Eco friendly options

dtr · April 2016

I'm after a new acoustic, with a budget of £1k to £1.5k and have decided its time to demonstrate my environmentally friendly credentials by making sure whatever I buy is properly Earth-hugging and organic. No more lusting over tropical hardwood for me.

It needs to be a OM/GA/00/000 kind of small (not parlour small) fingerpicking thing, and I have a strong preference for a 45mm nut width. I'd be fine with a short scale length, though am expecting most options to be standard 650mm. I have no need at all for a pickup, this is just for home & social playing.

So far I've spotted the Bedell Earthsong Orchestra and Martin SWOMGT, both of which I'll try and find to play. I'm also interested in the thought of getting a Lakewood custom made with their 'european woods only' option.

I guess I'm interested in hearing from anyone who's done the Lakewood custom thing, and also wanting to know what other options are available. Are there any UK makers who do european-sourced wood guitars?

earwighoney · April 2016

When it comes to avoiding tropical hardwood for an acoustic guitar it can be a bit on the tricky side of things.

For the backs and sides, there are a lot of non tropical options. Maple, Walnut, Yew and so on.

The Gibson J-35 is made with all North American woods, like the Bedell. I've played the J-35 which is a cracking guitar, but the one thing which I myself would be a bit apprehensive towards is the Black Walnut fingerboard, which IMO is too soft a wood for a fingerboard.

I'm a big fan of Furch guitars and they have an eco friendly model all made with FSC woods, the Furch 23 Blue Planet model which is 650mm/45mm at the nut.

I've not played the Martin SWOMGT, but I've heard nothing but praise for it, it's supposed to be one of their hidden gems in their range.

Lakewood's guitars seem to divide opinion, I'd definitely try one first.

I know of a few UK makers who'd make you a guitar with all Euro woods. The first who come to mind are Brook, who are based in Devon. I've played quite a few of their guitars, maybe 10 or 15 and they have all been amazing but their guitars new are more than your budget at £2.25k but I believe their instruments are worth every penny.

CHRISB50 · April 2016

There is a guy in the US who makes 'planet saving guitars' called Jedediah Wiebe. I think he only makes from reclaimed woods.

http://jedidiah.ca

But I think he will be out of your price range.

ArchtopDave · April 2016

dtr said:

I guess I'm interested in hearing from anyone who's done the Lakewood custom thing, and also wanting to know what other options are available. Are there any UK makers who do european-sourced wood guitars?

You could try contacting Mark Bailey (www.baileyguitars.co.uk) to discuss options and cost. I know he's very interested in doing things in an environmentally friendly way, or you could go and build your own with him. It is possible that the cost could be a little bit more than £1.5k. I recently spent somewhat more than this making an Acoustic with him, as I made a complex rosette plus binding and pickups - I posted a Thread in the Making and Modding Section - OM Acoustic Build (Mark Bailey Course).

dtr · April 2016

Thanks folks - lots to think about...

@earwighoney - Great to know about the Furch Blue Planet! I've played a couple of Furch guitars and they've both been brilliant - until I'd decided on the eco thing, I was about to go with a Furch OM-22-SR, so knowing they do the Blue Planet puts them about the top of the list.

Brooks and Jeremiahs would be lovely, but sadly out of my reach.

@archtopdave - Just took a look at Baileyguitars and signed up for the newsletter. I like the thought of the build-your-own course (imagining building my own Rumrunner...hmmm). Might just be possible that I can get the necessary approvals to stretch the budget if it's an educational experience, rather than just me buying a new toy! (particularly if I suggest that the skills learned will be invaluable around the house).

richardhomer · April 2016

Why not just buy a used one, made of traditional tone woods? That way you're not 'adding' to the demand from the manufacturer - and therefore on the supply chain?

Some makers (notably Taylor) are doing a lot of work on sustainability - though no maker is likely to want to elimate the supply of what they use to make their guitars in all likelihood.

dtr · April 2016

richardhomer said:

Why not just buy a used one, made of traditional tone woods? That way you're not 'adding' to the demand from the manufacturer - and therefore on the supply chain?

Some makers (notably Taylor) are doing a lot of work on sustainability - though no maker is likely to want to elimate the supply of what they use to make their guitars in all likelihood.

Yeah, I've thought about that but I'm not sure it's that straightforward. It's times like this we need an economist!

I'm uncertain whether me buying a used guitar will lead to less demand at all. It could be that the seller uses the funds to buy another guitar, which chances are will be the usual tropical hardwood. I won't have reduced demand at all, just lost the ability to influence.

Thinking it through, the only way I can really not add to the total demand is to not get a new guitar at all. I don't get to decide the demand from the rest of the world, so the total world demand for guitars will be the same whatever guitar I choose, and only be one less if I choose not to get any of them.

If that's the case, what matters is the ratio of demand for the eco options against the demand for tropical hardwoods. There's obviously some demand for alternatives to tropical hardwoods - enough to start having an influence on manufacturers - and it seems to me that choosing that option would at least mean that of the sum of the world's guitars that's one more 'eco' guitar and one less tropical hardwood guitar, as well as a sign to the manufacturer that public demand for environmentally better options is there, confirming that the manufacturer's efforts in that direction are justified.

I'm also aware that I have heard very, very few non-tropical hardwood acoustics. Guitarists are just about the most conservative traditionalists on the planet, judging by the fact that the sign of excellence in modern production is often the degree to which it accurately replicates 1920s to 1960s production. It took a while for the general consensus to accept changes like Indian rosewood instead of Brazilian. I think the assumption will be that newer alternatives must sound worse, and the preconceptions we bring to our judgments are very influenced by the degree to which we romanticize the past.

I was very interested to read the Leonardo Guitar Research Project findings (http://www.leonardo-guitar-research.com/research-report-lgrp) which tested guitars made with traditional materials against guitars made with newer alternative woods. The average preference over many and various A/B tests was that 75% (of players and listeners) thought the traditionally made guitars sounded better when they could see them, but when they couldn't see them, the results were 50%/50%.

Sorry for wittering on. The more I look into this, the more interesting I find it!

earwighoney · April 2016

dtr said:
I'm also aware that I have heard very, very few non-tropical hardwood acoustics.

When it comes to non traditional back and side woods I've played a fair number of non tropical wood guitars. The ones I can remember include cherry, Black Walnut, Claro Walnut, English Walnut, Sycamore, Maple, and Yew.

I know a few people who participated in the Leonardo Guitar project and I think a few unexpectedly to their expectations they favoured the English Walnut guitars to be their favourites - but IMO it's not much surprise it's one of the finest back and sides out there; not just for a sustainable wood but overall.

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