Two accompanying sidebars from "The Future of Tonewood" article

By Teja Gerken
February 2008

Acoustic Guitar

Brazilian, at a Price

Whenever guitarists gather to talk about their dream instruments, the topic of Brazilian rosewood (Dalbergia nigra) almost inevitably is discussed. Once considered the rosewood of choice dating back to the early 1800s, it was among the first indicators of trouble with tonewood supplies. In 1965, Martin began experiencing difficulty obtaining Brazilian logs wide enough for a traditional dreadnought back, leading to the design of the D-35, which introduced a three-piece back built from much narrower boards. When Brazil finally put an embargo on the export of its rosewood in 1969, Martin quickly switched to Indian rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia), which has similar tonal characteristics and was readily available. In 1992, Brazilian rosewood was added to the CITES list of endangered species, suggesting that the wood's use on guitars was over for good. In the course of the last decade or so, however, a strange thing happened: Brazilian rosewood became increasingly available.

A look at many manufacturers' websites or a stroll through a guitar show such as the Healdsburg Guitar Festival confirms that there is no shortage of brand-new instruments being made with Brazilian rosewood—but the option usually comes with a steep price tag (up-charges of several thousand dollars for the wood alone are not unusual). Given the embargo and CITES ruling, where does this wood come from? The majority of it comes from stockpiles predating the embargo or from legal importation, harvested at significant effort and expense from naturally fallen logs or the remaining stumps of trees that were cut many years ago (see comments from Allied Lutherie's Todd Taggart on page 2 of this article). In both cases, the high price that buyers are willing to pay has made it worth the trouble and expense of importing wood from legal Brazilian sources, and it has made luthiers more willing to part with sets they've stashed away for years.

Of course, neither source of Brazilian rosewood is sustainable, and it can be argued that the availability of new instruments made from the species only fuels demand that will lead to illegal harvesting. So just as you might think twice before using tortoiseshell picks or ivory saddles, it's best to consider your personal ethics while marveling at that killer tone.

Learn more

Forest Stewardship Council, www.fscus.org

Greenpeace, www.greenpeace.org

The Musicwood Coalition, www.musicwood.org

Rainforest Alliance, www.rainforest-alliance.org

Sustainable Choices

While players and makers alike speculate about wood alternatives for the future, there are many guitars already available that are built from more sustainable woods.

Martin's Sustainable Wood Series dreadnought and OM guitar models are made with certified North American cherry for the backs, sides, neck, and various internal parts. Tops are made from spruce reclaimed primarily from logs destined for paper pulp-making the entire instrument an example of what can be done without dipping into endangered resources.

Cherry is also used for many guitars made by the Godin family of brands (Seagull, Simon & Patrick, Art & Lutherie, and others). The Canadian company has a history of building guitars made primarily with Canadian woods-silver leaf maple instead of mahogany for many of its necks, and domestically sourced spruce and cedar for tops. Godin builds many models with these woods, including the popular Seagull S6.

Although Gibson offers a line of SmartWood electric guitars, it doesn't at this point have a similar acoustic in its lineup. However, one of the company's most famous flattops, the classic J-200 jumbo, is an excellent example of a great-sounding guitar made with maple back and sides, avoiding the use of tropical woods. The company's Dove model is another historically significant flattop with maple back and sides.

Maple's excellent acoustic properties are also apparent to Guild and Taylor-both of which have long offered successful maple instruments. Guild's maple jumbos, such as the F412, are true classics, and Taylor's maple 600-series goes back to the very early days of the company.

George Lowden not only was one of the first luthiers to introduce cedar tops on steel-string guitars, he has also long been an advocate for using walnut, which grows on several continents and is widely available for sustainable harvesting, for back and sides.

The specific guitars listed here are only a few examples of instruments made with more sustainable materials than the common tropical species. If you're in the market for a new ax, talk to your retailer or luthier about what options you have. Many individual luthiers, in particular, welcome the chance to work with nonstandard materials.