hardwoods, it’s very stable and impervious to changes in humidity.”
Musicians’ Role in Saving Exotic Tonewoods
Musicians also have a part to play when it comes to ensuring the survival of traditional tonewoods. Buying a used instrument over a new one is a practical way to recycle musical instruments. Musicians can also look for instruments with the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) trademark. This mark ensures that the wood used to make an instrument was harvested from approved and well-managed forests.
The most important way musicians can effect change is simply being open to it. Musical instruments are surrounded by an aura of tradition. Yes, the best guitars have traditionally been made of rosewood, the best violin bows from purnambuco, the best clarinets from granadilla, but exotic hardwoods can no longer meet commercial demand.
The good news is that going green doesn't have to mean settling for less. Guitar makers have proven that top-notch instruments can be made from sustainable and even synthetic hardwoods. If musicians can overcome their preconceptions, they may just find that saving the environment sounds pretty good.
In related articles, musicians can:
- Learn more about the history and sound of Flaxwood guitars.
- Find news on the new line of Flaxwood guitars with lower price tags coming soon.
- Discover how a new amendment to the Lacey Act of 1900 is joining the fight to save endangered tonewoods.
Quotes from Rick Nelson taken in conversation, March, 2010.
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