An eco future for guitars.

[choucas09]

This thing is made from biodegradable resin and linen fibre. It sounds pretty darn impressive in the clips.

 

[Jo-Jo Beans]

Remind me why I want my guitar to biodegrade, again?






Edit: thought of a reason: so I can have an excuse to buy another guitar further down the line!

 

[Elduderino73]

Do they market these to Prius owners?

 

[Garrett Bagby]

Um, isn't wood biodegradable? But hey, as long as it's sustainable and sounds great, why not?

 

[bgmacaw]

Um, isn't wood biodegradable?

It's also gluten-free

 

[choucas09]

Remind me why I want my guitar to biodegrade, again?

Perhaps I should've been a little less brief in my OP. I think we're all fairly aware of the limited sustainability of many of the hardwoods used in guitar construction. Composite guitars have been around for some time now, but the petroleum base of the resin gives you plastic which is not very bio friendly and remember composite work inevitably creates waste product. So unless you're a climate change sceptic I think you can see an advantage. Whilst a guitar is playable this might not be of concern, but once broken it or undesired it becomes a long term problem for nature.

Another thing that appeals to me is, having worked in the industry, the "friendliness" of the resin/catalyst. With petro-resins you get awful fumes and as health and safety concerns grew we were frequently tested for styrene levels in our blood as it can get nasty.

The resin used here is around 85 percent vegetable oil and it contains a UV catalyst already mixed in. So you lay up in artificial light then switch on UV light and it cures without horrible fumes.

As for the fibre it can be sourced from a number of natural ones, jute,Hemp, flax etc as opposed to carbon, Kevlar or glass which require manufacture.

So you get a guitar with pretty much zero impact ecologically, which, to me, is worth rejoicing.

 

[choucas09]

Um, isn't wood biodegradable? But hey, as long as it's sustainable and sounds great, why not?

The polyester paint job isn't.

 

[Jo-Jo Beans]

Fix your quote job in your above post - it all looks like it came from me.

 

[kenneth]

So you get a guitar with pretty much zero impact ecologically, which, to me, is worth rejoicing.

A significant impact on our environment, is also moving all the stuff we want from place to place. I think an even more eco-friendly, would be if everyone of us listed one guitar on the local craigslist. Our current guitars are quite durable, they should be passed on from owner to owner. I would question the longer term durability of the above guitars, but I don't really know that much about them to comment.

 

[bender]

Perhaps I should've been a little less brief in my OP. I think we're all fairly aware of the limited sustainability of many of the hardwoods used in guitar construction. Composite guitars have been around for some time now, but the petroleum base of the resin gives you plastic which is not very bio friendly and remember composite work inevitably creates waste product. So unless you're a climate change sceptic I think you can see an advantage. Whilst a guitar is playable this might not be of concern, but once broken it or undesired it becomes a long term problem for nature.

Another thing that appeals to me is, having worked in the industry, the "friendliness" of the resin/catalyst. With petro-resins you get awful fumes and as health and safety concerns grew we were frequently tested for styrene levels in our blood as it can get nasty.

The resin used here is around 85 percent vegetable oil and it contains a UV catalyst already mixed in. So you lay up in artificial light then switch on UV light and it cures without horrible fumes.

As for the fibre it can be sourced from a number of natural ones, jute,Hemp, flax etc as opposed to carbon, Kevlar or glass which require manufacture.

So you get a guitar with pretty much zero impact ecologically, which, to me, is worth rejoicing.

Framus (and therefore Warwick, I believe) are carbon neutral at least in production. It was a selling point for me and I will always consider buying another one if I can afford it.

http://www.warwickbass.com/en/Framu...environmental-protection.html#current_site_id

So, I'm all for it. Obviously needs to sound good and play well.

 

[teledude55]

I talked with the Martin guys on Facebook and they say they have Farmers who grow their trees for them, they aren't destroying the forests.

 

[Garrett Bagby]

The polyester paint job isn't.

Another argument in favor of nitro! So then what happens to a poly finished guitar when it goes to the land fill? The metal could be harvested for scrap (but I doubt anyone would bother yanking frets). I would think moisture would work its way into the screw holes, etc. and rot the wood. Does the finish hang around in the soil in fragments like a plastic bag?

Interesting information, for sure. I was also curious about what negatives were involved in the production of the composite.

 

[choucas09]

Okay, farmers grow trees for them. Viable when it comes to softwoods. I can't help, but notice that the guitars in question tend to use rosewood, ebony and mahogany. If you google trees red list you'll find 4 species of ebony, 4 of mahogany and 5 of rosewood all listed as endangered or vulnerable. When you chop down a 250 yr old rosewood tree and replace it with a sapling I think that's quite a broad view of sustainability. Plus you've got a blooming long wait for your product.

 

[choucas09]

Garrett I've only just discovered this Eco-resin/natural fibre thing, but what I've checked out so far didn't appear to contain any negatives.

 

[bgmacaw]

Okay, farmers grow trees for them. Viable when it comes to softwoods. I can't help, but notice that the guitars in question tend to use rosewood, ebony and mahogany.

There are a number of fast growing hardwoods that are farm grown that are often used to build guitars.

Can I interest you in a stained maple fretboard instead of a rosewood one? No? Think of the planet.

 

[Mutley]

Choucas09 said,
"As for the fibre it can be sourced from a number of natural ones, jute, Hemp, flax etc. as opposed to carbon, Kevlar or glass which require manufacture." And in a pinch you can always break off a bit of the headstock and pop it into the bong!

 

[doublescale1]

at a certain point, mass produced guitars will have to switch to alternate's for what is now the usual "tone-wood suspects" we see it starting now - rosewood and ebony for fretboards now comes with different colors in the wood that was never used in the past. Mahogany is being sourced from different species now too - Richlite is being used as a composite ebony-like fretboard substitute, entire carbon fiber guitars - and on and on. It may not affect us, but our grandchildren, or their kids, will be playing guitars built from different materials that will claim to be as good as the old stuff, or they will have inherited our guitars and be playing those...

 

[goodwater]

I'm more concerned about a sustainable future for people which is seeming less and less likely

 

[Hulakatt]

I thought guitar manufacturing was reaching somewhat of a saturation point anyway. It seems less people are playing and there has never been more guitars being manufactured. Also most guitars are taken enough care of and resold, passed down and moved around as opposed to new sales.

 

[Dspec1]

Frankly, all this appears to be marketing hype. Sorry.