Green Guitars: A Guide to Eco-friendly Axes

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And with Taylor, Fender and Yamaha also getting in on the act, finding that future-friendly, sustainable guitar should start getting easier and easier.

But as a guitarist looking to make the transition from earth-harming Guitar Zero to tree-friendly Guitar Hero, is the use of instruments made from sustainable wood the only option?

Bamboo and plastic bottles

Making guitars whilst being mindful of the environment is a relatively recent concept but using non-wood materials in guitar manufacture is nothing new. In the 1860s Antonio de Torres famously made a guitar's back and sides out of papier-mache to prove that it was the spruce top of the guitar which produced most of the guitar's volume. Since then a whole host of materials from masonite to graphite to plexiglass to aluminum to carbon graphite have appeared but few have been accepted by musicians, who desperately cling to their beloved wood as babies to a doll.

Here are a few, but by no means all, of the recent green innovations that have caught my eye...

Ever heard of flaxwood?

Flaxwood is completely new and is produced by breaking down non-endangered European spruce and binding it with a special polymer which ensures consistent tonal integrity. This material is then injection-molded to form the neck, body and back-plate/resonator.

The finished product is fully recyclable. It can be melted down and used to produce new guitars (which is what happens to guitars that don't pass the company's strict quality control). The nut is teflon-based and the inlays are celluloid.

As no exotic wood is needed, the initial transport footprint is greatly reduced. The unique production method also means no waste from cut-offs—anything that isn't used the first time round is simply melted down and used again.

The makers claim their Flaxwood guitars have "the stability and uniformity of graphite but with a warm woody sound". No idle boast either, as the Liekki model has just received a 5-star review (the awarding of which is rarer than Brazilian rosewood) in Premier Guitar magazine's June 2009 issue. Reviewer Pat Smith had this to say, "I have played guitars many times the cost of these that can't touch them for playabil-ity, fit or finish. The sound is good and versatile, and the neck is probably the best feeling neck I've ever had my hands on. I would encourage you to seek one out and try it for yourself."

Recycling is the NEW Rock N Roll

Simon Lee's Cyclotron guitars (the unusual name is a mash of recycled and electronic and that also happens to be shared by an early particle accelerator) have an outer body shell made from 100% recycled materials, including offcuts from industrial pipes, coffee cups, food industry plastics, CDs, yoghurt pots and plastic bottles. Each one is VERY unique due to "the random nature of the color distribution" and all are made by hand.

Wood for the body core is sourced from either local (UK) or recognized FSC-certified suppliers. For the neck, Simon is always on the lookout for sustainable, non-tropical wood and will try to source locally (although he readily admits this is not always possible). The hardware (fixings, pickups and strings) are also produced locally. He doesn't use abalone or mother of pearl for inlays so is kind to marine animals too.

Materials used to produce the guitars are always under review and waste is kept to a minimum. Environmental consideration is always at the forefront of the manufacturing processes.

Don't feed it to the pandas

First Act's Bambusa guitar has a body and neck made of one of the fastest growing plants on the planet—bamboo. The world of the green consumer has been revolutionized by bamboo, so why shouldn't guitar players benefit from this uniquely versatile natural product too?

Processed bamboo is harder than maple and being such a readily available resource has obvious financial advantages for the consumer—the finished product is fairly inexpensive. It's natural water-based finish is complimented by a good solid tone that's sure to please.

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