Sunday, March 31, 2013

Know Your Woods

     Have you ever wondered where the woods of your guitar came from? What the trees look like before they were harvested?

     During some downtime in band practice last week, these were the questions on my mind. I did not have any concrete answers, and because I’m a guitar-geek I was surprised that I didn’t. So in the spirit of this blog I set out to discover where these woods came from, and what exactly the trees looked like.

     Here is a brief slide show of photos to share what I’ve learned; the guitar I was playing last week turned out to be the perfect starting point. It is made from mahogany, maple, and ebony—a popular combination in electric guitars.

     Embedded in the slides are hyperlinks that take you to videos for more information. Much of what appears in the slides is basic & straightforward, yet I never knew it before this project. It also provides a good starting point before going deeper into the issues surrounding logging, and guitar production.

Note: Its best viewed in full screen~

Enjoy!


Friday, March 22, 2013

Greetings, and Welcome!


Greetings, and welcome!

            Tree Rings & Guitar Strings is ready to roll. I am still adding to it, but the Facebook badge is on page left, a blog button and search function on page right. I’ve also added are tabs for the About/FAQ, and Links pages.

            There are a lot of exciting things on the horizon, but first what is this blog all about?

            I am a music fan, nuts about guitars, and love forests. So imagine my surprise when I learned that Ebony, a tonewood used for musical instruments since the ancient Egyptians, has been harvested to near extinction. There is now only one place in the world that it can be legally harvested. Sitka Spruce, another key element in guitars, is in danger of disappearing in 10 years due to clear-cutting of old-growth forests. This was just the beginning; the more I researched these issues, the more I found…

            Through this blog, I seek to raise awareness of issues threatening the future of trees, guitars, and music; to change traditionally held perceptions of guitar manufacturing, and foster acceptance of non-traditional methods, while making the world a better place through the healing powers of music.

           The articles, photographs, and videos here will focus on three, interrelated themes:          
                   1) Threatened forest habitats.
                   2) Guitar production
                   3) Music.

            This will also serve as a resource to post what I’ve learned while researching these issues, and I encourage others to research, and share what they’ve learned as well.

            One of the most exciting features of this blog will be entries sharing what I’ve learned from visits to West Coast guitar builders. Some of the builders I plan to visit in the next few weeks are: Taylor, Carvin, Fender, G&L, and Tom Anderson. I hope to visit Breedlove in Oregon, and Rainsong Guitars in Washington. 

            Additional research plans include books, journals, websites, news articles, governmental regulations, activist organizations, and movies concerning guitar & forest stewardship, and music.

            Again, I want to encourage visitors to conduct their own research, and share their findings here, and on their own blogs as we build this social movement together.  

Hang on- its going to be an exciting year!