Should we boycott endangered woods?

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  • OilCityPickupsOilCityPickups Frets: 9978
    tFB Trader
    It may only be in a small way, but if we as guitarists can help ease the pressure on scarce resources we should. I have had guitars with roasted maple fingerboards, and they felt great ... ash is plentiful, and there are very good substitutes for all the endangered mahogany style woods. As a company we reduced the packaging of our pickups down to second use/recyclable materials, as plastics are an issue for the environment. All our waste wire and paper is recycled, and where possible we use UK sourced parts that will have a lower carbon footprint than imported ones. The fact is we all should do more.
    Professional pickup winder, horse-testpilot and recovering Chocolate Hobnob addict.
    Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups  ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message  

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  • ArjailerArjailer Frets: 103
    Yes, we absolutely should stop buying endangered wood guitars.

    I couldn't care less what my guitars are made of, as long as they sound good and the materials don't fall apart over time. I'd even happily play carbon fibre / plastic / aluminium etc. if they sounded decent and didn't cost the earth.
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  • Creed_ClicksCreed_Clicks Frets: 1384
    I wonder, with the amount of guitars that are on the planet now, if guitar companies just stopped making them tomorrow for the next 5 years, would there still be enough products existing to fulfil demand...
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  • Jez6345789Jez6345789 Frets: 1756
    I think we need alternatives that are sustainable and these days the guitar industry are making a lot of great guitars and I would look at non wood guitars if they sounded good even if not the same.

    I think Brazilian was banned nearly 50 years ago but just think if they had planted a few 50,000 back then trees how big they would be today and for plantation grown BRW it could easily be certified through DNA and other modern techniques. Sadly the total ban does nothing to replace those lost trees.
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  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    I'm doing my bit. I haven't been to Pogles wood since the 70s
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71951

    I think Brazilian was banned nearly 50 years ago but just think if they had planted a few 50,000 back then trees how big they would be today and for plantation grown BRW it could easily be certified through DNA and other modern techniques. Sadly the total ban does nothing to replace those lost trees.
    This is true. Rosewood is surprisingly fast-growing.

    axisus said:
    I'm doing my bit. I haven't been to Pogles wood since the 70s
    Do you want your magazines back?

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • stonevibestonevibe Frets: 7080
    edited June 2019
    Traditional building vs modern materials?

    Guitarists are for the most part purists and crave 'old vintage tones'. Therefore we all seem to seek out old tone wood and finishing techniques over modern day alternatives.

    The relic nitro 'one piece' lightweight boutique guitar market doesn't help here either.

    Would you play a composite, Richlite or other alternative material made instrument?

    Most of us would opt for the boutique old seasoned piece of wood, finished in vintage correct nitro I reckon.

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  • GarthyGarthy Frets: 2268
    stonevibe said:
    Traditional building vs modern materials?

    Guitarists are for the most part purists and crave 'old vintage tones'. Therefore we all seem to seek out old tone wood and finishing techniques over modern day alternatives.

    The relic nitro 'one piece' lightweight boutique guitar market doesn't help here either.

    Would you play a composite, Richlite or other alternative material made instrument?

    Most of us would opt for the boutique old seasoned piece of wood, finished in vintage correct nitro I reckon.
    That will change as the demographics of guitarists do. Witness the increase in selling prices of 80s and 90s superstrats in the last two-three years as they come back into fashion now that the 40-50 year olds now have some money. 
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  • Creed_ClicksCreed_Clicks Frets: 1384
    It wouldn't really bother me if woods were banned. When you see what the EGC and those transparent guitar bodied guitars are like, I'd easily play one. They'll always be out of my price range ironically! 
    There's that French bloke who makes guitars out of steel is it? I've never really played a non wood guitar so can't say. I'd even consider recycled materials. I'm not precious. 
    As long as it's not really crap chipboard, I don't care what it's made out of...
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  • stonevibe said:

    Would you play a composite, Richlite or other alternative material made instrument?

    Yes
    stonevibe said:

    Most of us would opt for the boutique old seasoned piece of wood, finished in vintage correct nitro I reckon.

    I Know




    I sometimes think, therefore I am intermittent
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  • AdeyAdey Frets: 2208
    I wonder, with the amount of guitars that are on the planet now, if guitar companies just stopped making them tomorrow for the next 5 years, would there still be enough products existing to fulfil demand...
    That's an interesting point. I would imagine that the number of guitars being made each year is hugely in excess of those lost/burned/ landfilled or scrapped.
    And with the number of people wanting to learn to play, there must be a huge over-supply in the market.

    Hmmm. Maybe that's why I have collected too many.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71951
    Adey said:
    I wonder, with the amount of guitars that are on the planet now, if guitar companies just stopped making them tomorrow for the next 5 years, would there still be enough products existing to fulfil demand...
    That's an interesting point. I would imagine that the number of guitars being made each year is hugely in excess of those lost/burned/ landfilled or scrapped.
    And with the number of people wanting to learn to play, there must be a huge over-supply in the market.

    Hmmm. Maybe that's why I have collected too many.
    This is the exact problem for the guitar industry now - growth, or possibly even sustained sales at the same level, can only be achieved by selling more guitars to basically the same number of customers. That's both based on, and the driving force behind, most guitarists now owning numbers of guitars that were unheard of, apart from rock stars and serious collectors, 20-30 years ago.

    If that ever changes and people stop feeling the 'need' for multiple guitars the industry is in real trouble, since most of those that have already been made are still out there.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • richardhomerrichardhomer Frets: 24793
    I think far too much fuss is made about sustainability. I know this won’t be a popular thing to say - but since I’ve had the nuts on all my guitars replaced with illegally sourced elephant ivory, they all sound much better....
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  • UnclePsychosisUnclePsychosis Frets: 12879
    Sassafras said:
    Do we really need things that add to forest destruction and the displacement of indigenous tribes?
    I know it's mostly furniture that uses the bulk of rare woods but it wouldn't hurt to set an example by boycotting the use of endangered species.
    This. If everyone stopped playing "somebody else's problem" at every opportunity we might have a chance at doing something about the damage we're doing to the environment.
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