Environmentally smart guitar design.
In 1999 I built my first guitar; at that point Brazilian Rosewood was the wood that was the holy grail. It was supposed to be the best sounding material any guitar maker could possibly use for their back and sides. It was also one of the few woods that guitar makers used that was on the CITES treaty. On average, Brazilian Rosewood with proper documentation is 7-10 times more expensive than good quality Indian Rosewood. Recently they've added so many different species of wood to the CITES Treaty, I've decided to make some options available for the guitar players who care for the environment.
The Americas still have an abundance of excellent tonewood that is not endangered. For back and sides you may consider:
-Black Walnut
-Flamed Maple-All over, but mostly east and west coast North America
-Bitter Cherry- BC and Ontario
-Oregon Myrtle-from US west coast
-Zapatero-it's a sinker wood from South America. Sounds half way between mahogany and rosewood
Instead of Honduras Mahogany (which is illegal to ship across international borders without proper papers), there are a few alternatives for necks:
-Fiji Mahogany-it's genetically the same/very similar to Honduras Mahogany, but plantation grown. It's quite stable.
-Spanish Cedar- It's actually grown in South and Central America, not Spain. It's lighter than mahogany, but looks similar and very strong. Commonly used on classical guitar necks. Martin guitars has started to use it on their guitars' necks as well recently.
-Maple-This is a miracle wood. It grows all over North America and it is sometimes found with birdseye pattern in it, often with flame. There are a number of maples available and are good for many applications.
-Walnut- This tree grows in North America and in Europe. It's a little bit heavier than mahogany and looks a little bit more purple. I quite like it for necks.
Soundboard material: We've got no shortage (at least right now) of good sound board material. In Canada we can choose from:
-Sitka spruce
-Englemann spruce
-Red Spruce (Adirondack-Quebeck)
-Kermodie/Lutz spruce-which is a hybrid
-Red Cedar
-Yellow Cedar
-Douglas Fir
One contentious issue that I've been trying to find an answer to is this: Ebony. What do I do about ebony? Well, I think I've finally found the solution. Ebony is getting more and more difficult to find/cross borders with. The last thing I want is to have a customer who owns a Hamm-tone to try to enter another country and find out that their guitar is getting seized by the border guard!!! So, rather than taking chances, I've decided to start using Richlite for fingerboards and bridges if customers so desire. It's hard, it's black, it looks like high grade ebony, it's a "paper product" which means it comes from trees. It's sustainable and environmentally responsible. Martin is using it as are many other well respected guitar companies and it is a responsible choice when it comes to the environment. We're not killing ebony trees for it and it will last generations! I'm quite happy to be able to offer it and recommend you give it a try!
Fingerboard and bridge materials:
-Walnut
-Maple
-Richlite (black)
If you've got an idea and think it may work well with this concept, please feel free to message me! I'm looking forward to slowly evolving in a way where the footprint I leave behind isn't a very big one. Thanks for checking out this page!
The Americas still have an abundance of excellent tonewood that is not endangered. For back and sides you may consider:
-Black Walnut
-Flamed Maple-All over, but mostly east and west coast North America
-Bitter Cherry- BC and Ontario
-Oregon Myrtle-from US west coast
-Zapatero-it's a sinker wood from South America. Sounds half way between mahogany and rosewood
Instead of Honduras Mahogany (which is illegal to ship across international borders without proper papers), there are a few alternatives for necks:
-Fiji Mahogany-it's genetically the same/very similar to Honduras Mahogany, but plantation grown. It's quite stable.
-Spanish Cedar- It's actually grown in South and Central America, not Spain. It's lighter than mahogany, but looks similar and very strong. Commonly used on classical guitar necks. Martin guitars has started to use it on their guitars' necks as well recently.
-Maple-This is a miracle wood. It grows all over North America and it is sometimes found with birdseye pattern in it, often with flame. There are a number of maples available and are good for many applications.
-Walnut- This tree grows in North America and in Europe. It's a little bit heavier than mahogany and looks a little bit more purple. I quite like it for necks.
Soundboard material: We've got no shortage (at least right now) of good sound board material. In Canada we can choose from:
-Sitka spruce
-Englemann spruce
-Red Spruce (Adirondack-Quebeck)
-Kermodie/Lutz spruce-which is a hybrid
-Red Cedar
-Yellow Cedar
-Douglas Fir
One contentious issue that I've been trying to find an answer to is this: Ebony. What do I do about ebony? Well, I think I've finally found the solution. Ebony is getting more and more difficult to find/cross borders with. The last thing I want is to have a customer who owns a Hamm-tone to try to enter another country and find out that their guitar is getting seized by the border guard!!! So, rather than taking chances, I've decided to start using Richlite for fingerboards and bridges if customers so desire. It's hard, it's black, it looks like high grade ebony, it's a "paper product" which means it comes from trees. It's sustainable and environmentally responsible. Martin is using it as are many other well respected guitar companies and it is a responsible choice when it comes to the environment. We're not killing ebony trees for it and it will last generations! I'm quite happy to be able to offer it and recommend you give it a try!
Fingerboard and bridge materials:
-Walnut
-Maple
-Richlite (black)
If you've got an idea and think it may work well with this concept, please feel free to message me! I'm looking forward to slowly evolving in a way where the footprint I leave behind isn't a very big one. Thanks for checking out this page!