an environment in tone-woods by ray beattie
TRANSCRIPT
An Environment in Tone-woods
1
2009
An Environment in Tone-woods by Ray Beattie
From source, to supplier, to certification, to maker, this Masters project
provides a look into threatened species used in acoustic guitar making, the
ecological use and experimentation with local and sustainable timbers, and
what steps can be implemented to further understand and combat current
threats to tone-wood species and the environment.
Foreword
Over recent decades many species of timber used throughout the timber
sector which have also have been used extensively on musical instruments now
become more threatened. Examples of these have been: Brazilian Rosewood
(Dalbergia nigra), on the appendix I of CITES (Convention of International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) list since 19921; American
Mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni), CITES listed appendix II since 19982; Indian
Rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia), on the IUCN (International Union for the
Conservation of Nature) Red List since 19983: and more recently, Pernambuco
(Caesalpinia echinata), used in violin bow making, CITES listed appendix II since
June 20074.
With over 70 tree species used in instrument making currently under
threat5 and with a number of tone-woods ever more difficult to source, challenges
towards sourcing compatible substitutes for traditionally prized timbers for future
instrument makers look to be on the increase.
Eight years ago I began learning a trade in the profession as a guitar
luthier, and more recently I have come to respect and understand more of the
structural properties in the timbers we use. The more I have learned about
making, the more I have wanted to know about the materials we use and why.
Having dealt with the learning processes under the watchful eye of experienced
luthiers in both university and college I have gained an understanding of the
1 CITES 28
th meeting of the standing committee, Switzerland, June 1992:
<http://www.cites.org/eng/com/SC/28/E28-SumRep.pdf > 03/04/2006. 2 CITES, First Meeting of the Mahogany Working Group, 2001: <
http://www.cites.org/eng/prog/MWG/MWG1/E-MWG1-Doc-08-06-CR.pdf> 23/11/2007. 3 IUCN Red list, Rosewoods:
<http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/search.php?freetext=ROSEWOOD&modifier=phrase&criteria=wholedb&taxa_species=1&redlistCategory%5B%5D=all&country%5B%5D=all&cty_default=1&aquatic%5B%5D=all&aqu_default=1®ions%5B%5D=all®_default=1&habitats%5B%5D=all&threats%5B%5D=all&redlistAssessyear%5B%5D=all&growths%5B%5D=all> 29/10/2007. 4 Music wood: < http://www.musicwood.org/news/playbillarts.htm> 22/10/2007.
5 Global Trees, Projects: <http://www.globaltrees.org/proj.asp?id=23> 03/01/2008.
An Environment in Tone-woods
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concerns facing makers in selecting materials. The materials we choose are
much more special in their quality of strengths compared to those used in
construction and furniture building. Timber species for instruments are specially
chosen for their dynamics in tonal quality, as well as their mechanical strengths
and aesthetic qualities. Over the centuries most of our desired hard-wood
materials used for the backs and sides of guitars have come from tropical trees
that have being maturing for many decades if not hundreds of years. Highly
valued, not only for their rich array of timbres, they are also highly sought after for
their ornate and often exquisite characteristics. From a lifetime of sudden
changes in humidity, to accidental knocks, bumps and bashes, these specially
selected tropical timbers also must remain resilient to the many stresses an
instrument has to undertake in its lifetime. Also, our soundboards have to come
from special spruces which grow in certain northern climates that mature at a
slow and even pace. This allows the tree to produce a soundboard material that
while light in weight, also produce tight and relatively evenly spaced grain-line.
These spruces are then able to take string tension along the grain-line, while
remaining flexible across their grain-line. This enables any given soundboard to
vibrate freely to amplify the sound required. With both spruce, and tropical
hardwoods, much of an instrument maker‟s woods also have to have little or no
knots, and so trees have to be specially selected. In light of all these
requirements such high demands from makers/producers may be substantial
enough towards contributing to much more pressure on the depletion of forest
species than one may first conceive.
An Environment in Tone-woods
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Project
The immediate benefits to the environment through the use of native
species can be clearly recognised through savings on transport and energy
costs, while advantages towards using recently introduced certified sustainable
woods remains not so clear. In readdressing the availability of local woods, as
well as researching those that come from certified sustainable sources this
Masters project is a study into the availability, advantages and disadvantages of
both sources, compared to the use of traditional timbers.
Focusing particularly on the acoustic guitar, which uses a wide range of
timbers from tropical, boreal, and temperate regions across the globe, this project
consisted of three practical case studies. These studies were undertaken to
provide analysis into the differences in rarely used and newly classified
sustainable timbers in comparison to traditionally used timbers, and what benefits
and disadvantages arose in sourcing and utilising those timbers. The case
studies were as follows:
1) Making a steel string acoustic guitar selecting materials that have been
certified as a sustainable source and/or reclaimed sources
2) Making a second guitar sourcing tone-woods native to the UK
3) A serious of Chladni tests revealing two possibilities of native UK species
for acoustic guitar soundboards. Tests were carried out on two UK native
species, European yew (Taxus baccata), and Italian/Black Poplar
(Populus x canadensis var. serotina). Both these species were then
compared to the traditional use of European spruce and Western Red
cedar soundboards, providing a visual comparison towards how each
would react as an acoustic soundboard. (Initially these tests came about
due to the difficulties found in sourcing a suitable top for the UK wood
sourced guitar project)
The production of both sustainable and UK wood sourced guitars provided us
with not only a visual and sound reference of how the woods performed in
relation to traditionally used timbers, but also with the actual problematic steps in
advantages and disadvantages in the current availability and use of both material
sources.
An Environment in Tone-woods
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Initial Questions Raised
Key questions identified throughout the project were as follows:
What materials are there available in guitar making, and what
qualities are necessary for the maker?
What examples are there of tone-woods currently threatened, and
what, if any actions are being taken towards combating those
threats?
As guitar makers and many others involved in the wood industry are
channelled towards an inevitable acceptance and experimentation of
new species of timber, what substitutes for solid timber guitars are
currently on the market, and what advantages/disadvantages are
there in using those substitutes?
What are the possible options in use of native UK species, and how
do they rate in comparison to traditionally used timbers for the
guitar?
What possibilities are there in using materials from forests certified
sustainable?
What other ecological considerations and strategies might the UK
maker/supplier adapt?
How feasible is it for the common luthier to sustain a more
responsible practice in using certified sustainable materials for the
guitar?
What practical replacements are there for solid spruce tops, and how
do they compare with the qualities of other soundboard materials?
With the possible lowering in availability and higher prices for the
future of many traditionally used tone-woods, how then could the
luthier be better equipped to meet challenges posed in sourcing
compatible materials, and how can one make better choices in their
current approach to materials?
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Source Study
Having gained personal experience in the investment of various tone-
wood species, and with several years of knowledge in the field of guitar making,
much of the standards a quality tone-wood has to meet were much easier to
explain. Questions regarding materials used in guitar making throughout the
ages were initially addressed through reading books such as, Guitars: Music,
History, Construction and Players, From the Renaissance to Rock (Evans, Tom
& Mary, Oxford University Press, 1977), and The Art and Times of the Guitar, an
Illustrated History (Grunfeld, V. F, Da Capo Press Inc, 1974). Both of these
books provided a well illustrated and documented history of guitars, makers,
players, social survey, construction, technique, and performance, as well as the
evolution of practical music standards.
Information gathered on new and traditional tone-woods currently used in
the modern world of commercial guitar making came by researching major guitar
businesses such as, Gibson, Martin, Taylor, Yamaha, Lakewood, Ibanez, and
Fender. Further evidence of recently introduced tone-woods on offer for
acoustic/classical guitar was provided through leading lutherie supplier‟s such as:
LMI (Lutherie Merchantile International) (US), Allied Lutherie Ltd (US), David
Dyke (UK), Touchstone Tonewoods (UK), Maderas Berber (Spain), and Stewart
MacDonald (US).
Source study on the chapter, „Composite Materials as Timber Substitutes‟,
including some history of, material compositions, and previous results from
studies on modern composite technologies came from institutions, organizations,
and music journals such as, Hardwood, Plywood, and Veneer Association, APA
woods (wood engineering), National Music Museum, Acoustic Guitar magazine,
The American Plastics Council, and Cool Acoustics. Also within this chapter Pye,
D, The Nature and Art of Workmanship (Cambridge University Press, 1968)
offered some of the social background in relationship between man, tools,
materials, and the world around them. Pye offered explanatory theory in
contextualising the relationship between different kinds of workmanship, that of
certainty and risk, handmade and machine made, while representing levels of
workmanship within the order of artisan.
Primary methods of research in material source for the production of the
two guitars using native UK and other certified sustainable woods and their
availability were made via contact with leading lutherie distributers such as LMI
(Lutherie Merchantile International) (US), Allied Lutherie Ltd (US), David Dyke
(UK), Touchstone Tonewoods (UK), Stewart MacDonald (US), Craft Supplies
(UK), Touchstone Tonewoods (UK), Maderas Berber (Spain), and North
Heigham Sawmill (UK).
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With a number of independent certification schemes operating throughout
the world working to various standards with varying levels of success, research
into certified timber included the CSA (Canadian Standards Association); PEFC
(Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification), SFI (Sustainable
Forestry Initiative), FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), and the MTCC (Malaysian
Timber Certification Council).
With over 100 million hectares certified and with FSC certificates in 81
countries, and while they are the most successful in pioneering the certification of
forests sustainable, only FSC certified tone-woods were currently to be found on
the lutherie market. It was therefore for the benefit of this project that FSC
certified tone-woods were sought. From egg cartons to tissue paper, from
government buildings to home improvements, FSC certified products today can
be found thriving in many commercial packaging and timber dependant sectors.
Although rather new to the lutherie market, FSC certified tone-woods currently
prove difficult to obtain. With lengthy backorders via leading suppliers such as
LMI, FSC certified tone-woods offered here are all but a few. Was there only a
small choice due to there being little in the way of demand from the luthier
concerning FSC certified woods? Was it simply due to the immediate lack of FSC
certified available through main lutherie suppliers, and if so, why? While the
guitar industry has mass investment in the stock-piling of tone-woods, how aware
are they of certified woods? How conscious are they to the threats concerning
the commercial availability of some prized tone-woods? To answer these sub-
questions, the best forms of research were in contacting suppliers of tone-woods,
the FSC, and Soundwood, a subgroup of Fauna and Flora International
International, who look to raise awareness in areas where tone-wood species
remain threatened.
In reading online back issues of music quarterlies such as the American
Guild of Luthiers, American Luthier magazine, and Acoustic Guitar magaziner, I
was subsequently able to find more information on awareness with threatened
species among luthiers, as well as through major guitar companies such as
Gibson and Taylor. By asking the opinions of individual luthiers in how aware
they were of FSC and UK material availability, feedback then provided a general
overview of opinions and views towards the benefits and disadvantages in using
those sources.
Further questions answered surrounding levels of environmental
awareness concerning threatened tone-wood species, as well as those actions
currently undertaken, came from a more recent branch of Greenpeace USA. In
2006 they launched the MusicWood Campaign, are now in partnership with
major guitar companies, Gibson, Taylor, Guild, Fender, Martin & Co, Yamaha, as
well as main tone-wood suppliers LMI, Pacific Rim Tonewoods, North American
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Wood Products, and Allied Lutherie.6 In conjunction with the FSC, the Music
Wood Campaign now work to promote more responsible management of
threatened prime tone-wood forests, while raising further awareness within the
music sector.
To make this Masters project more challenging I sought out alternative UK
materials less frequently used in the field of guitar making, those being Laburnum
and reclaimed oak. While many home-grown UK woods used by makers today
are walnut, maple, ash, cherry, poplar, holly, pear, apple, yew, lime/basswood,
and plum, a certain amount of research in material science was undertaken,
ensuring the afore mentioned would be acceptable in meeting the standard
requirements posed as guitar components. Having researched books such as,
the „Good Wood Guide‟ (London: HarperCollins Publishers, 1996), I was able to
look at more of the structural properties of UK woods. Other material research
entailed brief consultation with Sue Newton, head of materials science within the
London Metropolitan University.
The ITTO (International Tropical Timber Organisation) first became
established under the United Nations in 1986, as „an intergovernmental
organization promoting the conservation and sustainable management, use and
trade of tropical forest resources‟ and whose „59 members represent about 80%
of the world's tropical forests and 90% of the global tropical timber trade‟7. The
ITTO were a key source in providing information in how tropical hardwood
availability may look to develop for the future, as well as statistics in the current
rates of global deforestation. Through their website, the ITTO were subsequently
able to offer many other leads connected to the environmental timber sector such
as the PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification), WWF
(World Wildlife Fund), Rainforest Alliance, Prince‟s Trust, TRADA (Timber
Research and Development Association), CITES (Convention of International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), IUCN (International
Union for the Conservation of Nature), and the UNFF (United Nations Forum on
Forests). These and other environmental organizations provided further
information on regions affected, threatened species, forest regeneration, as well
as subsequent actions being taken to curb the threats to forests.
Questions surrounding sound quality in comparison to the traditional use of
some tropical hardwoods were also in their workability with tools, and how certain
woods took to the application of certain varnishes and oils. Guitar hardwoods
6Greenpeace Music Wood Campaign: <http://www.musicwood.org/who.htm> 22/10/2007.
7 ITTO, about: < http://www.itto.or.jp/live/PageDisplayHandler?pageId=225> 30/10/2007.
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such as maples, rosewoods, and mahoganies all have varying structural
properties concerning density and elasticity. These varying structural properties
produce warmer or brighter tonal qualities, quicker/sharper response with trebles
and/or basses. While many have difference in sound, the physical aspects
remain just as important. Where some are oilier than others, leading to difficulties
when gluing or sanding, others have dense interlocking grain, making them hard
to work with tools or bend. All of these aspects were further reviewed after
consultation with practicing luthiers. By reading back issues of the journal,
American Lutherie, knowledge through experience from established guitar
luthiers provided more insight with the characteristics of timbers, as well as
problems and challenges within the use of certain species.
Investigation into how much of Europe‟s spruce forests are currently run
as sustainably managed sources came from factual sources such as: CPET (The
Central Point of Expertise on Timber Procurement) which is „funded by the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and is operated by
ProForest, an independent company with wide experience in responsible
purchasing‟8; and the UNEC (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe)
forestry sector who provide current European forest resource assessments.9
Overall information gathered on the international trade on forest products was
gathered from Centre for International Trade in Forest Products (CINTRAFOR).
Further study into the environmental and ethical aspects examined within
how environmental issues and philosophies have transgressed over time was
carried out by looking into NGOs such as WWF and Greenpeace. Environmental
Discourse and Practice, A Reader (Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 2000) by Benton,
L.M. & Short, J.R. shone more light on social and structural development of the
environmental movement across the USA. While there are plenty of debates on
moral environmental and ecological issues, this book gave strong and often well
narrated views from many writers over the last 400 years on their own
environment throughout America.
After as much gathered information into sustainable forestry practice,
certification, materials, mechanical properties, workability, and tonal
strengths/values had been carried out, there was then sufficient representation to
draw up the two tables. Representing FSC certified, native UK, tropical and other
traditional timbers used in guitar making, tables provided an overview of all wood
characteristics concerned with guitar making. These included mechanical
strengths, durability, tonal characteristics, other uses, as well as showing the
availability, regions of origin, CITES or IUCN listed. In relation to these tables, all
8 CPET, UK Governmental Dept, on timber procurement: < http://www.proforest.net/cpet>
29/10/2007. 9 UNEC: <www.unec.org> 30/10/2007.
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mechanical and workability properties were sourced from: trada.com (Timber
Species Search tool); onlinewoods.com; woodworkerscorner.com, Useful Woods
of the World, as well as through personal experience.
In relation to Chladni testing, source material included: University of New
South Wales, London Metropolitan University, Music Dept, Musical Instrument
Makers Forum, and Chladni Music Acoustics. All sources were able to provide
examples of Chladni pattern acoustic soundboard tests.
All other source study researched throughout the project concerning acoustic,
history, performance, and music related theory relied upon online sources via
RILM (Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale) and Oxford Music Online.
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Chapter Overview
Chapter 1 p. 13
Demands and Demise of Tone-woods
Chapter one shows examples of threatened species, focusing particularly on the
plight of Brazilian rosewood and Alaskan Sitka Spruce.
In reviewing the standards a good tone-wood has to meet before being used as
guitar components, also shown are the high quality demands on species by
instrument makers. Concluded are the challenges in recognising trees as a
threatened/endangered species and as to what choice luthier and supplier has
towards the availability and use of more environmentally friendly tone-woods.
Chapter 2 p.29
FSC Guitar and Certified Species as Tone-woods
As well as how well they acted as tone-woods, this chapter into the current
availability of FSC certified tone-woods, also revealing those difficulties in
sourcing and using those woods for the construct of the FSC guitar. Current
actions taken and the difficulties faced by a conglomeration of Greenpeace, major
guitar companies and tone-wood suppliers in certifying forests sustainable for
the future are also reviewed. In conclusion: what actions the luthier, suppler, and
musician are able to carry on in promoting sustainability of fine tone-wood
guitars.
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Chapter 3 p.49
UK Species Tone-woods and Guitar Construct
Covered in this chapter are what species native to the UK are available to the
guitar maker, the materials used in the construct of a UK woods guitar and how
they compared to traditional tropical hardwood guitars. In concluding, how
aware UK makers are of native tone wood species and how much the aesthetical
and mechanical qualities influence the maker in using those species.
Chapter 4 p.67
Timber Substitutes as Composites for Acoustic Guitar
This chapter is comprised of the benefits and disadvantages of using plywood,
graphite/epoxy, and polymer, a recently introduced composite for guitar
making. Each composite material discussed is related to research and findings
from makers and players. How the various materials were manufactured, and
how they performed compared to natural tone-woods are also briefed upon. It
concludes with reasons why tradition in using natural solid timbers in high end
guitar making continues to outclass the use of such composites in the
professional field of music.
Chapter 5 p.76
Chladni Tests on UK Native Species Guitar Soundboards
In carrying out Chladni tests on two lesser known UK species as guitar
soundboards I was able to reveal in brief how they acted in comparison to
traditionally used of spruce and cedar, while concluding what advantages and
disadvantages there were in their possible use as guitar soundboards.
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Chapter 6 p.97
Conclusion
A final summary on better areas of waste management within guitar making and
solutions towards a more environmentally sound responsible approach.
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Chapter 1
Demands and Demise of Tone-woods
Contents
Introduction 14
Deforestation and Tighter Controls 15
Tone-wood Standards 17
Brazilian Rosewood (Dalbergia nigra) 18
Pernambuco (Caesalpinia echinata) 19
Table of Threatened Species 20
Makers Demands 22
Old Growth 23
Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) 24 Sitka Infestation 25
Conclusion 27
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Introduction
‘…..By 1840 there were more than thirty thousand sawmills, shingle factories, and related
wood establishments operating east of the Mississippi River (more than six thousand in
New York State alone). Between 1850 and 1860, more than 150,000 square kilometers of
North American forest was liquidated. In 1867, one of the first inventions specifically
designed for mass disposability arrived in the form of the paper bag. By 1900 North
Americans were felling and clearing in excess of fifty billion board feet per year.’10
- The Golden Spruce by John Valliant
The mass volumes of timber that have come from tropical, temperate and
boreal forests currently provide the luthier with more guarantee in availability,
often at high quality. Compared to tropical tone-woods much of the UK timber
available to guitar makers is of limited quantities and thus can be problematic to
obtain. As it now stands luthiers are easily swayed to invest more in tropical
timbers due to current aspects of availability at higher quality, whether illegally or
legally procured. Just how long this can continue depends on many aspects such
as the future yield of forest production, the tightening of import/export laws
surrounding timber, the expansion of both local and international policing of
timber related businesses both large and small, how forest law governance looks
to develop and how subsequent certification of many forests may look to expand.
With particular focus on where many of our prized tone-woods come from,
the following chapter sets out to explore the extent of deforestation across the
globe while highlighting examples of tone-wood species under threat and/or
vulnerable. Then revealed are to what standards make a good tone-wood
species. Demands by the maker and guitar industry which are put upon tree
species, particularly with the pressures which fall upon old-growth forests, are
also shown. Conclusions are then drawn on the possible outlook for the future of
tone-woods and what action the luthier can take towards promoting a more
responsible practice in utilising and quality timbers.
10
Valliant, J., The Golden Spruce, p. 87.
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Deforestation and Tighter Controls
Mass liquidation of forests over the last two centuries has inevitably lead
to the loss of many tree species. As it now stands, approximately 8000 tree
species, 10% of the world's total11, including a quarter of the world‟s coniferous
trees12, have been estimated to be threatened with extinction. In 2006 the ITTO
(International Tropical Timber Organisation) concluded that:
„…forest coverage has been declining since the inception of ITTO: in Africa, from
49.3% of total land area in 1985 to 44.2% in 2005; in Asia, from 41.4% in 1985 to
35.4% in 2005; and in Latin America from 59.4% in 1985 to 52.4% in 2005. For all
ITTO producer countries as a whole, the decline was from 52.7% in 1985 to 46.4%
in 2005.‟13
While Vietnam which has lost one-third of its forest cover between 1985
and 2000,14 further analysis of deforestation rates in South-East Asia provided by
the Prince‟s Trust Rainforest Project also shows that:
“South-East Asia contains approximately 25% of the world‟s rainforest cover.
However, a study of forest clearing from 2000 to 2005 showed it to have the
highest deforestation rate of all three rainforest regions. Forest loss in Indonesia
alone is the second highest after Brazil, and deforestation accounts for 85% of its
emissions.
The population of tropical Asia is predicted to grow by 70% between 1990 and
2025 and tropical Asia is predicted to lose 21% of its forest during the same
period.”15
At the turn of the 21st century 30 million hectares of forest were harvested
in Brazil, when only 4.5 million had been authorised with 80-95% of this trade
illegal.16 Vietnam alone lost 33% of its forest cover between 1985 and 2000,
mostly through unchecked trade in logging and land clearance.
11
Release of the 2006 IUCN Red List of „Threatened Species reveals ongoing decline of the status of plants and animals‟: <http://www.iucn.org/en/news/archive/2006/05/02_pr_red_list_en.htm> 5/11/2006. 12
Global Trees Campaign: <http://www.globaltrees.org/abou.asp> 23/05/2006. 13
ITTO, Annual Review, Executive Summary, Page 9: <http://www.itto.or.jp/live/Live_Server/377/E-AR06-Text.pdf> 23/11/2007. 14 Ravanel, R., Granoff, M.E., Magee, C., (ed) Illegal Logging in the Tropics: Strategies for Cutting
Crime (U.S. Haworth Press Inc., 2005) p.15.
15 Princes Rainforest Project: <http://www.princesrainforestsproject.org/rainforest-nations/asia-oceania/introduction> 09/11/2008. 16
Ravanel, R., Granoff, M.E., Magee, C., (ed) Illegal Logging in the Tropics: Strategies for Cutting Crime (U.S. Haworth Press Inc., 2005), p. 56.
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Particularly with the Amazon, concerns over unsustainable rates of
deforestation continue to hit headline news. Although the Amazon has shown
over recent years that deforestation rates had began to slow, rates have been
shown to accelerate again for the first time in four years according to BBC
reports in 200817. With such high demand attracting ever increasing lucrative
profits, pressure continues to be put upon forests through wide scale illegal
logging, commercial over logging, and land clearance for agriculture. Here, the
Amazon rainforests merely serve as an example of what looks likely to happen
with many other poorly governed forest regions of the world.
So what measures are being taken to combat the problems surrounding
increased levels of deforestation? As countries such as Brazil and Indonesia are
put further in the media spotlight over rates of deforestation, intergovernmental
organisations such as the ITTO and the UNFF (United Nations Forum on
Forests) now find themselves obliged to take more stringent action for the future
of forests. With tougher policies on forest law enforcement look to be
implemented, 18 tighter regulations look to come into further practice with
import/exports of timbers in many countries, including the UK.
In a report the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee 2005-
2006 report, British MPs called on laws to ban imports of illegal timber by
accepting „sustainable timber‟ only.19 In a more recent review of the CPET‟s
(Central Point of Expertise on Timber Procurement) UK Government Timber
Procurement Policy plan, the government is now set to bring about tighter
restrictions on the import of timber. This plan which will allow only legal and
sustainable timber imports is set to come into effect from April 1st 2015.20
As a globalised awareness over „green issues‟ has been amassing over
recent years, particularly with the threats over global warming, far tighter controls
and regulations surrounding the trade in timber look to take hold for the future.
This then looks to further affect future standards of tone-wood availability with an
inevitable new era of higher prices and lowering in availability of many, if not
most, quality timbers from around the world.
17
BBC World News, Amazonian Deforestation Accelerates : <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7756241.stm> 12/12/2008. 18
ITTO, Tropical Forest Update: <http://www.itto.or.jp/live/PageDisplayHandler?pageId=243> 13/11/2008. 19
House of Commons, Environmental Audit Committee, Sustainable Timber: <http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.com/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmenvaud/607/607ii.pdf> 01/05/2008. 20
CPET, 2007 Review of UK Government Timber Procurement Policy: < http://www.proforest.net/cpet/review-comments-1/review-comments/> 15/12/2008.
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Tone-wood Standards
With over 200 different tree species worldwide used to make musical
instruments,21 there are many standards a species has to meet before being
accepted as a tone-wood. The first and fore-most of these standards is in its
ability to produce an acceptable tone. The experienced luthier is generally able to
recognize this quality by the „tap-tone‟ of the wood. This is done by holding the
top corner of one half of a book-matched piece of timber for the top or back of an
instrument, about three inches down with finger and thumb and letting it hang. By
knocking or tapping any piece with a little force with the fingers of the other hand,
one can then hear the wood vibrate producing a sharp or dull tone. The
frequency produced generally depends on the density and elasticity of the wood.
Whether it be a dense piece of wood like ebony, producing a bright treble
response, or a light piece of spruce, which depending on the quality produces
any number of high, low, dull, and/or sharp frequencies, the experienced luthier
can then tell how good the wood may then act as a compatible tone-wood for any
given instrument. To go without saying, this practice can indeed take years in
mastering in gaining knowledge and understanding of the various tonal
characteristics of so many different tone-woods.
After the initial tap-tone test has been carried out, the wood then has to
withstand the stresses and pass several standards before it can be applied as a
suitable component for an instrument. Does it work well with tools, making cutting
not too difficult? Does it have a good weight to strength ratio? For a stringed
instrument top, is it strong enough along its grain line to take the tension of
strings, yet flexible enough across the grain-line to vibrate freely? Does it have
good elasticity enabling easier bending for the sides of an instrument without
warping or cracking? Does it remain stable over time that it is not too susceptible
to move, shrink, crack, warp, or split under the stresses of changes in humidity?
Does it deflect sound well for the back and sides? Can it endure well the under
the stresses of a fingerboard? Is it an oily timber making it difficult to glue or
finish with certain varnishes? Is it not too porous, enabling easier finishing with
varnishes? Does it have rich and interesting texture, colour, and grain-line
patterns, thus making it more attractive and therefore more prized? When a
tone-wood is dynamic enough to pass all of these standards for acoustic stringed
instruments, then indeed the more sought after that species becomes.
21
Global Trees, Projects: <http://www.globaltrees.org/proj.asp?id=23> 03/01/2008.
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Brazilian Rosewood (Dalbergia nigra)
Due to its highly sonic reflective qualities
producing full deep basses and brilliant trebles,
its highly figured grain, many guitar makers rank
Brazilian rosewood as the ultimate tone-wood
for classical and steel string guitar making. It
has been used extensively in instrument making
over the last two centuries by many acoustic
guitar makers, from the back and side veneers
of English maker Louis Panormo (1784–1862) to
some currently produced C.F. Martin solid
bodied acoustic guitars. Today Martin remains
one of the most successful and influential
acoustic guitar companies to have promoted the
use of Brazilian Rosewood since the beginning
of the 20th century. With the success of Martin
guitars, and the rise in musical instrument
production over the latter 20th century, Brazilian
Rosewood became the ambassador as a tone-wood, thus setting the standard.
With results of a very low population density of Brazilian rosewood first
recorded in the 1920‟s, and with the species becoming increasingly rare up to the
1990s,22 most timber suppliers no longer stock Brazilian rosewood. Under CITES
laws one is only able to use stock which has been proven to be cut before 11th
June 1992. As it now stands single sets of BR for acoustic guitar back and sides
can now fetch well up to and over £1,500. Indeed, the mass increase in the value
of the species was highlighted when Kansas Star‟s columnist and long time
instrument dealer, Jim Bagget, reported:
„…Retail prices for a new Martin D-28 acoustic guitar with Brazilian rosewood
were $600 to $800 in 1970. They're now $10,000 to $12,000...‟23
As the price climbs higher and availability lowers, most makers today seek
out acoustically ideal, attractive and economic rosewood replacements. While
22
C.I.T.E.S.: A meeting was held NGOs and other groups to discuss the current state of environmental progress for the protection of species in 2001: <www.cites.org/eng/com/sc/28/E28-SumRep.pdf >12/28/2005. 23
Musicwoods, News, The Kansas Star, September 17th 2007: <http://www.musicwood.org/news/kansascity_sept17_2007.htm> 25/11/2007.
An Environment in Tone-woods
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2009
rosewoods such as Madagascar (Dalbergia baroni), Bolivian (Machaerium
schleroxylon), or Honduran (Dalbergia stevensonii) are available, most bespoke
and larger companies now use Indian rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia). It is seen as
one of the best compatible yet readily available and economic in comparison.
It was also concluded in a controlled study by luthier Paul Jacobson who noted
that „If wood density and thickness are held constant, backs of Brazilian and
Indian rosewood will produce the same tone results‟24. Although, through
personal experience I have found that it does depend on the maker to find the
most excellent set of Indian rosewood to make the grade in comparison to
Brazilian.
For many makers the Brazilian rosewood is the most beautiful and rich
tone-wood for backs and sides of an instrument. Whether on the black market or
from old stock, many makers continue to seek out and use the timber. The
involvement by makers, however small a part it may be, merely helps to promote
further illegal logging and demise of Brazilian rainforests. This has lead not only
to further dire consequences for the environment through imbalances in
oxygenating the planet, but on the ground helps to promote the deadly conflict
between illegal logging companies and those trying to save those forests.
Between1996 and 2000 it was reported that twelve forest rangers were
murdered and four-hundred and ninety others were injured,25 while in 2004 in
one area of the Amazon roughly 1500 people, including police and forest
rangers, were also reported murdered trying to prevent the destruction of the
Amazonian rainforests.26 As logging, illegal or legal, continues in the Amazon so
does the loss of life on all levels, and with often incalculable cost to those
immediate forest environments, the loss and threat towards many species,
including Brazilian rosewood, continues.
Pernambuco (Caesalpinia echinata)
Distributed from Brazil: Alagoas, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais,
Paraíba, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Nergipe 27, Pernambuco
(Caesalpinia echinata) has now fallen under CITES list as threatened since
2007. As the exploitation of, combined with rapid deforestation in its native 24
Paul Jacobson guitars: <http://www.pjguitar.com/options6.htm>. 5/10/2006. 25 Ravanel, R., Granoff, M.E., Magee, C. (ed) Illegal Logging in the Tropics: Strategies for Cutting Crime
(U.S. Haworth Press Inc., 2005) p.14.
26 Anderson, B., BBC2, Holidays in the Danger zone: Rivers, 21/02/2006, 23.20.
27 Global Trees Campaign: <http://www.unep-wcmc.org/trees/trade/cae_ech.htm> 8/8/2007.
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2009
regions has caused its demise, remaining stands of the species exists on coastal
plains of Brazil.
The exploitation of this species as a source of wine-red dye dates back to
1501 and has resulted in the country being named after the tree. Since the
introduction of synthetic dyes in
1875 it became less exploited.
It was then after much painstaking
search, violin bow maker, François
Tourte (1774-1835), came to the
conclusion that Pernambuco was
the ultimate material for bows given
its weight, strength and elasticity.28
Since this discovery, it has been the
most important wood used in the
manufacture of violin bows.29 With
the price of individual bows
sometimes reaching thousands of
pounds , and with rising difficulties
in sourcing Pernambuco,
considerable temptations for illegal
harvesting and trade shall continue to put further pressure on the species.
Also important to note is that 70-80% of the wood is lost in converting logs into
bow blanks and a further 70-80% is then lost in processing bow planks into
bows.30 This conversion loss can also be applied to many other species used in
instrument making, from the carving of violin tops to guitar necks.
Table of Threatened Species
Brazilian rosewood and Pernambuco merely serve as prime examples of
recently endangered species and as to how many more look to follow suit.
Shown in the table below are more species which look to follow the plight of
Brazilian rosewood and Pernambuco. All following species have been listed as
either vulnerable or endangered according to both IUCN (International Union for
Conservation of Nature) and CITES lists:
28 Centrum, The Bow: <http://www.centrum.is/hansi/thebow.html> 8/8/2007. 29
Global Trees Campaign, Population Trends and Status: <http://www.unep-wcmc.org/trees/trade/cae_ech.htm> 8/8/2007. 30
Global Trees Campaign, Population Trends and Status: <http://www.unep-wcmc.org/trees/trade/cae_ech.htm> 9/10/2007.
An Environment in Tone-woods
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Common Names Latin Name Source Instrument
Use
Conservation
Status
Indian rosewood
(also Bombay
Blackwood,
Indonesian and
Malibar rosewood
and Palisandre de
L‟inde)
Dalbergia latifolia India,
Indonesia
Acoustic
guitar back
and sides,
fingerboards
and veneers.
VU – A1cd
Big-Leaf, Brazilian,
Honduras
Mahogany
Swietenia
macrophyllia
Various
forest types
including
Amazonian
rainforest.
Acoustic
guitar
back/sides
and necks,
end blocks.
Classified as
vulnerable
(VU – A1cd +
2cd) on the
IUCN Red List
2002, and
listed on
Appendix II of
CITES.
Cocobolo Dalbergia retusa S. Mexico &
Central
America
A.G. Back
and sides.
VU A1acd.
Red cedar,
Spanish cedar,
Cigar-box wood.
Cedrela odorata Mexico –
N.S.
America
Soundboards
of non-
bowed
stringed
instruments
VU A1cd+2cd
Utile, African
Mahogany
Khaya ivorensis Africa Piano
casework,
xylophone,
marimbas
and
glockenspiels
VU A1cd
Swiss pine, sugar
pine, Rumanian
pine, British
Columbian pine,
Bavarian pine,
yellow pine,
Western white pine,
Pinus spp. Eurasia,
Americas
Bowed
stringed
instruments,
viols, piano,
harpsichord,
spinet,
clavichord,
44 threatened
species in this
genus. None
of the
commonly
used species.
An Environment in Tone-woods
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Interpretation of the IUCN conservation information: CR: Critically Endangered, EN: Endangered,
VU: Vulnerable, LR: Lower Risk, cd: Conservation Dependant, nt: Near Threatened, 1c: Least
Concerned. A: High levels of population decrease, B: Small area of occurrence, C: Small number
of individuals, D: Extremely small number of individuals, E: Extreme risk of extinction. Lower case
letters (a,b,c,d,e) and numbers (1,2,3) give additional information
Makers Demands
As forests are cleared and harvested by the need for housing,
infrastructure, furniture construction, lumber for fuel, paper, as well as land
clearance for agriculture, it was surmised that only an estimated 1% of forest
depletion can be attributed to use in instrument making. However, when one
takes a closer look at the demands by instrument makers for the best quality
timbers, a much more significant part towards waste surrounding tone-wood
species is also evident.
In the search for the best quality straight-grained and knot free trees it is
often not only one species that has to suffer but many others. In one case with a
species of mahogany, used predominantly in guitar making, it was estimated that
for one of those mature mahogany tree to fall freely to the ground, 12-17
adjacent trees had also to be felled.31 This clearly shows as an example of one
hidden aspect, that within the need for the best straight grained tone-wood many
more species in turn can be affected.
Another example native to 26 African countries, African Blackwood
(Dalbergia melanoxylon) has been put to use for oboes, guitar back and sides
sets, bagpipes and clarinets. It is also t note that much of the wood produced by
African Blackwood is brittle and shatters and therefore sections containing
irregularities cannot be used. When harvested for musical instruments only
around 10-20%¨is of use. This in turn means that around 80-90% of every tree
has often gone to waste.32
Threats to the species were initially highlighted through pressure from the
governments of Tanzania, Kenya, and Germany in 1994 to have the species
CITES listed. Today Global Trees Campaign (Fauna & Flora International) work
31
Global Trees Campaign, Soundwood: <http://www.globaltrees.org/proj.asp?id=39> 5/17/2006. 32
GTC, Tree Species, African Blackwood: <http://www.globaltrees.org/tp_african_blackwood.htm> 03/08/2009.
pitch pine, and
Baltic redwood.
virginal, pipe
organ
An Environment in Tone-woods
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2009
at both local and government levels towards creating projects to keep the
species sustainable.33
Old Growth
Old-growth, anywhere between 75-500 yrs, depending on climate and
species, is needed to yield enough girth of any given tree to produce two-piece
book-matched tops for stringed instruments. Often the older a hardwood species
then the more densely rich and highly figured can be found, which in turn makes
old-growth of particular high value to the luthier. It is with these qualities that
demands for high quality old-growth timber, particularly by high production guitar
companies, continue to add pressures on remaining intact old-growth forests
across the continents. In 2006 Greenpeace identified remaining intact old-growth
forest throughout the continents as:
35% in Latin America, 28% in North America
19% in Northern Asia
8% in Africa
7% in South Asia Pacific
Less than 3% in Europe34
While there figures are of concern, focus within the acoustic guitar industry on
shortages of old-growth currently falls upon South-East Alaska.
33
GTC, What conservation action is needed?: <http://www.globaltrees.org/tp_african_blackwood.htm> 03/08/2009. 34
Wikipedia, Old Growth Forest: < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_growth_forest> 03/01/2008.
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Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis)
„Sitka spruce is the world‟s largest and longest-lived species of spruce; it can live for more than 800 years and grow to heights exceeding 300 feet, which is tall for even a redwood. Despite the colossal end result, their beginnings are almost unimaginably humble: a single Sitka spruce seed weighs only 1/13,000 of an ounce, and yet it contains all the information needed to produce a tree that can weigh more than 300 tons – about as much as three blue whales.”35
- John Valliant, The Golden Spruce
Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), used dominantly on guitar soundboards
due to its high quality strength to weight ratio and excellent sound producing
qualities, is one of the finest and most important tone-woods exported from
Southern Alaska. It has been exploited for its use in all forms of construction,
from WWII aeroplane propellers to modern day temples in Asia.
With the mass liquidation of much of North American forests over the last
two hundred years, exploitation has now helped bring those forests ever closer to
the brink of commercial non-viability. Sitka forests used to stretch from the Pacific
Northwest to Alaska, but now forests with trees old and large enough for
harvesting exist only in Canada and Alaska.36
Recent figures released by Sealaska, the largest private landowner and
logger in South-east Alaska, and the main provider of Sitka to US guitar
companies, show low yield of old-growth Sitka left (old-growth trees aged
anywhere between 75-250 years which are able to produce wide enough board
material for two-piece guitar tops). After further analysis of those findings by
Greenpeace it was observed that without significant changes they would be out
of their old-growth within 15 years.37 Now backed by the FSC (Forestry
Stewardship Council), Musicwood, a conglomeration of major guitar companies
and luthier suppliers formed by Greenpeace in 2006, now continue to push for
further protection of Sitka forests.
Since 2006, Musicwood has managed to bring about more support from
major US guitar companies and lutherie suppliers in promoting the certification of
tone-wood producing forests. Those who have stepped up to join the Musicwood
35
Valliant, J., The Golden Spruce, Chapter 1,A Threshold Between Worlds, (Canada, Alfred A. Knopf, 2005) p16. 36
Gearwire, Bob Taylor (Taylor Guitars), Greenpeace Speak Out On Guitar Making, Responsible
Logging: < http://www.gearwire.com/sitka-spruce-guitars.html> 1/9/2009.
37
Billboard, Greenpeace and Guitar Makers Unite to Save Forests, by Ayala Ben-Yehudall, April 2008: < http://www.musicwood.org/news/billboard_april2008.htm> 01/05/2008.
An Environment in Tone-woods
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initiative have been Gibson, Martin, Taylor, Fender, Guild, Walden, Luthiers
Mercantile International, Pacific Rim Tonewoods, North American Wood
Products, and Allied Lutherie. Since their inception they have been working for
the protection of declining supplies of Sitka spruce from the forests of Southeast
Alaska in the hope of securing the future of this tone-wood.
Pressures exerted on the future yield of Sitka forests still run at high levels
and many NGOs such as Greenpeace and WWF are currently trying to save
many of what forests remains. In 2005 the BBC reported that after a long and
costly battle, timber companies, environmentalists and local natives had signed a
landmark agreement over logging in a controversial rainforest in Canada. They
had agreed to preserve more than 1m hectares (2.5m acres) of pristine
wilderness along the country's Pacific coast.38 This is all good news, however
these forests remain threatened as the demand for Sitka remains huge and
continues to grow. For stringed instruments, from guitars to piano soundboards,
Sitka will always remain one of the most important species due to its exceptional
tone producing qualities.
Sitka Infestation
While we do still have the
advantage of using such a fine timber as
Sitka for acoustic soundboards, there is
another problem facing spruce forests
across North America, that being the
spruce beetle. The spruce beetle is small,
reddish brown and generally gets under
the bark of the tree where it continues its
infestation. In the past 25 years outbreaks
have resulted in an estimated loss of
more than 25 million board feet in
Montana, 31 million in Idaho, over 100 million in Arizona, 2 billion in Alaska, and
3 billion in British Columbia (see fig. 1).39
The seasonal life of the beetle is now prolonged due to the effects of
global warming and it was last reported in 2004 that roughly seventy thousand
square kilometers of B.C.‟s interior forest were infested, while that number may
easily have doubled by 2005. When the trees are infested they are left to rot, or
38
Valliant, J., T.G.S., p. 87. 39
Forest and insect disease leaflet issued by U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service: <http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/fidls/sprucebeetle/sprucebeetle.htm> 09/11/2007.
An Environment in Tone-woods
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2009
in some cases used as potential pulp for paper. This adds to the danger of forest
fires, which are probably the forests best natural deterrent to rid the beetle.
This problem combined with over logging shall continue to have an effect
on future supplies of Sitka, while the problem of infestation may only continue to
escalate. For the luthier, while further pressure is raised on the future commercial
value of these forests, in turn, increase on the demand for European spruce for
means even further price increases across the board.
An Environment in Tone-woods
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Conclusion
Over recent decades a raise in awareness over animal cruelty caused people
to begin demanding products such as eggs be open farmed, and that health and
beauty care products „non animal tested‟ be made more available. During this time
more realization that pesticides in food may also be detrimental to long term human
health, and that organic farming without the use of pesticides could provide a
healthier lifestyle, causing less harm to the environment. Today the trade in
organically grown produce, alongside non animal tested health and beauty care
products continues to grow, with many more people returning to the safer knowledge
of locally grown produce.
As ethical and environmental standards improved within the food, health and
beauty sectors, many continue to buy and sell high end wood products without
knowing where the wood was sourced, and to what extent the overall impact on
forests and species is. One problem is that people don‟t recognise trees as
threatened species. While human beings have strong apathy towards the plight of
the panda, mountain gorilla, or tiger for example, people are much less likely to
associate trees as threatened species. However, over the years as a clearer picture
begins to emerge of the rapid and unsustainable loss of forests and tree species,
particularly within the Amazon, attitudes have begun to change. Mainly due to the
growing acceptance of global warming as a fundamental threat, combined with more
precise and revealing satellite imagery, and often undeniable scientific data, the true
scope of deforestation particularly over recent decades, comes into light.
With concerns over the long term commercial sustainability of forests added
by growing fears over global warming, work now being carried out by governments
and NGOs across the globe only looks intensify for the protection of tree species and
their environments. As tighter import/export regulations surrounding raw materials
come into effect in the immediate future and many tropical tone-woods continue to
become vulnerable or endangered, it looks certain that instrument makers look to be
increasingly challenged towards sourcing particularly good tone-woods as easy as
they have in the past.
As „greener‟ societies continue to take root across the globe, growth in more
responsible purchasing by consumers will begin making demands on the music
instrument industry for much more environmentally sound products. It is with this
current outlook of an upcoming environmentally conscious generation that luthiers,
for the future, should at least be somewhat prepared.
An Environment in Tone-woods
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Chapter 2
FSC Guitar and Certified Sustainable Species
Contents
Introduction 29
FSC Gibson Guitars and Environmental Groups 29
FSC Certified Tone-wood Availability 32
FSC Certified Guitar Components 36
Woods Chosen 37
FSC Guitar Results 42
Conclusion 44
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Introduction
As challenges become more apparent for future makers and suppliers, there now opens up new frameworks enabling the luthier to source their materials in a more ethically sound fashion. Lutherie suppliers in conjunction with the FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) now offer a small range of certified sustainable tone-woods that have come from well managed and protected forests. To date the availability of FSC certified tone-wood is extremely low, this being mainly due to the fact that high quality tropical species are already coming from endangered forests.
In using FSC certified sustainable tone-woods, Project A for this study set out to make an acoustic folk guitar using FSC certified tone-woods alone. With this hands-on approach I was able to show how certified woods could affect standards for future makers, and how certification may look to develop in this field. Also revealed were the difficulties in obtaining those materials, and what problems and advantages in sourcing FSC tone-woods. In surmising are what problems lay ahead in recognising trees as a threatened species, and how the luthier could be better adapted to understanding and dealing with those threats.
FSC Gibson Guitars and Environmental Groups
With instrument makers having such a passionate consumer base and being representatives of the use of some of the finest old-growth woods in the world, the FSC have recognized the important roll makers can play towards raising awareness. In December of 2005 the FSC published the following article „The Sound of Certified Wood‟.
„Musical instrument manufacturers source timber from forests all over the world. Tone and sound quality are influenced by the type and quality of the wood. Therefore, to ensure a supply of the required species for generations to come, many manufacturers have become Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. FSC certification around the world offers the music industry an alternative to species such as mahogany and rosewood that are often from forests of questionable management. FSC certified forests provide many species traditionally used for instruments, as well as many that are coming into their own and being recognised as quality-sounding substitutes. FSC certified forests provide chain of custody companies like Gibson Guitars, Modulus Guitars, Martin Guitars, and Dave Maize Guitars with granadillo Chechen, and katalox from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, cherry from Pennsylvania, maple from Wisconsin in the US, and certified mahogany and rosewood. Gibson Guitar's started to look into FSC certification in 1994 when CEO Henry Juszkiewicz met Richard Donovan, Chief of Forestry at the Rainforest Alliance's (RA) anniversary gala who convinced him that Gibson could benefit from using certified woods in the manufacture of its musical instruments. Because the forests were responsibly managed, they would always be able to produce a supply of choice woods. Gibson Guitars now crafts the FSC certified Les Paul SmartWood Exotics with certified mahogany backs and curupay fingerboards, and a certified Les Paul Bass with a certified mahogany body and
An Environment in Tone-woods
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maple top. Martin Guitars produces the certified SWD model, made of cherry, basswood, hard maple, and Mexican katalox. Modulus Guitars uses granadillo, Chechen, red cedar, chakte kik and soma to make electric guitars and basses. Dave Maize Acoustic Guitars makes bass guitars with certified, recycled and salvaged wood. Adam Clayton of U2 uses a Dave Maize guitar made of certified wood. The buzz around certified instruments continues to grow. Musical events, like the Rainforest Alliance's 'Smart Sounds' and SoundWood's 'SoundWood Jam', where the artists all play certified instruments, are attracting big music names like Keith Richards, Keb'Mo', the Bacon Brothers, Carly Simon, and Taj Mahal. The musical instrument industry provides a good model for other industries that favour tropical wood. It has shown that it is possible for environmental and social values to be partnered with economic success. "The guitar is an excellent ambassador for certification and certified wood," says Robert Garner, SoundWood's Director. "Each instrument can be made of pieces from certified
forests all over the world."‟40
While there is definitely a „buzz‟ around these issues, more recently the Rainforest Alliance, aided by the Clinton Global Initiative, appealed to Gibson Guitars USA. Gibson, who first introduced the Les Paul Smartwood, the first electric guitar to be produced entirely from FSC woods in 1996,41 have now set out to further
maximise its purchase of FSC products from 42% to 80%, over the next 5 years.42
With FSC certificates in 81 countries, the FSC have been pioneers in promoting the responsible management of the world‟s forests since the early 90s. To date they have helped certify over 100 million hectares.43 Since the inception of FSC in the early 90s where it began improving forest management worldwide, there are now a growing number of FSC certified products available to the public. The FSC seal of approval is now probably the most internationally recognised. With increased deforestation and a rising awareness across nations towards a more balanced and sustainable environment, many more environmental NGOs, sustainable timber certification bodies, and musical instrument related organizations make combined efforts towards promoting future sustainability. Included in this movement is the promoting of and pioneering of systems to provide tone-woods that come from more sustainably managed sources. Shown below are a few examples of those:
The Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC)
Founded 1990 in California, the FSC began as a group of timber users, traders, and representatives of environmental and human-rights, and who „promote environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically
viable management of the world's forests‟.44. With growing support from many
40
FSC, The Sound of Certified Wood, 1st December 2005: <http://www.fsc-uk.org/about/case-
studies/2/the-sound-of-certified-wood/ > 23/11/2007. 41 Rainforest Alliance, What‟s New? September 26
th 2007: <http://www.rainforest-
alliance.org/news.cfm?id=clinton_initiative> 23/11/2007. 42 Rainforest Alliance, What‟s New? September 26
th 2007: <http://www.rainforest-
alliance.org/news.cfm?id=clinton_initiative> 23/11/2007. 43
FSC, About: < http://www.fsc.org/about-fsc.html> 19/12/2008. 44
FSC, What is FSC? < http://www.fsc.org/en/about/about_fsc/history> 27/10/2007.
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NGOs and businesses worldwide, they are internationally recognised and respected as leaders in forest certification. Over the last decade they have been slowly progressing towards raising awareness in the music instrument sector.
Musicwood (Greenpeace USA)
Musicwood are a recent coalition of guitar companies Gibson, Martin, Taylor, Fender, Guild, Walden, Yamaha, and lutherie suppliers, Luthiers Mercantile International, Pacific Rim Tonewoods, North American Wood Products, and Allied Lutherie. Musicwood. Their manifesto proclaims that they are a „Greenpeace initiative, to encourage private landholders in Alaska to apply for FSC certification to safeguard the survival of the region‟s remaining natural forests, while continuing to produce high quality wood.‟45
Soundwood (Global Forests Campaign)
This group was founded 14 years ago, who are a joint initiative between Fauna & Flora International (FFI), Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) and the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), who „work to safeguard the future of threatened tree species used to make musical instruments.‟46
Precious Woods Precious Woods are based in Switzerland currently employ 2300 people worldwide to lead in the sustainable management and use of tropical forests.47
Wood for Good
Wood for Good has been running since 2000 and boasts to be „largest timber promotional campaign ever undertaken in the UK‟. According to a recent report by Wood for Good, that while over half of EU twenty-five forests are certified (80 million ha), certification continues to grow.48
45
FSC News and Notes, Volum5, Issue 1 February 26th 2007, Page 3, FSC Certified Tunes:
<http://www.fsc.org/keepout/en/content_areas/63/40/files/FSC_PUB_20_05_02_2007_02_26FINAL2.pdf> 23/11/2007. 46
Soundwood, Global Trees, Projects: <http://www.globaltrees.org/proj.asp?id=23> 23/11/2007. 47
Precious Woods, About us : <http://www.preciouswoods.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=4&Itemid=30> 04/12/2007. 48
Wood for Good campaign, timber procurement: <http://www.woodforgood.com/resource/Timber_procurement.pdf> 29/10/2007.
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FSC Certified Tone-wood Availability
After researching the available of FSC wood for the guitar via main suppliers
within America and here in the UK, only LMI (Lutherie Merchantile International, US),
David Dyke Luthier Supplies (UK), North American Wood Products (US), and
Stewmac Lutherie Suppliers (US) had extremely limited stock of ready to use tone-
woods, mostly for back and sides of guitar.
Below is shown table of tone-wood species certified sustainable which are listed
within lutherie supplier‟s websites, with many if not most unavailable at the time:
Common
Names & Latin
Distribution Description Instrument
Use
Workability
& Finish
Durability
and
Stability
Sound
Quality
Machiche,
acapurana,
ajunado,
almendro,
almendro
cimarron,
Almendro de rio,
angelim, arenillo,
barbosquillo,
Black plum,
Cabbage
angelim,
cuilimbuco, False
mahogany,
guacamayo,
maquilla, moca,
Partridge wood,
Rode
kabbes,(Andira
inermis)
West Indies
and from
southern
Mexico
through
central
America to
northern
South
America and
Brazil.
Brick
red/brown
colour and
fine, even
grain lines.
Classical
and steel
string back
and sides.
Due to
alternate
bands of
hard and soft
tissue, the
wood is not
easy to work.
Saws easy
but difficult to
plane to a
smooth
surface.
Glues well.
Polishes well
after pour
filling.
After
seasoning is
dimensionally
stable.
It has a
crisp,
sustaining
tap tone
that
indicates
that it will
be a good
tonewood
for both
classical
and steel
string
guitars,
promising
quick,
even
response
and
excellent
volume.
Narra,
Papua New
Guniea
rosewood,
amboyna,
rosewood,
angsana, sena,
Solomons
padauk
(Pterocarpus
Malaysia,
Indonesia
and the
Philippines.
Southeast
Asia and into
Australia.
Golden tan to
cinnamon
brown.
Sometimes
small golden
petal flecks.
Classical
and acoustic
guitar
back/sides.
Possibly
fingerboard.
Machines
well with
both hand
and machine
tools. May
exhibit
difficulty in
planning if
interlocking
grain is
present.
Glues well.
Stability and
Durability
both good.
Good
choice for
finger
style steel
string
guitars.
An Environment in Tone-woods
33
2009
indicus) Excellent
finish and
high polish.
European
maple,
Sycamore maple,
plane tree, great
maple, harewood,
sycamore plane,
sycamore, kaede,
tokiwakaede
(Japanese)
(Acer
pseudoplatanus)
Native to
central
Europe and
south-
western Asia,
from France
east to
Poland, and
south in
mountains to
northern
Spain,
northern
Turkey, and
the
Caucasus.
Cultivated in
North
America for
several
centuries.
Fine and
even-
textured.
Lustrous with
a creamy
whiteness.
Classical
and acoustic
guitar back
and sides.
Fingerboard.
Works easy
with sharp
tools.
Figured
material has
tendency to
chip out
when planed
unless
cutting angle
reduced.
Stains and
polishes
well. Glues
satisfactorily.
Relatively
low durability
unless kept
and worked
under stable
conditions.
Expect
movement in
the sets until
you have
them braced.
Bright
response,
strong
tonewood
used for
guitar,
and violin
family.
Common
Names &
Latin Name
Distribution Description Instrument
Use
Workability
& Finish
Durability,
Stability &
Bending
Sound
Quality &
Similarities
Pau Ferro,
Morado, pau
roxo, coracy,
amaranath
(Machaerium
scleroxylon)
Ranges from
Sao Paulo in
Brazil to
Trinidad and
Panama.
In appearance
it‟s much like
Indian
Rosewood,
but substitute
browns, gold
and yellows
for the purple
shades.
Classical
and steel
string back
and sides.
Fingerboard.
Known to be
difficult to
plane. Low
angle
required
(20°)
particularly
with high
figure. Non-
porous and
finishes well.
Dimensionally
stable. The
timber is
reported to
have
moderate
steam
bending
qualities.
Similar to
Honduran or
Indian
rosewood. It
has a crisp,
sustaining
tap tone that
indicates
that it will be
an excellent
tone-wood
for both
classical and
steel string
guitars,
promising
quick, even
response
and
An Environment in Tone-woods
34
2009
excellent
volume.
Lacewood,
Silky oak,
grevillea
(Grevillea
robusta)
South
American,
native to
eastern
Australia.
A warm
cinnamon
brown colour
and has
outstanding,
bold criss-
crossing
figure. Large
and plentiful
rays.
Classical
and acoustic
guitar
back/sides.
Can be tricky
to bend (like
most figured
woods).
Planes
relatievely
well, but
tends to chip
if angle not
reduced on
plane. Glues
well.
Excellent
finish and
high polish.
Stability and
Durability
both
moderate.
Dense wood
with loud
sustaining
tap tone.
Good for
steel string.
Strong
trebles with
sharp
basses.
Swamp ash,
brown ash,
black ash,
basket ash,
hoop ash
(Fraxinus
nigra)
Common in
the Great
Lakes region,
ranges from
central
Minnesota to
the Atlantic
seaboard and
from southern
Ohio to
central
Ontario.
Ring porous,
and the rays
inconspicuous.
Greyish-brown
heartwood.
Close spaced
annual rings.
Light browns
to greys.
Acoustic
steel string.
Works
relatively
easy with
tools.
Finishes well
but needs
much filling
of pours.
Stable in use
but splits
easy along
annular rings.
Durability low
due to
extreme
pourous.
Can produce
mellower
tone than
tropical
hardwoods,
but bale to
project treble
and basses
well.
Common
Names & Latin
Name
Distribution Description Instrument
Use
Workability
& Finish
Durability,
Stability &
Bending
Sound
Quality &
Similarities
An Environment in Tone-woods
35
2009
Basswood
lime, American
linden, linden,
lim tree,
American
whitewood
(Tilia
americana)
Range
extends from
New
Brunswick
and southern
Quebec to
southern
Manitoba and
North Dakota,
south to
South
Carolina,
Tennessee,
Missouri and
Kansas.
Heartwood is
creamy
white to
brownish
and is not
always easily
distinguished
from the
wide, nearly
white
sapwood.
Straight
grained and
uniform.
Kerfings,
electric solid
body guitars,
bindings,
bracing, etc.
Easy to work.
Glues and
carves easy.
Dimensionally
stable.
More for
electric
guitar
bodies.
Big-leaf
Mahogany,
Genuine
mahogany,
American
mahogany, true
mahogany,
caoba (Spanish),
acajou (French),
Honduras
mahogany
(Swietenia
Macrophyilla)
Although
commonly
known as
Honduras
mahogany,
because it
was first
shipped to
England from
that colony as
early as the
17th century,
this species is
native from
Mexico to
Brazil.
Its colour can
range from a
light greyish-
tan to
‘mahogany’
red.
Acoustic
guitar
back/sides,
neck, end
blocks,
kerfing, back
bracing.
Acoustic tops.
Planes and
carves very
easy
(outstanding).
Due to coarse
texture, filling
may be
necessary to
achieve glass-
like finish.
Often
interlocking
grain shows
up well on
finish;
Good strength
to weight
ratio.
Excellent
durability.
Warm tap
tone. Good
tone wood
for neck,
transmits
sound well.
Yellow Poplar,
American
tulipwood,
American
whitewood,
Canary
whitewood,
Canary wood,
Canoe wood,
Poplar, Popple,
Saddletree,
Tulip poplar,
Tuliptree,
Tulipwood,
White poplar,
Southern
New England
through New
York to
southern
Michegan and
south to west
Louisiana
northern
Florida.
Lightweight
hardwood of
fine texture.
Light yellow
to brown
heartwood
turns
greenish on
exposure.
The sapwood
is creamy
white. Grain
is usually
straight but
sometimes
an attractive
Acoustic steel
string back
and sides,
possibly neck.
Solid body
electric.
Works
relatively easy
with tools.
Finishes well.
Glues easily.
Dimensionally
stable. Shrinks
moderately.
Is known to
have good
acoustic
qualities for
traditional
harp and
dulcimer
soundboards,
producing a
good range
across
trebles and
basses. May
be somewhat
warmer,
closer to
An Environment in Tone-woods
36
2009
Out of an estimated 200 other species used in instrument making, there are only
nine certified tone-wood currently on offer that are certified, revealing the poor
availability of FSC certified tone-woods.
FSC Certified Guitar Components
In searching for FSC certified guitar components for the practical side of this
project proved to be tough. LMI had on offer only a limited selection of backs and
sides which were FSC certified, and as I was informed most sets were unavailable
for six months or longer. After further enquiries it was unpredictable when they would
actually next be available. With lengthy backorders it was therefore a long shot to
place an order and expect anything too soon, considering the time constraints for
this project.49
Of the six species of guitar backs and sides sets LMI had on offer, only Machiche
(Andira inermis) from South America, and Narra (Pterocarpus indicus), a Papua
New-Guinea rosewood, were available. Both sets are relative new-comers to the
world of guitar making and have been purchased for this project, one of those sets
being a back-up in case there were problems in using the first. There had been a
certain amount of effort trying to source FSC woods through timber yards in England
and Scotland, with several major timber suppliers telling me that they only had FSC
mahogany and would only supply in cubic metres. Through purchasing,
transportation and conversion costs, it was beyond my personal budget for this
project. After a lengthy search within the UK from lutherie suppliers such as
Craftwoods, David Dyke, and Touchstone, I was also informed they had no FSC
certified tone-woods on offer at this time, with no guarantee when, and if they would
have in the future.
Stewmac, a major supplier based in the United States to luthiers, only had
lengths of mahogany for guitar necks which were FSC certified. The major obstacle
here was that under US law they are unable to ship outside the US. It should be to
note at this point that if one then needs go as far as American suppliers this is even
more costly to European makers through the extra costs of shipping and import
taxes, as well as energy and transport costs to the environment in the first place.
49
LMI, Environmentally certified backs and sides: < http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/thirdproducts.asp?CategoryName=+Backs+and+Sides&NameProdHeader=+Environmentally+Certified> 22/12/2007.
Whitewood
(Liriodendron
tulipifera)
blister figure
is found.
cedar (see
Chladni
Tests,
Chapter 6)
An Environment in Tone-woods
37
2009
As we can see from the initial enquiries from leading international suppliers, while
some major suppliers are able to list FSC available woods, there is currently very
little available.
Woods Chosen
With descriptions in tone quality, workability, and aesthetics, the following
woods purchased for the guitar are now described.
Machiche (Andira inermis): Back and sides
Source: LMI Lutherie Supplies, US
Originating from South America (Caribbean, southern Mexico to northern South America and Brazil), it has a light red- brown to pink colour and is a hard and heavy dense wood. The texture is course with straight grain and has a high blunting effect on most cutting edges.
Used mostly for flooring, turning, and furniture, Machiche is a fairly recent addition to the world of guitar making, but has a growing popularity as a tone-wood. Initial testing showed this wood to have a bright and responsive tap-tone, a good sign. The wood itself is finely porous, and although it produced a decent measure of elasticity, compared to a more commonly used rosewood this wood felt slightly stiffer, making it more difficult to retain its memory when bending. When it came to bending the sides for the guitar, it tended to warp or
„ripple‟ slightly where too much water and heat had been applied. Therefore one must
have a good even hand to move widely and smoothly when applying heat, while using water sparingly.
After the back and sides were assembled and then coupled with a European spruce top, the Machiche was able to project strong, clear bass and treble frequencies. Although the wood projected a clear and strong sound, when compared with denser tropical woods such as Indian, Honduran and other denser rosewoods, the overall sound frequencies felt drier, less „bell like‟, and slightly duller.
Machiche takes a good finish with varnish, though due to it being porous does need a certain amount of grain filling if one wishes more of a closed reflective surface.
Figure 1: Machiche back and sides
An Environment in Tone-woods
38
2009
American sycamore/plane (Platanus occidentalis): Neck
Source: David Dyke (UK lutherie supplier) had one piece (by chance) of FSC
certified American sycamore available.
Maple/Sycamore is not a
very stable wood for a guitar neck,
as it tends to move over time as it
is more sensitive to humidity
changes. However, used on violin
necks, and sometimes for electric
guitar necks, I decided to go with it.
After preparing the neck, it was
noticed there was evidence of a
large knot. This would certainly
lead to movement in the wood, as
the knot would begin to shrink and
move over time, perhaps leading to
the fingerboard coming away from
the neck at that particular point. This was a chance I did NOT want to take. Having
very little time to find anything else, and knowing there was no FSC certified neck
material available from UK suppliers, I decided to use the most common and reliable
wood for neck component, mahogany.
Amercian mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla): Neck
Source: Maderas Barber, Spain
Mahogany is generally the most common and
stable wood used for acoustic guitar necks. It is easy to
cut, works well with tools, remains relatively resilient to
humidity changes, has a good strength to weight ratio
transmits sound to the body well, and is one of the most
desirable components for a guitar neck. This particular
mahogany had been ordered from a luthier supply
company in Spain. As I had been informed by other
luthiers here in Europe, the Spanish company may
have been more than likely ordering from America, and
may even have been the same suppliers to Stewmac,
who provide FSC certified mahogany, although no
stamp or seal of approval was given.
Figure 2: FSC Sycamore
Figure 3: American mahogany
An Environment in Tone-woods
39
2009
European/Swiss AAA spruce (FSC certified): Soundboard/Inner Bracings
Source: Tonewood Switzerland, Florinett AG
One of the biggest problems remaining was
in sourcing FSC spruce for the soundboard and
inner bracings. After a lot of enquires through the
FSC I was then directed to the WWF‟s Forests for
Life program. They then pointed me towards FSC
certified European through Florinett AG,
Tonewood Switzerland, a small company in
Switzerland dedicated to quality spruce for
stringed instruments. This wood was only
available in limited quantities with only six sets for
soundboards allocated per customer per year.
When it arrived, in comparison to many
other „uncertified‟ spruces I have used this
particular spruce was excellent quality and cut
with great care. Considering the great lengths
one has to go to in keeping their commercial
forest certified through intense yearly audits by the FSC once a year, the extra care
and attention to the quality of wood delivered may indeed be a reflection of these
standards.
Figure 4: Swiss spruce top
An Environment in Tone-woods
40
2009
European oak (Quercus robur): Fingerboard and bridge. Source: David Dyke, UK (Reclaimed from Eastbourne sea defence blocks)
The other main problem here had been to source FSC fingerboard and bridge
material. LMI had nothing available for FSC fingerboard at this time, and all other
suppliers contacted also had nothing available.
Although an unpopular choice for luthiers due to its poor resonant qualities, I
decided to go ahead and experiment with some irresistible and interestingly coloured
reclaimed oak. It was going to be a slight worry for the bridge and fingerboard, as
one needs a good solid wood to transmit the tone through the neck, and tone
vibrations directly into the soundboard.
More often used for furniture, railway sleepers, door and window frames, this particular piece has been cut from a larger piece which played a part as large blocks thrown into the sea as part of England‟s Eastbourne sea-defence. Due to oxidisation through reaction to the salt water, it has turned a grey/silver/blue colour and was extremely interesting in its appearance (see figures 5 & 6). I had left this wood drying for almost one year before using. This particular piece of oak was much softer, light and drier in texture compared to ordinary oak, causing it to powder when cutting.
After being cut and fitted as a fingerboard and glued to the neck, to compensate for the second levelling of the fingerboard I had to cut the fret slots a little deeper. After cutting the fret slots a little deeper I noticed due to its fragility that with the second cut the slots began to powder and had opened up a little wider on most fret positions (This would not have occurred if typical ebony or rosewood had been used). No matter how carefully I cut, the .5mm slots just seem to powder and crumble at the edge of the fingerboard to 1mm opening, double what was required. This then led to the fret wire not gripping properly. A part of the job that should have taken me half an hour, then took me close to three hours, with a lot of superglue, small clamps, and the air maybe as blue as the oak I was using. However, this was not the end of the problem. After completing the worst fret pressing I have ever made, I began the process of levelling the frets. Job time here also more than doubled. Due to the frets being more uneven than would normally have been, the levelling took some of the frets down to .5mm in height, where they should be just over 1mm. This would make for a lot shorter life span on the frets due to any normal
Figure 6: Oak fingerboard Figure 5: Oak bridge
An Environment in Tone-woods
41
2009
wear from playing. In the end the finished fret job was detrimental to the quality of durability needed. Prior to fretting, I also had to coat the oak fret board with three coats of oil sealer for floorboards. This was to seal the wood, preventing moisture absorption, and to harden the wood due to its soft surface texture.
Using this „soft‟ Oak, the bridge work proved much easier to carve.
For the remaining components for the guitar, the inner kerfings and bracings were of
high quality FSC certified spruce and the headstock veneer was of the same oak
used for bridge and fingerboard.
An Environment in Tone-woods
42
2009
FSC Guitar Results
Once completed, the guitar was as compatible in sound with many top-end
guitars in depth, volume, and projection, however, although the basses were
stronger than the trebles which though clear, the guitar itself lacked in brightness and
attack. The guitar emitted a decent amount of sustain, while the the basic clarity of
what was actually being produced of a medium standard in comparison to previous
constructs using rosewoods and same bracing specifications. Attributes towards
clarity, balance of tone and sustain I put down to the FSC certified Swiss spruce top
and inner bracings, which were of exceptional quality. The top grade FSC certified
Swiss spruce soundboard proved to be very responsive. In comparison to other
rosewoods I have used on other same models, the Machiche back and sides
resonated less warmly, yet provided a slightly more dry and brittle attack. Indeed in
comparison to good rosewood constructs I have made previously, sound vibrations
transmitted and reflected from the Machiche felt rather dry around the edges, lacking
in both warmth and brightness.
As presumed, in comparison to a traditional ebony or rosewood bridge, the
oak bridge was very week in pushing the full potential of tone and string vibration into
the soundboard, potential which was certainly lurking in the undercurrents. Thus
much of the upper and lower harmonics were lost, while the mid range fell low. The
Figure 7: FSC Project front and back views
An Environment in Tone-woods
43
2009
sound fell below the mark in producing sharpness, leaving the player with a slightly
duller and softer clarity of trebles. I also felt that the fingerboard was a loss in
comparison to denser tropical tone-woods commonly used. The oak was very dry
and porous and would not have acted the same way as and ebony fingerboard,
transmitting sound vibrations more directly along the neck into to the body, thus
lifting both sustain and
sharpness.
Due to the fragility of the
oak leading to a poor fret job, I
surmised that in the end the frets
would not last much longer than a
year or so without having to be
taken out and the fingerboard
then re-fretted. This would have
indeed led to a somewhat
arduous, if not counter-productive
job. It was with this prospect that
I decided to replace both
fingerboard and bridge. Due to a
lack of funds and time constraints
I found myself using what I could find lying around the workshop to use as a bridge.
In the end, I ended up using a piece of South-East Asian rosewood (Dalbergia
oliveri), also referred to as Vietnamese rosewood. This wood, often used for turning
and sometimes making jewellery, is very dense, looks similar in appearance to a
dark walnut and is relatively
comfortable to carve (see fig.8).
The fingerboard was
replaced using Grenadilla
(Dalbergia Melanoxylon), grown
in South East Africa, and
sometimes referred to as East
African ebony. This wood used
mostly for woodwind instrument
making, is very dense, yet slightly
less dense than other ebonies,
and could be compared between
ebony and rosewood in its tap-
tone qualites. The wood worked
well for its use as a replacement
fingerboard, and kept a good line
when it came to cutting the frets.
Figure 8: South East Asian bridge
Figure 9: Grenadilla fingerboard
An Environment in Tone-woods
44
2009
After both fingerboard and bridge were replaced, the sound dynamics increased
greatly. Overall tone and attack was raised with increased sharpness and brightness.
Yet, the Machiche still seemed to lack in lifting the full potential of the upper
harmonics and in transmitting and deflecting that more „bell-like‟ tone, in comparison
with other good rosewoods.
Conclusion
The main objective was a basic practical approach in understanding the
advantages and disadvantages in using certified sustainable woods. In trying to
make the guitar using FSC tone-woods entirely I was thus able to demonstrate
limited availability and choice. There are two main reasons for this, with the first
being that FSC certified tone-woods are relatively new through luthier suppliers, only
An Environment in Tone-woods
45
2009
making their way onto the market over recent years, so the demand not so high. The
second reason is that in both limited availability and choice is due to the fact that
many of the desired quality tropical woods are coming from already endangered or
otherwise protected forests. Due to most species originating from forests already
threatened, increasing the supply of sustainably produced timber is perhaps the
hardest nut to crack. Added to the equation is that only a small percentage of FSC
certified tone-woods make good guitar woods, hence the lengthy back-orders via
luthier suppliers. When further enquiring about the demand of these timbers, LMI
went onto say that:
„Unfortunately, a big part of the problem is that there is essentially no special
consumer demand in the US for certified woods. We offer them as a "labour of love".
Even at higher prices, with the low turnaround and expensive certification dues, we
barely make any profit on these woods!‟50
Compared to the wide variety on offer of „uncertified‟ tropical hardwoods, the price of
the sets offered by LMI averaged around a third more than the price of „uncertified‟
timbers. This is due to the extra costs in certification tariffs. These extra costs arrive
though the ardious process of creating and maintaining a forest sustainable, and can
be show where Jimmy Leslie of Guitar Player magazine writes:
„….As Sealaska is Alaska‟s biggest logger of Sitka spruce, the MusicWood Coalition is
urging the corporation to seek FSC certification in order to protect and sustain the
forests it owns. While there are presently no FSC standards for Southeast Alaska,
Paul maintains that all Sealaska has to do to jumpstart certification is express interest.
However, gaining FSC certification is not as easy as shouting, “We‟re interested. Let
us in!” Once a company asks to be certified, the FSC sends out third-party auditors to
evaluate the firm‟s forest areas and logging operations. Specific standards for the
environment are established through the audit, and bolstered by the FSC‟s principles
and criteria. If all conditions are met, the company receives a five-year certification,
and then must plan to reapply for certification every five years thereafter. Annual audits
also cost additional money. The process is time consuming, and it‟s not free.
“We estimate the total cost of an FSC audit and certification at under $100,000,” says
Juskiewicz, “and the MusicWood Coalition and Greenpeace is offering to pay those
initial costs, so the ball is in Sealaska‟s court. But, from their point of view, the process
will cost lot more than the certification fee, because certification calls for a company to
implement forestry practices that could be very expensive….”‟51
It certainly seems a long way before the many economic challenges in certifying
forests sustainable can be overcome. For the future, the funding may have to come
more from local governments and other vested parties focused enough to maintain
50
See Appendix, FSC Email Correspondence, LMI FSC Demand. 51
Guitarplayer, The Troublesome Truth About Sitka Spruce by Jimmy Leslie, June 2007: < http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/the-troublesome-truth/Jun-07/27810> 30/12/2007.
An Environment in Tone-woods
46
2009
the sustainability of commercial logging in vested areas. Meanwhile the guitar
industry and NGOs continue to raise awareness and take action towards
implementing promotion of the regeneration and conservation of those forests
greatly affected.
In all fairness the process of making certified tone-woods more available has
only begun to take shape over recent years. Although with still a long way to go, big
names in the guitar business such as Fender, Guild, Marin, Gibson, Taylor and
Yamaha, are all in partnership with Greenpeace and the FSC in making initial steps
towards protecting endangered forests supplying Sitka spruce. Under the
Greenpeace campaign, Musicwood, they are now influencing many in the music
business towards more awareness in the protection and sustainability of forests.
However, from small things come great things and this campaign is indeed only a
drop in the ocean, but waves are being made. It is therefore imperative that much
more awareness needs raised throughout the music industry towards less promotion
within the use of threatened tree species on musical instruments. If not for the
commercial sustainability of quality tone-woods then for the future of global climates
and environments therein contained more action needs taken.
We have to remember that musicians and makers may be playing what may
seem a small part in deforestation, but with an even wider and more captive
audience they can play a far bigger part in further promoting a safer and more
balanced environment. While it is indeed an uphill struggle creating more forests
sustainable, the extra certification tariffs dissuades many bespoke makers from
purchasing FSC products. However as shown, in light of LMIs lengthy back-orders of
FSC certified tone-woods, this would signal there is a more evolving consciousness
and certainly a growing demand for now and for the future.
Until the practice of illegal logging is further cracked down upon, and forests
themselves are permitted to return a healthier state, certified sustainable tone-woods
may only be then made more widely available. This however is a far off cry. With one
estimate of 2000 sq/m per second52 and another of 50 million acres a year53
currently lost through deforestation, one can invariably surmise the future of choice
in the commercial availability of many certified tropical or sub-tropical tone-woods
looks ominous.
While energy and transport costs rise, with the availability in traditional quality
tone-woods falling, and while forests disappear at astronomical rates thus elevating
rising concerns over global warming, it is apparent through the current backlog of
LMI (Luthiers Mercantile International) orders on certified tone-woods that there are
many makers out there who are now practicing more in the trend of responsible
purchasing. Today with greener issues and practices more talked about and acted
upon the FSC stamp looks certainly to become a stronger selling point for future
generations of more „environmentally conscious‟ musicians.
52 Princes Rainforest Project, Deforestation Rates: < http://www.princesrainforestsproject.org/whats-
happening-to-them/drivers-of-deforestation> 04/01/2009. 53
National Academy of Science Estimates : < http://www.csupomona.edu/~admckettrick/projects/ag101_project/html/destruction.html> 12/4/2009.
An Environment in Tone-woods
47
2009
Instrument makers may feel they play what may seem a small part towards
deforestation, but instrument maker‟s demands for the best quality, and often in old-
growth, do have a far greater impact than they may first conceive. With so many
instrument makers and musical instrument companies worldwide, reaching and
influencing an ever more passionate audience, they can play a bigger part
collectively than they may first assume. It is up to all involved in the wood industry to
come together from all corners of instrument making, certification, governments, and
musicians to proceed further with the combined effort towards the sustainability and
the protection of forests, thus protecting and maintaining the quality of their prime
assets, wood. This however will take time and until then instrument makers are
obliged to go on meeting the customer‟s demands with what acceptable choices in
the best quality timbers they have.
An Environment in Tone-woods
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2009
Chapter 3
UK Species Tone-woods and Guitar Construct
Contents
Introduction 49
Table of UK native tone-woods 50
Woods Chosen 55
The guitar in Completion 62
Conclusion 64
An Environment in Tone-woods
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2009
Introduction
As the environmental benefits through energy and transport saving outweigh
those of imported hardwoods, the availability of UK tone-woods now and for the
future remain unclear. By investigating which woods were available in the UK for use
in making a guitar I was able to reveal the current state of UK tone-wood availability,
and reasons why some woods are less practical for use in high end guitar making. I
was then able to draw comparisons with commonly and traditionally used tropical
and sub-tropical timbers such as rosewoods, mahoganies and ebonies.
Comparisons were drawn in tonal qualities, mechanical strengths in durability,
stability, bending, as well as workability with tools.
An Environment in Tone-woods
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Table of UK native woods that can be used as suitable tone-woods:
Common Names
&
Latin Name
Distribution Description Instrument
Use
Workability
& Finish
Durability,
Stability
Sound
Quality
Ash,
European,(Fraxinus
excelsior)
a.k.a.
Common ash, ash,
Italian olive ash.
Other names are
associated with the
country where they
are grown such as
Frein (French ash)
Europe
including the
British Isles,
north Africa
and western
Asia, growing
best on loamy
soils where
both the soil
and the
atmosphere
are moist and
cool.
Usually no
distinction in
colour
between
sapwood and
heartwood,
freshly cut
wood being
whitish to
pale brown
with a pink
cast, turning
to a slightly
brownish-
white after
drying.
Steel string
back and
sides.
Fingerboard,
neck.
All aspects
satisfactory.
Sanding,
gluing and
finishing all
are
performed
without
special
effort.
Dimensionally
stable. Medium
moisture
movement.
Similar to oak
but tougher and
more resistant
to splitting. The
timber is
reported to have
moderate steam
bending
qualities.
Fairly good
tone-wood
producing
clear treble
and bass.
Much less
dense than
tropical
timbers
and so
produces
softer and
warmer
tones.
Cherry,
European,(Prunus
serotina)
a.k.a.
Gean (UK), cerise
(France), kirsche
(Germany), kers
(Netherlands), wild
cherry (UK).
Europe
including the
British Isles. It
occurs from
Scandinavia
and south-
west Russia
southwards,
and is found in
western Asia
and the
mountains of
North Africa.
Pink/pale
reddish
brown.
Acoustic
guitar
back/sides,
electric solid
body;
Works well
with cutting,
planning and
sawing.
Glues well
and polishes
well.
Durable and
stable in use.
Good tone-
wood
producing
bright
trebles and
bass.
Good for
finger
picking
styles.
Plane, European,
(Platanus hybrida,
Platanus acerifolia,
Platanus orientalis)
a.k.a.
European plane
(According to
origin), London
plane, French
plane, English
plane, lace wood
The London
plane is
believed to be
of hybrid origin
and to have
first appeared
about 1670 in
Oxford. Found
in parks and
squares in
streets and
cities, but is
Heartwood is
light reddish-
brown clearly
defined from
the lighter-
coloured
sapwood.
The rays, are
broad and
numerous.
Quarter-sawn
surfaces, an
Acoustic
steel string
back and
sides.
Works
relatively
easy with
tools due to
fine and
even grain
texture.
Finishes and
polishes
well.
Quarter
sawn needs
Durability low.
Relatively stable
once dried.
Bends relatively
well.
Bright with
plenty of
attack.
An Environment in Tone-woods
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2009
(quarter-sawn wood
only), platane
(France, Germany),
not known
anywhere in
the
wild state. The
oriental plane,
Platanus
orientalise L.
occurs in
south-east
Europe and
west Asia.
attractive
fleck figure,
the reddish-
brown rays
contrasting
with the
lighter-
coloured
background,
thus giving
rise to the
term lace
wood.
sharp tools
to avoid
chipping out
around rays.
Pear, (Pyrus
communis)
Pearwood, pear
tree, common pear.
Europe
including the
British Isles,
parts of Asia
and parts of
USA.
Pinkish
brown.
Texture very
close and
uniform.
Fingerboard
and bridge.
Bindings.
Glues very
easy and
stains and
finishes well.
Can be
worked with
tools in any
direction.
Good steam
bending
properties.
Dimensionally
stable after
drying.
Dense
wood
mostly for
fingerboard
and bridge.
Bright
sound
compared
to
rosewood
bridge.
Yew, (Taxus
baccata)
a.k.a.
Common yew,
European yew,
Wide
distribution in
Europe, North
Africa, Asia
Minor, the
Himalayas and
Burma. It
extends in
Europe from
Scandinavia to
the
Mediterranean,
and from the
Atlantic to the
western
provinces of
Russia, and is
found in
Algeria and
northern Iran.
Purple
brown,
orange/brown
to purple
brown.
Acoustic
guitar
back/sides,
fingerboard,
bridge.
Difficult to
work
especially
where cross-
grain is
present.
Often oily,
sometimes
trouble with
gluing.
Polishes and
finishes well.
Very durable
and stable in
use.
Good tone-
wood
producing
clear
trebles and
bass.
Good for
finger
picking and
rhythm
styles.
Sycamore, (Acer
pseudoplantanus)
a.k.a.
sycamore plane,
Sycamore is
native to
central Europe
and western
Asia. It
White or
yellowish-
white when
freshly cut,
with a natural
Classical
and acoustic
steel string
back and
sides, neck,
Good - Fairly
easy to work
and
machine,
and capable
Durability low.
Relatively stable
once dried.
Moisture
Bright tap
tone with
plenty
sustain.
An Environment in Tone-woods
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2009
great maple.
appears to
have been
introduced into
Britain from
the Continent
in the fifteenth
century.
lustre
especially
noticeable on
quarter-sawn
surfaces. It is
generally
straight
grained but
may be curvy
or wavy
grained, and
the texture is
fine.
fingerboard,
bridge.
of a fine,
smooth finish
when
straight
grained;
material with
curly or wavy
grain picks
up in planing
and
moulding
and a
reduction of
the cutting
angle to 15º
is needed in
order to
obtain a
good finish
movement
medium. When
making maple
backs, it is best
to leave
bracings slightly
in from edges
as
maple/sycamore
shrinks over
time.
Produces
bright
tones with
more on
trebles.
Oak, European,
(Quercus robur,
Quercus petraea,
Quercus
sessiliflora,
Quercus
pedunculata)
a.k.a.
European oak,
English oak,
French oak,
Slovanian oak,
Polish oak.
Q. petraea
produces
the sessile
or durmast
oak, while
the
pedunculate
oak is
produced
by Q. robur:
both
species
occur
throughout
Europe
including
the British
Isles, and
extend into
Asia Minor
and North
Africa.
Yellow
brown.
Usually very
porous. The
annual rings
are clearly
marked by
alternating
zones of
early-wood
consisting of
large pores,
and dense
late-wood.
Mostly
Fingerboard,
Possibilities
depending
on how
porous for
back and
sides,
though not
common.
Medium to
difficult;
Sharp tools
with a low
plane angle
must be
used to
avoid tear-
out
especially
where wide
cross-grain
occurs.
Dimensionally
unstable
unless dried
properly.
Drying is a
slow process
even in a kiln
and care
must be
taken to
avoid
excessive
degrade.
Medium
bending
strength.
Not
common to
see used
on guitars
as is
known to
be have
poor tap-
tone and
dull
transmitter.
Walnut,
European,(Juglans
regia)
a.k.a.
European walnut,
English, French,
Walnut is a
native of the
Himalayas,
Iran,
Lebanon,
Asia Minor,
and extends
Grey
(grey/brown
with dark
streaks).
English
walnut; lies
between
Acoustic
guitar
back/sides,
electric solid
body;
fingerboard,
Good -
Works easily
and well with
both hand
and machine
tools. It can
be glued
A fairly hard
to tough
wood with a
relatively high
resistance to
splitting.
Good tone-
wood
producing
bright
trebles and
bass. Good
for finger
An Environment in Tone-woods
53
2009
Italian, Turkish, etc
walnut (according
to origin),
into Greece.
It was
introduced
into Britain
about the
middle of
the fifteenth
century.
French and
Italian in
decorative
appeal, but
is often
superior to
both.
bridge. satisfactorily,
and takes an
excellent
polish.
picking and
rhythm
styles.
Birch,
European,(Betula
pendula, Betula
pubescens)
a.k.a.
Silver birch, White
birch.
It extends
from
Scandinavia
and
northern
Europe
down to
central
Spain, and
throughout
the British
Isles.
There is no
distinct
heartwood,
the wood
being
whitish to
pale brown,
without
conspicuous
features,
fairly
straight
grained and
fine-
textured.
Acoustic
steel string
back and
sides.
Good -
Works fairly
easily but is
inclined to
be woolly. It
can be
planed and
moulded to
a good clean
surface, and
can be
glued,
stained and
polished
satisfactorily.
Durability low.
Heavy
density.
Large
moisture
movement.
Medium
bending
strength.
Birch was
used
extensively
by Gibson
guitars
during the
early part
of the 20th
century for
guitar back
and sides
and proved
highly
popular
until they
changed to
tropical
hardwoods.
Good
sound
deflection,
volume,
trebles and
basses.
Alder, (Alnus
glutinosa)
common alder,
black alder (UK),
aune (France),
els
(Netherlands),
erle (Germany)
Alder occurs
in Europe
from
Scandinavia
and north
Russia
southwards.
It is
common
throughout
the British
Isles and is
found in
north Africa
and western
There is no
distinction
by colour
between
sapwood
and
heartwood,
the wood
being a
dull, light
reddish-
brown
colour,
without
lustre, and
Neck, End
blocks, back
and sides for
acoustic
instruments.
Medium to
good - Easy
to work and
finish
provided
tools are
kept
sharpened. It
takes glue,
stains and
polish.
Once
properly
seasoned
the stability
factors are
above
average.
Fairly good
sound
transmitter for
neck.
An Environment in Tone-woods
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2009
Asia. soft.
Lime,
European,(Tilia
spp, Tilia
platyphyllos,
Tilia cordata,
Tilia vulgaris,
Tilia euchlora)
a.k.a.
European lime,
linden
(Germany),
Several
species and
their
variants of
the genus
Tilia occur
throughout
Europe,
including the
British Isles,
where the
tree may be
found not
only in pure
stands as in
Scotland,
but also in
mixed
woodlands.
Pale
yellowish-
white when
freshly cut,
turning to
pale brown
when dried.
It is a soft,
compact
wood, with
a fine,
uniform
texture,
and a
straight
grain.
Bindings,
kerfing,
bracings,
guitar necks,
Electric guitar
bodies.
Good -
Works
readily and
easily, but is
inclined to
be woolly,
and requires
thin-edged,
sharp tools
in order to
affect a
smooth
finish. It
stains and
polishes very
satisfactorily.
Medium
durability.
Stable when
dried well.
-
Poplar (Populus
x canadensis
var. serotina)
a.k.a.
Italian/European/
Hybrid Black
Poplar/ Cotton
wood/Populus
North
America,
Europe,
western
Asia;
temperate
Creamy
white with
wide
shades of
light brown
streaking
Sometimes
for cello,
(particularly
late 18th
century
onwards, but
less popular
today with
the
acceptance
of maples as
a standard),
Sometimes
used for
traditional
harp and
dulcimer
soundboards.
Electric
guitars,
Piano.
Works quite
easy, though
does have a
tendency to
tear when
planning.
Low cutting
resistance,
rather easy
to work with
planes,
takes glues
and
varnishes
well,
medium/low
bending
properties,
takes longer
to sand and
finish due to
its woolly
texture, also
marks easy.
Experimented
by some for
cello,
producing
rich and dark
resonances.
Mellow to rich
warm tones
on harps.
An Environment in Tone-woods
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2009
Woods Chosen
Several sets of woods for the UK guitar construct had been purchased
through a supplier in England and through other luthier contacts within London
Metropolitan University. Sets for back and sides, neck, fingerboard, bindings, and
soundboard included: European yew (Taxus baccata), London/European Plane
(Platanus acerifolia), European/English oak (Quercus robur) (reclaimed from the
Eastbourne sea-defence), English cherry (Prunus serotina), European lime (Tilia
platyphyllos), and European ash (Fraxinus excelsior). All of these were purchased
mainly due to their availability as suitably seasoned and dried tone-woods at the
time. UK native tone-wood chosen were as follows:
European/Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior): Chosen for back and sides
Source: North Heigham Sawmill, England (sold to London Met Music Dept)
This particular ash was chosen for the following reasons:
With a growth rate of around 12 to 18 inches per year,54 ash is a medium fast
growing wood and thus is a more, economic, sustainable, and readily
available wood.
This particular piece had been cut and converted around 1996 and therefore
was very dry and stable.
54
Michigan State University, Bio-Diversity Database: <http://web1.msue.msu.edu/imp/modzz/00000634.html> 15/05/2008.
Figure 10: Flamed Ash back and sides before and after
An Environment in Tone-woods
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2009
This particular piece also had extremely striking figure (see figure 11), known
as flamed (fiddle-back, rippled, or tiger). This is more commonly seen on
maples, often used for backs and sides on the violin family and was quite rare
to see this on a piece of ash. The effect normally occurs near the bass of a
tree when the tree has grown tall, usually around 200 feet or more, and due to
the weight of the tree causes compression, a kind of reversal in the trees
growth.55 This effect is particularly rare in a piece of ash and so makes the
piece more aesthetically more interesting and pleasing to the eye, making the
guitar in turn more attractive, and thus more valuable.
Ash is a medium tough wood with a high resistance to splitting and with good
elasticity. It is used in all kinds of building, crafts and construction, particularly
furniture, tennis rackets, and snooker cues. Due to price rises and the lowering
availability of some rosewoods and mahoganies, species such as Ash and Cherry,
are now more common place in schools of making within the UK. Ash is also used
predominantly in UK schools of furniture making.
For the back and sides of this guitar, the wood worked relatively well with the
tools and was relatively easy to bend. However, this particular ash seemed to have a
slightly more brittle and shredded honeycombed structure within, and so soaked up
water quickly, a bit like a sponge. When bending with the hot iron to make the ribs I
had to be sparing when applying water as this can lead to slight warping, making the
shape of the body uneven.
The dry almost honeycomb structure was probably due to this piece having
been left untreated in a fairly dry wood-store, where the humidity levels can be
extremely low, in some cases less than 20% in winter time. Under these conditions
the ash had dried out very well. This also made the wood very light in weight, very
good for the weight of a guitar.
Common Ash is generally found not to be to be a very attractive wood
compared to the darker and more colourful textures on offer from rosewoods or other
tropical hardwoods. The wood colour has grey, cream, to light brown streaks running
throughout, sometimes green when freshly cut. It can be rather porous and usually
needs grain filling when it comes to finishing. However, some luthiers prefer to leave
the woods a little porous as it gives a raw and more natural look.
55
AllunCaruthers, Luthier, Forum on What Causes Flamed Wood? : <http://groups.google.com/group/rec.music.makers.builders/browse_thread/thread/d3484419bb97ca54> 5/15/2008. *As part of this project the issue of aesthetics within the guitar world is further discussed in theory and practice essay.
An Environment in Tone-woods
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2009
London/European/Hybrid plane/Lace-wood (Platanus
acerifolia): CHOSEN FOR NECK Source: David Dyke, Luthier Supplies, England. London place is often thought to
be a hybrid of the Oriental plane
(P. orientalise) with the American
plane/sycamore) (P. occidentals).
It is found to have a fairly rapid
growth rate, is resistant to
pollution and grows in most inner
cities, parks, and gardens throughout much of Europe. It also grows in other
temperate regions throughout the world (Buenos Aires, New York City, Paris,
Madrid, Melbourne, Shanghai, and Chicago).
Plane is very hard and dense and much similar to maple in texture and
tightness of grain-line. It is particularly hard on hand-tools due to the interlocking
grain-line. Used for indoor joinery, cabinet/furniture-making, veneering, and inlay
work, it has a fine grain texture with interlocking brown/golden-tan speckled
appearance. This makes at an attractive wood for marquetry, as it also polishes
well.
Being a common species to cover the UK for centuries, the timber can be
seen on a few examples of early stringed instruments such as viheula, viol, and 16-
19th century guitar neck, back and sides (sometimes died black for fingerboard
material). Less popular for instrument makers over the centuries than its cousin the
common maple (Acer), the wood projects sound well and is quite bright in timbre.
After cutting and squaring the wood for the neck, I found it interesting but had
decided against its use. Having seen an example of an early 16th century viheula
with a clear varnished London plane neck, I was able to predict how the guitar neck
would look. The neck of the viheula only had its interesting figure apparent along a
thin strip of the centre length of the neck. This is due to the shaping of the curve of
the neck, thus loosing the figure you originally see on the quarter-sawn pre-shaped
neck blank. When the neck blank is rounded, around 90% of the original figure is
lost, and simply becomes a blur of beige-brown. Also over time the wood fades into a
slightly unattractive smoked yellow colour. In the end I felt it was going to clash with
the figure and light colour tone of the fiddle-back ash and so decided not to use it.
An Environment in Tone-woods
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2009
Brazilian/Big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia
macrophylla): Neck
Source: Bespoke Luthier, Scotland.
Due to time constraints set for the project
I was unable to find any other UK native
species for neck component. The main
source may have been maple or
sycamore, but I could find nothing readily
available through UK suppliers. Under
the time constraints I had to go directly ahead and use a piece of Brazilian
mahogany, which I happened to have in stock.
Brazilian mahogany is now very difficult to source and has remained on the
CITES appendix II list of endangered species since 1998.56 The piece was bought in
2001 and had been purchased by the original suppliers before this date.
In using this material was hypocritical in relation to the subject of this project,
however, at this juncture in the project the point was made in how difficult it can be
for a luthier to source other readily available local UK native woods for neck material.
Brazilian mahogany has been very popular throughout guitar making,
particularly for necks, back and sides. It is very stable, light, and easy to cut and
shape, with straight, even and fairly tight interlocking grain-line. When quarter-sawn,
its raw appearance often produces a highly reflective interlocking grain-line. It
finishes with varnishes and oils very well.
Many other Mahogany species grow across much of the temperate and
tropical parts of the globe, with 16 species now listed as vulnerable, endangered, or
critical under the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) Red
List.57
56
CITES, First Meeting of the Mahogany Working Group, 2001: < http://www.cites.org/eng/prog/MWG/MWG1/E-MWG1-Doc-08-06-CR.pdf> 15/05/2008. 57 IUCN Redlist, Mahogany: <http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/search> 02/12/2009.
Figure 11: Brazilian mahogany heel view
An Environment in Tone-woods
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2009
European Lime/Basswood (Tilia europaea): Kerfing (inner linings) Source: David Dyke Luthier Supplies, England.
This basswood is a creamy-
white, tight-grained, light in weight
and easy to cut. It is readily available
and well known in instrument making,
particularly for its use in electric guitar
bodies and for recorders.
This woods strength to weight ratio is very good, and is very stable. It is very easy to
work with tools, planes well, glues, and sands well. It is very good as use for inner
lining supports as it bends easy, enabling it to take the curvature of the guitar without
breaking.
Laburnum (Laburnum anagyriodes), is
sometimes known as „the golden rain tree‟:
Fingerboard and bridge.
Source: David Dyke Luthier Supplies, England. Although grown less in the south of the UK, Laburnum often grows more in the north of Scotland and is native to central and southern Europe. It has been said that the
heart-wood of Laburnum was often used as an Ebony substitute since it is very hard.58 The sapwood is butter-yellow, with light brown to golden-tan streaks on the outer core. This makes a particularly attractive fingerboard and bridge, compared to the common use of rosewood or ebony.
This wood worked particularly well
with hand tools and was light in weight yet
remained a fairly dense fibrous wood. It
often grows not very large in diameter with a
short bass trunk, and therefore was only
58
Laburnum, the tree: <http://www.the-tree.org.uk/BritishTrees/TreeGallery/laburnumc.htm> 12/01/2008.
Figure 13: Laburnum bridge
Figure 12: Laburum fingerboard
An Environment in Tone-woods
60
2009
available in size for fingerboard and bridge. This wood is very rare to be seen on
fingerboards or bridge, but can be seen used on fingerboards by UK guitar makers
A.J. Lucas and Bruce Brook.
The tonal properties of this wood are similar to a medium to light density
rosewood and it was able to transmit sound vibrations relatively well, and even
although less sharp in tone than an ebony or good quality rosewood, a bright but soft
tap-tone still was produced.
As seen in figures 13 and 14, this was indeed a beautiful piece for both bridge
and fingerboard, particularly with the cream/butter yellow sapwood showing across
one side edge of the fingerboard.
FSC Swiss Alpine/European spruce
(Picea abies): Soundboard
Source: Tonewood Switzerland,
Florinet family, Switzerland.
Spruce once grew across most
of Europe before the expansion of
industrialization in the early 19th
century, when many of the spruce
forests were cut down for their use in
building infrastructures, furniture, for
fuel and wagon transportation.
The map59 here on the left shows us
much of the spruce range heading up
through, Norway, Sweden, Finland,
Latvia, Poland and through Russia towards
the Ural Mountains.
Much of the European spruce used in instrument making actually grows in
high regions in France, Switzerland, Italy and parts of Austria and Slovenia (the
south face of the Alps), trailing down through the mountainous parts of Bosnia,
Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, with remnants in Bulgaria and the Balkans.
European Spruce is the most common use of spruce by the luthier for
soundboard material to be used. As with most spruces, it can be found growing in
higher altitudes and in cooler climates in moisture rich soil. Growing at a slow and
even pace, ES produces tight annular rings. This is perfect for stringed instrument
soundboards as the tight grain-line makes them flexible across the grain-line,
59
Map source: <http://www.lutherie.net/eurospruce.html> 09/04/2012.
Figure 13: Map showing spruce regions across Europe and Russia
An Environment in Tone-woods
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2009
enabling the soundboard to vibrate freely, yet stiff along the grain-line, thus able to
take string tension.
Several timber suppliers in the UK had been contacted in the hope of finding a
suitable piece of home-grown UK spruce to experiment with as a soundboard for the
UK species guitar. All of the suppliers contacted could offer me nothing suitable and
said that the grain-line would be irregular and containing knots. In the hope of finding
something even half suitable I also reached out to several established UK luthiers.
The UK luthiers I contacted gave the same story as the suppliers, adding that the
acoustical dynamics of such a piece of UK spruce would be very poor. This is
because, compared to other European spruces growing in high climates producing
tight and even grain line, UK spruce grows at a much faster pace, producing far
wider irregular grain-line, with many knots. Compared to tight-grained spruce, often
producing more dynamics with clearer/richer ranges of trebles and basses, wide
grained spruce is renowned for producing duller tones with much more emphasis on
bass, and in the end is much less dimensionally stable to act as a soundboard. It is
therefore wide-grained spruce is subjugated to being of a much lower quality
grade.60
It was then after I decided I would also use the same FSC certified Swiss
spruce used for the FSC guitar, as for the UK guitar. This spruce was of extremely
high quality with very clean, tight and even grain line. It was very light and strong and
had an excellent tap tone.
60
Many great guitar makers over the past centuries, including Antonio de Torres, have used wide-grained spruce. However, this would have been for a number of reasons: either as an experiment: or because a customer preferred the look of that particular piece, or may have preferred more bassier/softer sound: or simply, and more probably, as they had no tight-grained spruce available to them at the time. To put it plainly, if makers such as Torres had tight-grained spruce then they used it, as they did on most of their guitars.
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The Guitar in Completion
The tonal quality produced by the rippled ash back model was much softer
than tropical woods utilized on other models of the same size and bracing
specifications I have made. Even so, the clarity throughout treble and bass ranges
was impressive. It produced a range of definitive clear tones, while deflecting a
strong volume, expressing „harp-like‟ harmonics with a soft but full timbre.
Tropical tone-woods do tend to have much denser qualities and are oily in
their composition. This oily composition dries out at a slow pace, often taking
decades. Once the wood becomes drier, this then allows the wood to vibrate more
freely while releasing any underlying tonal dynamics. Many tropical hardwoods can
thus produce a richer character of sound, improving over time often producing richer,
warmer and more definitive sound variables. Ash on the other hand is a far dryer and
lighter wood, reaching its peak in tonal maturity in much less time. As is often the
case, many high quality hardwoods initially produce the best in a more definitively
rich resonance. It is with this knowledge the bespoke luthier, and professional
Figure 14: UK Guitar front and back views
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musician, are naturally more in favour of incorporating denser quality tropical
hardwoods on their instruments.
Compared to that of a softer hardwood such as laburnum, the traditional use
of ebony or rosewood bridges often transmits sharp and clearly defined tone. The
slightly less dense and lighter structure of the laburnum bridge on the UK guitar
proved to transmit clear string vibration, yet may have added to the mellower sound
produced by the ash back and sides. Having a medium to high density in weight and
consistency, relative to that of a soft Indian rosewood, the Laburnum fingerboard
helped transmitted a clear definition of treble and bass string vibration into the
soundboard.
To some the guitar maybe less bright and sharply defined in tone than other
traditionally used hardwoods. However, combined with the European spruce top, the
warmth and clarity of the ash guitar is immediate and is pleasing to any untrained or
trained ear. While potential customers for this guitar have been attracted by the
aesthetic qualities in the combination of the creamy brown, golden tan and grey
woods used, they also have been pleasantly surprised with the sound.
With the ash and laburnum being very light in weight, the guitar also worked to
higher degree of comfort for both playing and in transportation.
Overall, the UK species guitar was of particular good quality in sound value
and the woods used, exceptional in appearance. Although producing a lot softer tone
in comparison to a tropical hardwood such as dense rosewood, the ash was able to
produce and deflect a clear, yet mellower, range of trebles and basses being almost
harp like in sound. Both trebles and basses were clear and balanced with a mellow
but clear mid range. This sound value was probably due to the ash being much less
denser and porous therefore producing softer trebles and basses. The only close
comparisons to this piece of ash may have been to a mahogany back and sides,
which also produces much warmer and softer tone to that of a tropical hardwood.
The most obvious conclusion about the sound of any guitar falls ultimately to
the quality of soundboard. The soundboard basically acts as the main driving force
behind the sound. Depending on thickness, density, elasticity, uniformity of grain-line
and method of bracing, the soundboard has the ultimate say in all tonal aspects of
any instrument.
Compared with many tough and dense „oily‟ tropical rosewoods used, the
workability of both Laburnum and Ash worked well with tools when it came to
planning, bending and shaping. The fact that the woods were well seasoned,
particularly with the Ash, which had been drying for over 20 years, thus lead to an
easier finishing with varnishes.
The look of the guitar once complete with both Laburnum and flamed Ash
components was striking, to a somewhat exotic extent. This made the guitar far more
attractive and appealing to potential customers.
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Conclusion
Around 5000 years ago a greater part of the UK was once covered in forests.
With about 90% of that cover now gone,61 a significant part of UK forests and
woodlands are today managed solely for the purposes of timber production or
conservation-based timber production. This is carried out mostly under the control of
forestry commissions for Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with the
remainder privately owned or conserved by NGOs such as the National Trust or the
RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds).62 With very low forest coverage in
the UK, much of the suitable UK native tone-wood currently offered by suppliers is
often wood that has been sourced as the result of storm damage, or sometimes
stock sold on through local forest regeneration management. This makes the
availability of UK native prized tone-woods such as Walnut a scarce commodity
while other ornately figured woods such as Yew, are also found to be extremely
sparse in their availability. Indeed there is little readily available from UK luthier
suppliers concerning many, if not most UK native species.
Any strands of old-growth forests dotted around the UK are mostly protected
by private owners or by the National Trust. Where old growth was more abundant
pre-industrial Britain, today any old-growth for use as a tone-wood either comes by
way of private land clearances or storm damage. Mostly due to there being no old-
growth forest cover left in the UK available for commercial use, supply and demand
of traditionally and habitually used tropical/sub-tropical tone-woods will continue to
dominate.
As many luthiers are aware of keeping their costs down, they are always
happy to accept timber that has come from local sources such as apple or pear for
bindings, cherry for back and sides, and if good fortune arrives, a good quality local
Walnut or Yew for use as back and sides. Most guitar makers know what sells and
makes a good guitar is in tonal production. Tone-woods such as ash, though
abundant in supply, are of particular low quality in comparison to many other tropical
tone-woods and are therefore never seen on commercial guitars. The Ash I was
lucky enough to come by was rare, as it presented an attractive figure and grain-line
which gave it that something extra in appearance. When combined with the top
quality Swiss spruce the sound was very warm, clear and wide providing a soft
sweetness with plenty of character in both upper and lower harmonics.
In the end most professional musicians are looking for standards set through
tried and tested tropical tone-woods, projecting highly defined basses and trebles
complimented by crisp sweet harmonics. These indeed are the ultimate woods for
the maker. Until more can be done in the UK to regenerate more species such as
prized yew, walnut, and maple, makers will continue the demand for imports of
tropical tone-woods.
61
UK Clearing House Mechanism for Biodiversity, Nature and Extent of UK Forest Cover: < http://uk.chm-cbd.net/default.aspx?page=7637> 17/12/2008. 62
UK Clearing House Mechanism for Biodiversity, Nature and Extent of UK Forest Cover: < http://uk.chm-cbd.net/default.aspx?page=7637> 17/12/2008.
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Chapter 4
Timber Substitutes as Composites for Acoustic
Guitar
Contents
Introduction 66
Plywood 66
Plywood Guitars 67
Benefits and Disadvantages 68
Graphite/epoxy 68
Graphite/Epoxy Guitars 69
Benefits and Disadvantages 70
Polymer Guitars 71
Benefits and Disadvantages 72
A Traditional Conclusion 72
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Introduction
With availability of some tone-woods becoming increasingly scarce it is then
worthwhile considering what comparable replacements may look to become more
commonplace in the field of lutherie. While UK native woods provide a satisfactory
but limited option, composite materials remain a solid fixture on today‟s market.
Presented within this chapter are a brief look into the uses of plywood,
graphite/epoxy, and polymer in guitar making. In setting out to examine all of these
substitutes, I then evaluate an overall comparison to the use of solid woods and what
effect this may have on the future of guitar making.
Plywood
Traces of plywood can be traced as far back as the Egyptian times, 3500BC,
where laminated wood was found in the tombs of the pharaohs.63 The English and
French are reported to have used the principals of plywood in the 17th and 18th
centuries, although historians have accredited Russia with using forms of plywood
just prior to the 20th century, when it was used in decorative hardwood forms in the
construction of furniture and household items.64 It wasn‟t until the 1920‟s and 1930‟s
when advancements in science improved the quality and availability of adhesives.
The only adhesives around before this period were animal glues consisting of hide or
bone, while another option being vegetable glues. 65 It was therefore that the
development of synthetic resin adhesives during this era was one of the most
important innovations in the manufacturing of plywood. Modern forms of plywood we
are now more familiar with today have been developed and engineered in the 20 th
century with the use of softwoods ingredients, typically Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga
menziesii), pine, spruce, and other firs. Plywood is now used in many forms of
construction, industrial and domestic, as well as for factory made guitar backs, sides
and tops.
Plywood is basically thin sheets of veneers glued together with the differing
layers running perpendicular to each other. It is typically bonded using heat and
strong resins, making it a composite material. This creates a far more stable and
stronger material than natural wood which tends to shrink and move over time, often
leading to cracks. While also being more resilient to heat and humidity than solid
63
Wikipedia: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plywood> 5/21/2006. 64
APA woods (wood engineering), Milestones: <http://www.apawood.org/level_b.cfm?content=srv_med_new_bkgd_plycen> 21/05/2008. 65
Hardwood, Plywood, and Veneer Association: <http://www.hpva.org/products/history.asp> 22/05/2008.
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woods, many an untrained ear can tell no difference between a solid top to that of a
plywood top guitar.
Plywood Guitars
Not so long after the Second World War economies and countries needed
rebuilding, capitalism was asserting its foothold, and the model consumer of the
present day was being moulded. With the arrival Elvis Presley in the 1950s and the
Beatles just around the corner, every dreamy-eyed teenager wanted to be like their
idols. Since then the exploitation of this culture through music and the media
brought on was an even bigger demand for musical instruments, especially the
guitar. Guitar companies such as Martin, Fender, Gibson were then on their way to
becoming the largest guitar manufacturers in the world and the demand for
economic cheap guitars was now in overdrive. It was with this surge in demand that
veneered plywood guitars, being more cost effective in manufacturing than solid
woods, became ever more common place on the market. With the ability to sell more
of these guitars at a cheaper price than their solid bodied counterpart, these factory
guitars were real money spinners.
Since then plywood has been used on all manner of acoustic and classical
guitars. From the spruce laminated plywood tops of Guild guitars, to the present day
plywood laminated backs, sides and tops of many economy Japanese and Chinese
made guitars, plywood continues to be used as a compatible substitute for solid body
acoustic guitars.
Benefits and Disadvantages
Plywood is cheaper to produce and so cheaper to buy
Solid timber is offers more sonority to begin with and more likely to yield richer and complex timbres as time goes by
Plywood is less prone to cracking or warping due to sudden humidity changes and so have a longer life expectancy
When solid timber has cracks or breakage due to impact damage it is far easier to repair; Problems in trying to repair the many layers of perpendicular grain lines running throughout plywood due to impact are extremely difficult to re-bond (often some type of wood filler needs applied)
Solid timber guitars are often lighter in weight
Plywood changes the way the top vibrates compared to solid and can dumb down the true potential of sound frequencies and string vibration. There is far more in dynamics with tonal range in the large variety of tropical timbers and various spruce soundboards, producing greater values in tone
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Solid wood guitars are generally known to be louder than most plywood models
Most solid wood guitars presenting naturally rich and interesting textures via grain-line and figure are far more attractive than their plywood counterparts
Although solid tone-woods offer wider variety of sonority, for many
beginner/amateur players, the plywood guitar is quite often the more popular
and economically viable option.
Environmental concerns with laminates such as plywood remain in the binding
process using resins, as most boards use toxic resins. The other main
concern here is much of the timber content of plywood originates from non-
sustainable sources.
Graphite/Epoxy
First coined by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789, graphite is known to be the
most stable form of solid carbon ever discovered. Most commonly associated with its
use in pencils, it derives from the Greek meaning to draw or write. 66 Epoxy resin is
best explained as:
„Epoxy or polyepoxide is a thermosetting epoxide polymer that
cures (polymerizes and cross links) when mixed with a
catalyzing agent or "hardener". Most common epoxy resins are
produced from a reaction between epichlorohydrin and
biphenyl-A. The first commercial attempts to prepare resins
from epichlorohydrin occurred in 1927 in the United States.
Credit for the first synthesis of biphenyl-A based epoxy resins
is shared by Dr. Pierre Castan of Switzerland and Dr. S.O.
Greenlee in the United States in 1936.‟67
Graphite then combined with Epoxy creates a light but
extremely stable material.
The first in depth study of the combination of
graphite and epoxy as a suitable soundboard material
was carried out in 1974 by Daniel W. Haines (University
of South Carolina engineering professor), and his student
Nagyoung Chang. After receiving a grant from the US
66
Wikipedia, Graphite: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite> 21/05/2006. 67
Wikipedia, Graphite: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite> 21/05/2006.
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National Science Foundation, they were then able to research and develop
a synthetic substitute for the traditional spruce used in violin and guitar
manufacture. With this grant they managed to develop the first
graphite/epoxy substitute for spruce (see picture left). The National Music
Museum further revealed the outcomes of the experiment as follows:
„After much experimentation, Haines and Chang found that they could create a
suitable graphite/epoxy "sandwich" by layering a fibreboard material between two
layers of a graphite/epoxy flat tape with parallel fibres manufactured by Hercules, Inc.,
Columbia, South Carolina. Carlene Hutchins, and Donald A. Thompson of C. F. Martin
Guitars, was subsequently invited to join the experiment in which both a violin and a
guitar fitted with graphite/epoxy bellies were produced….
…Hutchins provided the researchers with one of her Stradivari-model violins for the
experiment. According to Paul Laird's account of the process, "Hercules, Inc. formed
the composite violin plate in a 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven over a solid metal violin
top mould with a low arch similar to that used by Antonio Stradivari. The composite
plate possessed a clear tap tone, necessary for a fine violin top, and an analysis of its
modal characteristics proved similar to a fine spruce violin plate. Hutchins cut F-holes
in the soundboard and attached a spruce bass bar with epoxy glue that Morton
Hutchins spent two months developing. Subjective tests of the instrument indicated
that it has a lovely, dark tone with a dominance of the lower partials, perhaps because
the composite material has a rather high along-the-grain damping quality. The violin
also has a uniform response throughout its range and speaks well."‟68
Although the sound of the graphite/epoxy violin was found to be favourable,
further prototypes were halted when the graphite/epoxy composite proved to be
difficult on the skin of those working with it.
Graphite/epoxy Guitars
Alembic Inc. a guitar company created in the US in 1969, were the first
company to introduce graphite/epoxy to bass guitar necks as it helped in lowering
the weight of the instrument.69 Rainsong Guitars, who originated in Hawaii in the
1990s, are now one of the leading manufacturers of graphite/epoxy guitars today. A
recent review of Rainsong guitars in Acoustic Magazine was given by musician, Teja
Gerken, about the sound comparisons between the graphite/epoxy and its wooden
counterparts where she said:
68
The National Music Museum: <http://www.usd.edu/smm/Archives/NewViolinFamily/Hutchinsgraphiteviolin.html> 23/05/2008. 69
K. Archard, The History and Development of the American Guitar, (Bold Strummer LTD, 1989).
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„It‟s impossible not to compare the RainSong‟s sound to the wooden instruments we‟re
all used to hearing. The OM-1000 convinced me that the material a guitar is made of
has less to do with its sound than we‟d like to think. It sounds like an acoustic guitar,
and I doubt that many listeners would be able to immediately pick it out as a graphite
instrument in a blindfold test. The voice was bright and balanced, and the response
was even up and down the neck. It felt equally comfortable finger picked and
strummed. The instrument‟s volume was impressive, and while it lacked the warmth
and dimension of some wooden guitars, it had a really cool midrange shimmer that
added to its tonal complexity. Played along with an Ovation Adamas and a Collings
dreadnought, it cut through the mix, and its clear tone gave it an almost processed
sound quality.‟70
Teja Gerken seems to give a „thumbs up‟ to the guitar here, although she does point
out the lack of warmth and dimension compared with wooden guitars. Having played
one of these guitars myself, I immediately conceit to this „lack of warmth‟ compared
to a well made solid wooden guitar The warmth of a wooden guitar lays in its ability
to produce more of a natural sound than the processed sound Teja spoke of.
Graphite/epoxy, while able to transmit sound well, is more responsive to clear high
end frequencies, while wooden guitars are able to dip deeper into bass frequencies
releasing more of an under lying warmth.
Benefits and Disadvantages
Wooden guitars offer more choice in sound compared to the wide range of
complex sound natural timber has on offer.
The advantages of using graphite/epoxy are that it does remain more stable
and can outlast the lifetime of a solid timber guitar.
It is also a strong material and takes very little in the way of maintenance.
Graphite/epoxy is much more stable and resilient to heat and humidity
change, making it a favourable option for many musicians travelling the
world.
Without any real solid evidence in research in the overall environmental
issues concerned with production and bio-degrades, no estimate has been
given on the impacts to the environment.
70
The Acoustic Guitar, Rainsong OM-1000 review by Teja Gerken, February 2002, issue No. 110: <http://www.acousticguitar.com/issues/ag110/rainsongreview.html> 5/21/2008.
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No two solid timber guitars sound identical, compared to the lack of sound
variables in individual graphite/epoxy instruments.
Polymer Guitars
„Plastics are polymers. The simplest polymer definition is something made of many units. Think of a polymer as a chain. Each link of the chain is the "-mer" or basic unit that is usually made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and/or silicon. To make the chain, many links or "-mers" are hooked or polymerized together. Polymerization can be demonstrated by linking countless strips of construction paper together to make paper garlands or hooking together hundreds of paper clips to form chains, or by a string of beads….
Polymers have been with us since the beginning of time. Natural polymers include such things as tar and shellac, tortoise shell and horns, as well as tree saps that produce amber and latex. These polymers were processed with heat and pressure into useful articles like hair ornaments and jewellery. Natural polymers began to be chemically modified during the 1800s to produce many materials. The most famous of these were vulcanized rubber, gun cotton and celluloid. The first truly synthetic polymer produced was Bakelite in 1909 and was soon followed by the first synthetic fiber, rayon, which was developed in 1911.‟71
- Quoted from the American Plastics Council, in „What is Polymer?‟
While Plywood and graphite/epoxy are common place in guitar manufacturing,
there has been more recent effort to produce synthetic materials that replicate the
solid timber acoustics. Guitar company „Cool Acoustics‟ have patented a version of
polymer material that they claim has now ended the search for a „credible and tonally
comparative synthetic replacement‟ for the acoustic guitar, and within this claim that
it „represents state-of-the-art guitar construction in non-wood materials.‟72 The
material is basically a light weight mix of plastics which comes from refined oil and
other manmade constituents, which are then injected with air bubbles.
The idea originated from a PhD design project by Owain Pedgley at
Loughborough University and was completed in 1999. In 2004 Cool Acoustics
applied for a grant to research an environmental assessment of „alternative
materials‟ versus natural tone-woods, but were unable to obtain that grant.73 That is
not to say Cool Acoustics have forgotten about the environmental issues, in fact they
say they are using recycled plastics in their production. 71
The American Plastics Council, Plastics: The Basics of Polymer: <http://www.americanplasticscouncil.org/s_apc/sec.asp?CID=309&DID=919> 09/04/2012. 72
Cool Acoustics guitars: < http://www.coolacoustics.com/> 09/04/2012. 73
Cool Acoustics, Technical Manual: <http://www.coolacoustics.com/downloads/techmanual_part1_may06.pdf> 25/05/2008.
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Benefits and Disadvantages
Polymer does provide consistent tonal quality in reproduction.
Solid timbers give a range of sounds in tonal qualities, warmth, brightness, and sustain.
Polymer has a longer life cycle and is also biodegradable.
Wood is naturally biodegradable.
Environmental factors in the manufacture of polymer in have still to be researched and evaluated.
Polymer remains stable and is unaffected by humidity.
Solid timber acoustics are known to mature as the wood settles and invariably produce open up in tonal quality and character as time passes.
Solid timbers are more attractive.
Polymer can be made more attractive by adding pigmentations, although this is still in the experimental stages.
There is currently insufficient evidence to say either way which is more
environmentally friendly, but the use of plastics in high production is certainly
questionable for the benefit of the environment.
A Traditional Conclusion
While composites such as plywood for guitar remain mostly in the lower end
mainstream market, markets in the area of high end classical and acoustic
instruments are more specialized and hold a certain criteria in material requirements.
Luthiers often have to use traditional materials if the instruments are to meet the
traditional standards in tone production required by professional players. A luthier
needs to adapt to the client‟s needs, as well as respectfully utilizing the years of
tradition and handed down knowledge in working with tried and tested natural
woods. Luthiers know what works and what does not with natural timbers and are
more able to adapt the dimensions and sound of an instrument to the individual
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players needs. In trying to utilize the use of plywood in bespoke making would
certainly limit any choice in standards already set. Many professional classical and
folk musicians are aware through the tradition of trusted woods that the sound
dynamics of a well constructed wooden instrument also improve with age. Any use of
plywood would simply limit any such evolution in sound dynamics.
Be it musical instruments or jewellery, hand making is a tempered practice.
The craftsman has learned his/her trade over years of often painstaking work. They
know that in workmanship the risks taken, temper a whole attitude towards
respecting the ingenuity of natural fibres there within. Many, if not most, from all
backgrounds held in lutherie are in the business at the beginning because they like
working with natural timbers. With so many dynamics pertaining to the many different
species of timber of timber, luthiers have a high respect for wood and they know it is
much more interesting to work with. One also must realise that wood is a naturally
renewable source which offers a huge range of untapped options.
Over recent years scientists have been researching more into „modifying‟
timbers. Scientists are basically micro-waving timbers and injecting them with
treatments that can improve their lifespan, flexibility, and strengths. The process also
speeds up drying times from green log to dried finished boards without harming the
environment. As experimentation and research is still in what may be the early
stages of development, this may become an interesting option for the future of
lutherie woods. If safe for the environment, for the future we could be using ordinary
pines injected with these treatments, and/or micro-waved, which may then act as
reasonable substitutes for natural solid top timbers.
While many composite substitutes need time to be favoured and recognized
as compatible substitutes, environmental impacts surrounding their use also needs
fully evaluated. Until more research and has been accomplished to replicate the wide
variety of sound dynamics within different species of tone-woods, solid timber guitars
continue to offer the best in sound.
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Chapter 5
Chladni Tests on UK Native Species
Contents
Introduction 75
The Woods 75
Chladni Tests 78
Conclusion 94
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Introduction
The biggest problem to arise from the physical aspects of this project was in
seeking native UK spruce that is acceptable for use as a soundboard. After it was
conceded that using any form of UK spruce would be highly impractical, two UK
hardwood possibilities, European yew (Taxus baccata), and Italian/Black Poplar
(Populus x canadensis var. serotina), were chosen. They were experimented with by
means of Chladni testing, later discussed in this chapter. Both species fitted the
criteria as species grown in the UK and after some thorough investigation, no
examples were found of them ever having being used as acoustic guitar
soundboards. In drawing direct comparisons for the experiment, two commonly used
softwoods, European/Alpine Spruce (Picea abies) and Western Red Cedar (Thuja
plicata), were used in direct comparison. The tests which revealed how each
soundboard showed basic responses as a soundboard were kept simple and brief
due to time constraints in the volume of work surrounding the overall project.
The Woods
European/Common Yew: (Taxus baccata) see Chapter 3 p.52, Table of UK Tone-
wood Species
European/Common Yew is
known to be the longest living plant in
Europe, with the oldest tree, at
around 2000 years old, still growing in
Perthshire, Scotland. 74 Having a high
elasticity value, Yew has been used
over the centuries in Britain for bow
making.
Being very difficult to source,
with a wide enough girth for guitar
soundboard remaining knot free, Yew
is seldom used by UK makers for
back and sides. The acoustic
properties for back and sides for guitar
can be excellent producing crisp clear
tone with strong projection of sound.
Being a hardwood, the Yew would be better for use for slide blues style
acoustic and lap-steel guitars, producing plenty of treble and sharp basses needed
for those particular styles. Other popular examples of hardwood species used in for
74
Wikipedia, European/Common Yew: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Yew> 09/04/2012.
Figure 15: European/Common Yew (Taxus baccata) showing knots and outer sapwood
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these styles of guitar are species such as Hawaiian Koa (Acacia spp.), and Maple
(Acer spp.).
Although the availability of Yew is inconsistent, with most Yew trees turning
up as a result of storm damage or garden clearances, this particular piece was
donated by a fellow student who acquired it after a Yew tree had been felled in her
mother‟s garden 10 years before. After converting into a book-matched top, many
hidden knots were revealed, which one is unable to see from the initial piece of uncut
lumber. Due to fact knots would only weaken the top and interfere with the sound
dynamics, rather than using it on the initial UK species guitar construct it was
therefore decided to carry out Chladni tests with the piece.
Italian/Black Poplar (see Chapter 3, p.55 Table of UK
Tone-wood species, UK Native Species as Tone-woods
and Guitar Construct):
Italian/Black poplar originated in France in mid-18th
century, which was then introduced into Britain a little later
is a hybrid between an American species (Populus
deltoides) and the Black poplar.75 Apart from poplar‟s
common use over the centuries as boxes, this wood has
been used as soundboards over the last few centuries for
dulcimers, Irish/traditional harps, and the occasional cello
back and sides. Today the wood is more commonly used for solid body electric
guitars.
Being in the category of a hardwood, it is much more of a soft-wood in its
density and texture. Having a rather woolly texture it is quite light, yet stiff with tightly
packed fibres. This makes the wood prone to marking and denting easily, one of the
reasons why it is seldom if ever used on acoustic instruments. The sound produced
by poplar is known to be mellow compared to spruce, and often produces warm
fundamentals with far less harsh overtones. Often the thickness of poplar
soundboards used on instruments such as pre 19th century dulcimers or Irish harps
is left thicker compared to spruces. This would have been intentionally made so, so
as to raise the treble ranges. For many pre 19th century, the species was less
favourable a soundboard than spruce, but more often it may have been used
because it grew locally.
One luthier I had spoken with told me he had used the poplar for cello back
and sides said that it had acted rather well in this area, producing a variety of deep
and dark rich resonances. In the field of traditional harps some do argue that poplar,
75
Saps, Trees, Italian/Black Poplar, Description: <http://www-saps.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/trees/poplari.htm> 07/01/2009.
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when used to its full potential is a good substitute for spruce as a soundboard, in that
it can produce a rich enough voice.76
European/Alpine Spruce (Picea abies): See Chapter 3, p.61: FSC Swiss
Alpine/European spruce (Picea abies): Soundboard
Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata):
Western Red cedar (Thuja plicata) can be found in all
manner of exterior uses from boat building to fence posts.
Although spruce is now the common choice for acoustic tops,
more recent popular substitutes have been Western Red
cedar and Spanish cedar (Cedrela odorata), used mostly for
nylon strung classical guitars. Western Red cedar has been
used by numerous luthiers after first being discovered by
makers such as Jose Ramirez III (1922-1955) and Ignacio
Fleta (1877-1977) in the 1950s.77 This choice of wood is still controversial in the use
of guitar making as it generally has a tendency to produce more of a sweet, deeper
and mellow sound due to its responsiveness to low frequencies. This leads to a
theory that cedar tops have less a capacity to improve in tonal quality during the
lifetime of the guitar, however this is a matter for contention between makers. Spruce
does tend to have more of a bright sound in its initial stages as a soundboard, but
settles after a time to produce release warmer underlying tonal response as the
instrument matures. This warmth is far more apparent on the initial stages of a cedar
soundboard and so more desirable by many classical luthiers and musicians. One of
the finest Spanish classical makers, Jose Ramirez, did go as far to say that,
“Stradivarius would have used the wood of America if he had known it”.78
Cedar is also less popular a soundboard as it is a more fragile softwood than spruce
and does tend to split and mark easy. Having repaired cedar guitar tops, I have
found through my own experience one should bring the final thickness of a cedar top
down to around 20% thicker than a normal spruce, to prevent from splitting over
time. This also raises the treble frequencies a little more, balancing out the strong
basses typically produced by soundboard material such as cedar.
76
Harps by Wm. Rees Instruments, Beyond Spruce: <http://traditionalharps.com/HarpsGeneralTonewoods.html> 09/04/2012. 77
Evans, Tom & Mary, Guitars: Music, History, Construction and Players, From the Renaissance to Rock (London, Oxford University Press, 1977), p.77. 78
Evans, Tom & Mary, Guitars: Music, History, Construction and Players, From the Renaissance to Rock From an interview with Tom Evans, Madrid, 1976, (London, Oxford University Press, 1977), p.78.
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The Chladni Tests
First created by German physicist and mathematician Ernst Chladni (1756-
1827),79 Chladni testing enabled one to see patterns form on top of vibrating plates.
This was done by using sand, or sometimes tea-leaves, to show the acoustic
response of a vibrating plate though patterns of nodes and anti-nodes. Nodes and
anti-nodes can be described easiest by referring to one bar on a xylophone for
example. When one strikes the bar, which is fixed at either end, it vibrates causing it
to vibrate up and down. The simplest mode of vibration is shown in the graph below
and shows how as the middle of the bar goes up, the ends go down. This is the
simplest mode of vibration. A shown in the figure 14, the dashed line shows the
middle going down and the ends standing still (N: called nodes, where no motion
occurs). The action of the middle going down is therefore known as the anti-node.
Figure 16: Xylophone bar showing nodes standing still at ends and middle going down (anti-node)
A guitar‟s fixed soundboard is somewhat more complex, but reacts the same way
when vibrations pass through.
For this particular investigative study, blue glitter was spread over each
soundboard to show, depending on each frequency projected, where the anti-nodes
and nodes would be strongest. As each frequency was tested on the soundboards,
Chladni patterns appeared on the tops showing nodes and anti-nodes. This then
revealed comparisons in the differences of all frequencies generated between the
four materials. Rather than exhausting the whole frequency range, a retrospective of
the frequencies was taken, represented by three low notes, four tenors, four treble
clefs and four sharps. Photographs were then taken and the pitches recorded in
Helmholtz notation, shown in the top right-hand corner of the photos.
For each test the materials chosen were made into small bodied acoustic
guitar soundboards and basic X-bracing was applied, a typical acoustic style of
bracing used for many steel string acoustic soundboards. All soundboards were
taken down to a thickness to 2.7mm and then x-braced using spruce, 8mm wide by
15 mm high.
To reproduce the effect of the soundboards fixed to sides of a guitar, each
soundboard was bolted tightly between two solid pieces of 15mm MDF, with holes
cut to the shape of the soundboard. The soundboard jig was then raised on blocks
over a speaker which was connected to a sound frequency generator. The speaker
was placed underneath, close to the bottom bout of the soundboard, where a bridge
transmitting the string vibrations would normally be fixed.
(It is to note at this point that both the Yew and spruce experiments had been carried
out using only screws to fix them between the MDF boards. Although we were able
to see patterns form, this less firmly fixed approach resulted in them being less
79
Wikipedia, Ernst Chladni: < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chladni> 09/04/2012.
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responsive in producing as clear patterns than those of the bolted down examples of
the poplar and cedar boards. I was unable to remake the experiments using the
more reliable bolted down method. This was due to there being a fire at the
university and with the building closed for several months. I was unable to enter the
building in time to remake those experiments before the hand in deadline for the
project.)
The test results were as follows, showing brief descriptions of reactions to
frequencies:
As we begin with low C, showing one large anti-node in the centre of spruce, cedar,
and poplar, these three react much in the same way. The yew however produces a
much hazier pattern, with the board reacting with difficulty in finding any clear nodes
or anti-nodes. This then shows that the yew is less responsive at the low frequency
and being more rigid as a hardwood, this was to be expected. The poplar on the
other hand vibrates freely at the low C in one large anti-node across the whole
An Environment in Tone-woods
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board. This reveals a strong low frequency response, with almost identical patterns
made compatible with both the spruce and cedar tops.
On the low E both the spruce and the yew begin to follow the contours of the X-brace in showing similar response patterns. The poplar and cedar show one similar large node with the whole soundboard vibrating freely, with the cedar showing vague signs of the X-brace stopping vibrations.
This begins to show improvement with the yew on the low bass responses as being similar with the spruce. The poplar, while being similar with the cedar at this point, is vibrating more freely with less interference from the X-brace.
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Unfortunately as you can see here we have lost one of the photos of the poplar (This
was a technical glitch with the university camera, which would did not save the photo
properly). However, we do have the yew begin to follow the X-bracings a little more,
along with the spruce. The yew does show an anti-node one along the lower left
diagonal where the X brace should be still. This may be due to the screws not being
tight enough at one corner of the board. As we have seen from the previous poplar
results, the poplar seemed to be following the same pattern as the cedar, and
therefore we can only presume the poplar would be acting the same in tonal
response as the cedar at this point.
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While the X pattern remains somewhat unchanged on the yew, here we can see the
tenor g begin to create slightly more definitive patterns. The cedar shows the
beginning of a smaller anti-node in the lower bout with the rest of the soundboard
vibrating freely. The poplar shows much similar pattern to the cedar again, but with
the raise in frequency pushing the node towards the centre, while the spruce seems
to be vibrating with one large anti-node split towards the upper bout.
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While the yew at this point seems somewhat unchanged, struggling to find definitive
nodes and anti-nodes, the poplar begins to show definitive dynamics as a
soundboard on the upper a. With much of the soundboard vibrating freely, three anti-
nodes begin forming at the lower bout on the poplar, while remaining somewhat
similar to the nodal patterns of the cedar. This becomes more interesting as it shows
that poplar so far to be a very good substitute for cedar tops, making it a viable
substitute, particularly for classical makers.
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On the spruce here we can see much more separation, particularly on the upper
bout, where we have three antinodes forming showing three partials of the b. While
the spruce begins to show more interesting patterns, the yew remains unchanged,
but still vibrating freely around the X.
The poplar still follows the cedar, yet the cedar seems to break up into further
fundamental partials at the upper bout. Mostly on the upper bouts of guitars there are
cross bars beneath a fixed fingerboard which restrict most of the sound from
vibrating on any guitar.
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Here we have middle C, with more definitive separation by the X on the spruce. The
yew again remains unchanged, but with much less definite separation by the X thus
showing a more freely vibrating top with little character. With the cedar we have two
mirrored anti-nodal patters divided by the X position.
The poplar begins to react slightly more differently at this point showing clear open
vibration at top and bottom bout with slight division of the X.
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With 6 different separations on the spruce and not a great deal happening on the
yew top, we can begin to draw conclusions that the yew may be a poor choice a
soundboard. However, with the poplar reacting with one large anti-node on the lower
bout and many more surrounding partials surrounding, it is certainly proving to show
plenty of character as a potential guitar top.
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Now things begin to change with the yew as we see much more definitive separation
on the X than we have previously. This begins to show the yew reacting better to
higher frequencies, with the poplar continuing on the same path as the cedar.
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We can now see some immediate change on the yew with two small partials
occurring, one at the top right of the sound-hole and one at the lower left, with a
node still having its main focus on the centre X. The poplar still shows signs of
following similar of the cedar, but with less definitive partials towards the upper bout.
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With the spruce struggling here to show too much in way of patterns, and the yew
taking on around 8 different nodes and anti-nodes, we can see the yew reacting far
better at the sharp end of the scale. This reveals that the yew would better as a
blues slide guitar soundboard. Both cedar and poplar have followed similar patterns
with much more definition of nodes and anti-nodes.
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As the spruce begins to react better here finding 5 partials on its upper bout, the yew
seems to begin to find less in the way of other partials than previous. Both cedar and
poplar show complex movements across the two boards.
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While yew, spruce and cedar show some complex erratic behavioural patterns here,
the poplar now shows 3 sound partials at the upper and with 3 at the bottom of the X.
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With two upper partials at the upper bout of the poplar and four below, we can see
an almost symmetrical pattern as the cedar emerging on the lower bouts. While the
yew is vague in response, the spruce has some nodal patterns splitting at the bottom
bout with less movement across its centre.
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There is almost no movement on the upper bout of the spruce as it struggles to find
any freedom to move at these parts, while its lower bout has several nodes and anti-
nodes showing. The yew remains more fixed around the X with vague splits of nodes
and anti-nodes surrounding (not forgetting the yew is less tightly fixed to the jig, we
are doing some guess work here).
As both cedar and poplar showing very complex patterns of nodes and anti-
nodes, it shows much less freedom of movement with highly defined lines of anti-
nodes in many areas. This may suggest that the poplar will act weaker, yet still with
character, at performing on the high end frequency range as a soundboard.
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Conclusion
While both poplar and yew performed well in comparison to the spruce and
cedar, poplar performed particularly well across the range. Although there was less
definitive response from spruce and yew, due to them being less tightly fixed in the
jigs, we were able to see enough patterns with the yew to make calculated guesses
that yew would indeed react better at higher frequencies. As predicted, this could
make it far more suitable for blues style slide guitar, which often is associated with
clear trebles and sharp tone.
The problem with using yew as a top, and under consistent strain from string
tension, may arise from the yew splitting over time along its length. Although yew
has good elasticity, it also tends to split easy. While yew can act perfectly well as
back and sides for acoustic steel string guitar, the durability factors still need proven.
Most steel string acoustic guitars have spruce soundboards around 2.5-3mm. If yew
was to be used as a top, then one may not go less than around 3mm, so as to take
the stresses of the string tension without splitting over time. Also, as the yew may
possibly make a good soundboard for finger-picking/slide guitar, the yew would have
to be made slightly thicker, at around 3.5 mm to take the high tension of the thicker
gauge treble strings normally used. Far more experimentation with this species
would need undertaken before taken into consideration as a durable guitar top.
However, being a hardwood and more responsive to sharp trebles would suggest
that the yew would act as a good lap-steel acoustic soundboard.
The Italian/Black poplar, known to have been used in the past on some
traditional harps and dulcimer soundboards, seemed to perform well across the
range and was almost in unison in its vibratory responses with the cedar patterns.
Cedar is generally used in classical making and is known to produce much softer
and warmer tones to that of spruce. This showed that the poplar would be interesting
as a soundboard, particularly for classical guitar. Being a quick-growing and readily
available species is excellent news for acoustic guitar makers to further experiment
with. Particularly with the poplar results showing very good compatibility with cedar
soundboards, it showed it was able to respond well across the whole range from the
lower basses to the higher sharps. A far broader range of tests on different
thicknesses and bracings would need to be carried out with the species in
maximising its potential as a soundboard. Also being far more dimensionally stable
wood than cedar, only adds to the benefits in capitalising on poplar as a guitar
soundboard. However, one main problem remaining with this material, and why
many luthiers are dissuaded from its use, is the fact that it marks and dents very
easily due to its almost woolly texture.
The overall results of the Chladni tests did give us some idea of the
possibilities of UK native species as soundboards. Many in the field of lutherie
remain sceptical about Chladni testing, due to the many variables a soundboard has.
One has to take into consideration these variables to give a stronger depiction of
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how an individual soundboard may act. This would entail more experimentation with
full bracing systems with the top applied to a guitar and under string tension.
Chapter 6
End Conclusion
The practice is slow and problematic in protecting threatened forest
environments and tree species, and meantime makers will begin to find themselves
better adjusting to methods in utilizing materials to their full potential. There are
small, but often key steps towards creating a more ecologically conscientious
practice in guitar making. For example, many luthiers often revert to the use of
plastic bindings where off-cuts of valuable timber left over from the initial sizing of the
sides of acoustic guitars can be used. If one takes into account the energy costs in
having plastic bindings factory made and then delivered, the simple act of sizing and
bending the wooden off-cuts makes both economic and environmental sense.
Indeed, the use of natural wood off-cuts can easily add to a much more naturally
aesthetically pleasing instrument. Other components such as headstock veneers,
heel-caps, and bridge plates can all be taken from off-cuts from the guitar backs. Off-
cuts from the top can also be used as a centre support strips for the back of an
instrument. Even when off-cuts are not used for the particular guitar they come from,
they can be kept aside and used for later constructs.
Other areas of better waste management can be in compromising and working with imperfections. In dealing with small problems such as resin pockets, particularly in spruce (resin pockets are a natural occurrence often found deep inside the tree where small pockets of resin have gathered and the wood simply has grown around these pockets), these pockets can be simply overcome by filling them with wood dust and superglue. The pocket is more often only half the way through a split piece of timber and the face showing the pocket can easily be turned towards the inside face of the instrument. Further methods of conserving waste would be in the initial cutting processes themselves. This is where the actual process of conversion of timber into components such as neck blanks needs to be made more precise. For
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the maker it makes sense that with better waste management one can be immediately far more cost productive, while benefiting the environment.
As the individual luthier can be better adapted to creating a more
conscientious practice in utilising their woods, the grander scale of the problems lie
in trade in highly valued tone-wood timbers, legally or illegally procured. With the
current day black market in illegal logging estimated at around £7.5-11bn80,
widespread global problems in the trade of exotic timbers continue, as shown in the
following article by Soundwood (Fauna and Flora Internatiional):
„Monitoring the global timber trade, especially tracking high-end, tone-wood species,
is a complex process. Problems include access to, and accuracy of, export records,
especially for countries producing tropical hardwoods, as well as the physical capacity
to enforce legislation on illegal logging practices….
Concern also exists about the integrity of wood procurement within the music industry.
The high value of individual tree species and logs has led to a parallel or black market
for woods that have been obtained through unscrupulous wood procurement
processes. This has been fuelled within the timber trade by a lack of transparency and
unequal benefit sharing at the community level….
Despite multilateral agreements and regulations on the international trade of
threatened species, smuggling of timbers continues to be a threat to many species.
One of the key problems is the lack of focus on trees as threatened species. Another
problem is determining the species of woods in shipments in the midst of a massive
global commodity trade of timber. Threatened species are often disguised or simply
called different names on export forms. In addition, one of the primary threats to
individual tree species is domestic consumption.‟81
While law is not very good for managing environments as it doesn‟t leave a lot
of flexibility, judges can only make laws as guidelines which are less abided by,
particularly in poorer countries. There needs to be new ideas and better systems
invested towards readdressing more direct involvement in threatened areas. For
example, subsidising responsible timber businesses yearly travel fees to forest areas
most affected by depletion and species loss. This in turn may not only encourage
business to be more responsible in their purchasing, but also encourage growth in a
more ecologically sound and balanced market.
Many problems related to understanding and respecting threats to the
environment remain in base cultures. It has been estimated that around 500 billion
dollars is spent on advertising every year. Kids today can recognise hundred
corporate logos by the time they leave college, but can barely tell you 10 species of
local plant and tree. Whereas industrial civilization has helped bring about many
catastrophic impacts on eco-systems, apathy through corporate greed has been one
80
Illegal Logging makes Billions for Gangs, Black R. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17448581 (21.04.2012) 81
Soundwood, Trade in tonewoods: <http://www.globaltrees.org/proj.asp?id=39> 17/05/2006.
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of the worst enemies to fall upon forest environments. However, this begins to
change as more and more awareness and action is being taken not just by large
organisations such as the WWF, Greenpeace, or the Rainforest Alliance, but more at
ground root levels in communities across the globe brought together by increased
social networking.
We are all a small part of a bigger chain in the depletion of forests. Every
action we take, from using a piece of Brazilian rosewood, whether old stock or not, or
using mahogany reclaimed from a skip, makes a difference and influences others.
It is ultimately in the instrument maker‟s hands and interests to sustain their assets,
and thus be more concerned with investing in timber procured from well managed
forests. In the end they do have the choice to become more aware for the future of
species, as well as the safety of our earth‟s environments and climate. At the end of
the day, trees are the most environmentally friendly and renewable source. As the
price of tropical hardwoods begins to rise and availability lower, only the individual
can be the better judge in their methods of working, as well as in the materials they
invest in now and for the future.
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<http://www.keldayguitars.com/keldayguitars/html/construction.html>
Wood for Good: <http://www.woodforgood.com>
Woodworkers Source, online exotic wood directory:
<http://www.onlinewoods.com/onlinewoods/species>
WWF Forests for Life Campaign, News: Croatia Certifies all 2 million hectares of state
owned forest, 14th November 2002:
<http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/news/index.cfm?uNewsID=4436>
The University of New South Wales, Music Acoustics, How does a guitar work? <
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/music/guitar/guitarintro.html>
CIFOR Centre for International Forestry Research: <http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/>
Food and Agriculture Organisation for the United Nations, Forestry:
<http://www.fao.org/forestry/home/en/>
(EU25 COUNTRIES WOOD DISTRIBUTION/MANUFACTURE/EMPLOYMENT/INDUSTRY
VALUE FOR 2003) Stats: <http://www.cei-bois.org/prowood/pdf/Eurofact2-
Wood%20Industry3.pdf>
Center for International Trade in Forest Products: <http://www.cintrafor.org/>
Resource Conservation Alliance: <http://www.rca-info.org/issues/consumption.html>
Global Forest Trade Network (WWF Subsiduary): <http://gftn.panda.org/index.cfm>
An Environment in Tone-woods
102
2009
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Winsconsin, Forestry Fact Sheet:
<http://forest.wisc.edu/extension/Publications/93.pdf>
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Prof. John Holdren: Global Climate Disruption -
What do we know, what should we do: <http://www.guba.com/watch/3000128499>
Ted talks, Al Gore's new thinking on the climate crisis:
<http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/al_gore_s_new_thinking_on_the_climate_crisis.html>
Global Witness: <http://www.globalwitness.org/>
Global Forest Science: <http://www.globalforestscience.org/about_us.html>
Global Forest Watch: <http://www.globalforestwatch.org/english/index.htm>
World Rainforest Movement: <http://www.wrm.org.uy/>
TED talk: Biodiversity scientist, Cary Fowler wants to save the world from agricultural
collapse, one seed at a time:
<http://www.ted.com/talks/cary_fowler_one_seed_at_a_time_protecting_the_future_of_food.
html>
Michael Crichton: Fear Complexity and Environmental Management in the 21st Century:
<http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7819184350661384634&ei=D1-xSobSGtqv-
AbfhKmIAg&q=Michael+Crichton+-+Fear+Complexity+and+Environmental+Mgmt+in#>
International Canopy Network (ICAN), Nalini Nadkarni:
<http://academic.evergreen.edu/n/nadkarnn/ican/index.html>
United Nations Environment Programme, Billion Tree Campaign:
<http://www.unep.org/billiontreecampaign/>
World Resources Institute (WRI): <http://www.wri.org/about>
FSC‟s Impact of the Ground, Publication, Beautiful Music, Brand New Starts Escola Lutheria da Amazonia (Lutheria Office School of Amazonia)1996:
<http://www.fsc.org/fileadmin/web-
data/public/document_center/publications/case_studies/BeautifulMusic_Impact_Lutheria.pdf
>
11th Hour, (Environmental Documentary) < http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-
2174195060267517042&ei=c-EWS8z8Kdii-Aa_3aC3BA&q=11TH+HOUR#>
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8429708.stm