THE DRAMA OF NOT GOING GREEN

As you are playing your brand-new guitar, you are not only enjoying a well-made instrument but a natural resource—wood. Yet there is a shortage of mahogany, rosewood, and spruce, and some experts are predicting that in fifteen years there may be more problems, which concerns many guitar manufacturers and especially the producers of some of the greatest guitars made.

Take the case of the Sitka spruce. This is the most commonly used wood on acoustic tops. It is also used to make soundboards for many other stringed instruments, like pianos and violins. The Sitka spruce is ideal because of its high strength-to-density ratio. It is grown in the Pacific Northwest climate and now only exists in southeast Alaska. Each tree selected for the production of acoustic tops or soundboards ideally needs to be 250 years old or older in order to achieve the desired tone and to provide a section without knots or blemishes. This section of “clearwood” is needed to create a beautiful, dreadnought-sized guitar top.

The alarming decline in available Sitka Spruce has recently raised some eyebrows amongst the guitar-manufacturing giants Fender, Martin, Taylor and Gibson. At the 2006 NAMM convention in Anaheim, Ca., representatives from the major guitar manufactures were brought together by Greenpeace to discuss the alarming decline of quality Sitka Spruce available for use by the guitar industry. The result of their discussions led to the formation of the MusicWood Coalition. The goal of the coalition will be to try to promote and change logging practices to secure the long-term sustainability of quality tonewoods, before it becomes too late!

Now, instead of the Adirondack Spruce from New York’s Adirondack Mountains feeding the post WWII housing boom, the cherished tonewood Sitka Spruce from Alaska seems to be feeding an economic explosion—but in China! A valuable 250-year-old Sitka Spruce could produce many wonderful-toned acoustic tops, but will end up as lumber for housing in Asia. And according to Greenpeace, these trees are being “clear-cut” an estimated 99% of the time. Clear-cutting is a forest clearing technique that focuses on economies of scale rather than the potential best use of the wood.

To prevent this undesirable outcome, the MusicWood Coalition is trying to pressure Sealaska, the Alaskan logger, to become “more green” in its logging practices. One way to become “more green” is for Sealaska to become FSC certified. FSC stands for the Forest Stewardship Council which requires that forests or parts of certain forests (i.e. Sitka Spruce) are set up for logging based on best available science, while taking into consideration economic as well as social and environmental concerns. From the consumer’s perspective, if a company becomes FSC certified, it is similar to a good housekeeping seal of approval. Sealaska recently attended the 2007 NAMM conference, so it seems their “social responsibility light” is beginning to glow. It is more expensive for Sealaska to shift to practices other than “clear-cut” logging, but as with all “green” initiatives, future generations may thank them.

To bring this full circle, how do you fit in? Well, you can check to see that the guitar you own or, better still, the one you will buy is FSC certified. If not, then look into guitars that are made of FCS certified woods. Remember, we think twice about our shopping bag choice at the grocery store (and Ireland recently imposed a $0.33 per plastic bag tax virtually eliminating its use in less than a month); we are replacing our incandescent light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL’s) and Light Emitting Diodes (LED’s), and solar power is currently all the rage on Wall Street. The music industry must go green too. Do your part to support the MusicWood Coalition and save the Sitka Spruce for future generations of musicians.