• From: N.Wales, UK
  • Registered: 2009-03-06
  • Posts: 2,183

Topic: Guitar makers to run out of wood within ten years?

http://rocknewsdesk.com/world-news/guit … ears/2771/

Do you believe it?

Options?

Thoughts?

  • From: Grapevine, Tejas
  • Registered: 2009-11-03
  • Posts: 1,248

Re: Guitar makers to run out of wood within ten years?

It's hard to beleive that a renewable resource, which can be farmed, will become a shortage to the point of not being able to make guitars.

If Gibson is really that worried about it, they should go buy some land and plant trees.

  • From: York, PA
  • Registered: 2010-08-27
  • Posts: 1,749

Re: Guitar makers to run out of wood within ten years?

Rockfarmer wrote:

It's hard to beleive that a renewable resource, which can be farmed, will become a shortage to the point of not being able to make guitars.

If Gibson is really that worried about it, they should go buy some land and plant trees.

Thats a good idea.  Since Gibson is such a heavy hitter in the industry I wonder if it has been brought up in any corporate meetings?  And if there is a wood shortage, the arm and leg they charge now for a guitar will seem like pennies in 10 years.

  • Registered: 2011-05-04
  • Posts: 16

Re: Guitar makers to run out of wood within ten years?

They're nuts. With the exception of some of the most rare stuff like ebony or some of the rose woods, there's not going to be any shortage of maple or mahogony. Living in the Western Washington, having a brother in law that makes his living selling maple to builders like PRS, Collings, Fender and others and knowing the in and outs of reforrestation I can say they're nuts.  Sounds to me like someone trying to drive the price of wood and/or guitars up with panic propoganda not based on fact.
shawn

  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2008-10-26
  • Posts: 2,926

Re: Guitar makers to run out of wood within ten years?

Agreed.  Gibson, and all the major guitar makers are on a team that was started back 3 or 4 years ago to preserve spruce trees for acoustic guitars.  Who is the lead chairman of this team?  None other then the CEO of Gibson himself.  I don't know a lot about trees but I do know that CEO's and corperate america only tells the people what they want the people to hear.  As long as there is oxygen in the world and Carbon Dioxide for plants wooden guitars will be fine.  Even if you have to get them made out of a different wood then you'd like your guitars are still going to be around.

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  • RickB
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  • From: San Diego
  • Registered: 2009-10-30
  • Posts: 12,198

Re: Guitar makers to run out of wood within ten years?

With composite tech I'm sure you can make a substitute that will have the exact feel and tone of the exotic rare woods which are the ones that are scarce.
Rick

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  • From: Darwin, Australia
  • Registered: 2010-04-13
  • Posts: 1,304

Re: Guitar makers to run out of wood within ten years?

Most large guitar manufacturers get their wood from 'tree farms' that practice sustainable reforestation.

This of course leads to the question of whether newer, or younger woods from specialist plantations are as good as the natural 'old growth' tree of decades past?

After all, it is rumoured that Stradivarius built his best violins from wood that was millions of years old that was found entombed in an ancient glacier...

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  • From: Detroit
  • Registered: 2006-06-02
  • Posts: 5,807

Re: Guitar makers to run out of wood within ten years?

Good. The crap guitar companies will go out of business, and the quality guitar companies will get more expensive and stay in business.

I think (gasp) there needs to be less guitars in existence. I liked them more when they were rare.

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
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  • Registered: 2011-03-03
  • Posts: 75

Re: Guitar makers to run out of wood within ten years?

There are thousands of them sitting in closets and attics gathering dust; if they do go up in value maybe people who actually play can acquire those as the other people realize they have a valuable resource being wasted.

My name is Red. I like the Blues.

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  • Registered: 2010-02-11
  • Posts: 14

Re: Guitar makers to run out of wood within ten years?

Never knew building guitrs results in impotence.

  • Registered: 2007-11-04
  • Posts: 404

Re: Guitar makers to run out of wood within ten years?

NPB_EST.1979 wrote:

Good. The crap guitar companies will go out of business, and the quality guitar companies will get more expensive and stay in business.

I think (gasp) there needs to be less guitars in existence. I liked them more when they were rare.


We need companies that make entry level guitars.  Part of what makes guitar cool is that youngs kids can get a cheap guitar and learn how to play it.  Then as they get better their gear gets better.

At least thats how I started.  I still have my first 4 cheap guitars.  I would have never picked up the guitar if the only thing available was a 3000 dollar gibson.

Music in general would start to really suck if we limited guitars to just those who are rich.  Its usually the poorer kids who find a passion playing their **## guitar from china who gets good enough to become professional and make music we all like.

I would hope you were being sarcastic. smile

  • From: Was NY now FL/GA line
  • Registered: 2007-12-16
  • Posts: 2,857

Re: Guitar makers to run out of wood within ten years?

Rockfarmer wrote:

It's hard to beleive that a renewable resource, which can be farmed, will become a shortage

Believe it!

I'll tell you what, Don't create the demand. Go plant a tree.

  • From: N.Wales, UK
  • Registered: 2009-03-06
  • Posts: 2,183

Re: Guitar makers to run out of wood within ten years?

I can imagine it like the demand for metals like copper for China now...people looting (not that they already don't for drugs etc  roll  mad ) guitars for the precious wood...tearing up old chest of drawers...coffee tables...

Can I have a Les Paul? That's 7kgs of mahogany...that'll be 20k please.

  • From: Detroit
  • Registered: 2006-06-02
  • Posts: 5,807

Re: Guitar makers to run out of wood within ten years?

jgalvan8804 wrote:

I still have my first 4 cheap guitars.  I would have never picked up the guitar if the only thing available was a 3000 dollar gibson.

no I wasn't being sarcastic. But if guitars weren't as easy to come by, less kids would take them for granted. there's always the kid that wants to get one and throw it under the bed after a week. If all that was available was $700+ guitars... the guitar would be a higher value mentally. Guitars have always been heirlooms too, so families could hand them down without thinking their only option is to buy new.

Guitars were expensive back in the early to mid 1900's and poor bluesmen were able to get their hands on them, so I think if the desire is there they'd find a way. People save up for computers, cars, college, etc... I wouldn't say it's impossible to get just because there's less of them and more expensive.



I'm sort of getting sick of hearing that everyone plays guitar nowadays.
Question: What do you do in Nashville when a guitar player knocks on your door?
Answer: You pay him for the pizza.

maybe the 30's are making me batty sad

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15 Reply by schrom81 (edited by schrom81 2011-08-15 09:31:03)

  • Registered: 2011-06-23
  • Posts: 72

Re: Guitar makers to run out of wood within ten years?

NPB_EST.1979 wrote:
jgalvan8804 wrote:

I still have my first 4 cheap guitars.  I would have never picked up the guitar if the only thing available was a 3000 dollar gibson.

no I wasn't being sarcastic. But if guitars weren't as easy to come by, less kids would take them for granted. there's always the kid that wants to get one and throw it under the bed after a week. If all that was available was $700+ guitars... the guitar would be a higher value mentally. Guitars have always been heirlooms too, so families could hand them down without thinking their only option is to buy new.

Guitars were expensive back in the early to mid 1900's and poor bluesmen were able to get their hands on them, so I think if the desire is there they'd find a way. People save up for computers, cars, college, etc... I wouldn't say it's impossible to get just because there's less of them and more expensive.



I'm sort of getting sick of hearing that everyone plays guitar nowadays.
Question: What do you do in Nashville when a guitar player knocks on your door?
Answer: You pay him for the pizza.
maybe the 30's are making me batty sad


I have had lots of students that were given expensive les pauls from there parents and still don't understand the value of it . Ive had kids with the cheapest peace of junk strat rip off (like my self when I started It was called an axecalibure get it lol) that valued the crap out of it and became great players.

I don't think the value of it would stop lots of people from not wasting the instrument, only stop the less fortunate from starting up.

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