Guitar Makers To Run Out Of Wood In 10 Years

[JTUK]

i think luthiers have known about this issue for 20 years plus...
I certainly paid a premium for using woods from a sustainable source all those years ago...apparently.

If producing countries allow their resource to dwindle, then they will lose a valuable commodity.
Softwoods are sustainable ... although they tend to grow quicker, so you need to be more proactive with harder woods.

[DirkThrust]

We could always do what the guy on Talkbass did.

Went to his local Home Depot (B&Q to you and me), bought a plank of wood, mounted the neck, pickups, bridge and all the rest of the hardware from his fancy bass made of "Tonewoods" onto the plank.

Then he recorded some sound samples and offered them up on the forum for a blind listening test and guess what... No-one could tell the difference.

[Happy Jack]

Sorted.

[flyfisher]

[quote name='DirkThrust' post='1328235' date='Aug 5 2011, 08:27 AM']We could always do what the guy on Talkbass did.

Went to his local Home Depot (B&Q to you and me), bought a plank of wood, mounted the neck, pickups, bridge and all the rest of the hardware from his fancy bass made of "Tonewoods" onto the plank.

Then he recorded some sound samples and offered them up on the forum for a blind listening test and guess what... No-one could tell the difference.[/quote]



Reminds me of something I read in a hi-fi magazine many years ago (decades actually ) where someone had arranged a blind audition of two classical music set-ups for a bunch of hi-fi critics. The gist of the article was that the results were pretty much unanimous and the assembled experts in high-fidelity musical reproduction systems had preferred a recording played through a mid-range hi-fi system over a live string quartet.

The trouble with music is that it's very much an emotional thing, so knowledge and context can make a big difference. If you really think that the 'best' sound can only be achieved by using exotic woods, hand-wired valve amps and fancy cabs then it will almost certainly affect your listening experience. But take away the context and knowledge of how the music is being made so that the music itself is the only thing to judge and it's a different matter.

Why else do bedroom players the world over spend vast amounts of money on boutique equipment while globally revered musicians like Macca manage to 'get by' with instruments costing a small fraction of the money?

Talent makes great music, not expensive equipment.

[dc2009]

[quote name='markstuk' post='1327482' date='Aug 4 2011, 05:23 PM']+1

They could always buy forests and manage them sustainably if it's that important to them....[/quote]

Fairly sure that Warwick are doing this. Despite the fact some of their favoured woods are obscenely rare, IIRC they've increased forest size to make their usage sustainable. I'm sure other companies are doing this, but these are ones that I know of.

[dc2009]

[quote name='DirkThrust' post='1328235' date='Aug 5 2011, 08:27 AM']We could always do what the guy on Talkbass did.

Went to his local Home Depot (B&Q to you and me), bought a plank of wood, mounted the neck, pickups, bridge and all the rest of the hardware from his fancy bass made of "Tonewoods" onto the plank.

Then he recorded some sound samples and offered them up on the forum for a blind listening test and guess what... No-one could tell the difference.[/quote]

I'd argue things like maple as a neckwood won't be chosen all that much for their sound. There are plenty of issues to think of, those such as density (read as: weight and balance), aesthetics, feel, compatability of joining with other, sometimes non-wood materials, susceptibility to environmental conditions (especially if it's made in korea then shipped to somewhere else), [b]workability[/b] is a big factor as it affects labour and tooling time and costs etc etc.

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='flyfisher' post='1328493' date='Aug 5 2011, 11:37 AM']the 'best' sound can only be achieved by using exotic woods, hand-wired valve amps and fancy cabs then it will almost certainly affect your listening experience.[/quote]

That just made me think, how come you can buy a hand wired valve amp for so much less than a fancy bass, especially since whilst you can only play one bass at a time, you can play many valve amps at a time (and should). I guess it is a skill thing, monkeys can handwire valve amps.

[dc2009]

[quote name='flyfisher' post='1328493' date='Aug 5 2011, 11:37 AM']Talent makes great music, not expensive equipment.[/quote]

But expensive equipment can arguably give you more pleasure playing what you do, and can arguably inspire you to play better etc etc

[Roland Rock]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1328520' date='Aug 5 2011, 11:50 AM']That just made me think, how come you can buy a hand wired valve amp for so much less than a fancy bass, especially since whilst you can only play one bass at a time, you can play many valve amps at a time (and should). I guess it is a skill thing, monkeys can handwire valve amps.[/quote]


It won't last long. Wire bushes have been irresponsibly overharvested and current estimates reckon wire supplies will run out in 12 years

[BigRedX]

[quote name='dc2009' post='1328527' date='Aug 5 2011, 11:53 AM']But expensive equipment can arguably give you more pleasure playing what you do, and can arguably inspire you to play better etc etc[/quote]
It doesn't have to be expensive, just an instrument that inspires you to play...

However if your tastes aren't particularly mainstream then you'll find that most of the inspiring instruments are the products of small companies or handcrafted which brings a premium to the price.

[dc2009]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1328599' date='Aug 5 2011, 12:32 PM']It doesn't have to be expensive, just an instrument that inspires you to play...

However if your tastes aren't particularly mainstream then you'll find that most of the inspiring instruments are the products of small companies or handcrafted which brings a premium to the price.[/quote]

Agreed, by saying expensive may I guess I more meant a good instrument may inspire etc etc - though typically good instruments command a highish price, though of course this does not necessarily mean £10k's worth of Fodera or equivalent

[lozbass]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1328240' date='Aug 5 2011, 08:31 AM']Sorted.

[/quote]
Yep - spent 30 minutes playing an exotic 'bic last night, then 30 minutes on a Streamline this morning - just as much fun. There's tons of graphite left (great news for crap players like me, I can carry on supplying all the good players with reasonably-priced used basses)

Edited August 5, 2011 by lozbass

[4000]

Hmm, I really need to try a Streamline.....

[dc2009]

[quote name='4000' post='1328649' date='Aug 5 2011, 01:02 PM']Hmm, I really need to try a Streamline.....[/quote]

Make sure you avoid looking at it when you do, they look like they got left in the autoclave a little too long....

[dan670844]

[quote name='jezzaboy' post='1327371' date='Aug 4 2011, 04:45 PM']Have a read. Potentially very scary.

[url="http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/guitar_makers_to_run_out_of_wood_in_10_years.html"]http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/genera...n_10_years.html[/url]

Jez[/quote]

B@@locks!! they can start taking those blue pills........ work wonders Ive heard...

[Ross]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1327439' date='Aug 4 2011, 05:04 PM']Not really. Maybe we will all start playing our instruments and valuing them for what they are instead of buying them, playing them for 10 minutes then selling them on so we can buy another one or comissioning new ones that are a hairs breadth different from the last one we commissioned. There are certainly more instrumenhts than there are good players so I see no problem here.[/quote]
The problem lies in the cost of instruments will rise, it'll make it difficult for people to get into it young.
I remember when I started, it took me months to buy a cheap starter bass, if it'd been twice/ three times the price I don't know whether I'd gotten into music.

[muttley]

[quote name='Ross' post='1328745' date='Aug 5 2011, 02:19 PM']The problem lies in the cost of instruments will rise, it'll make it difficult for people to get into it young.
I remember when I started, it took me months to buy a cheap starter bass, if it'd been twice/ three times the price I don't know whether I'd gotten into music.[/quote]

No, manufacturers will still use low-cost materials for their instruments and/or find cheaper ways of producing them. There is a large market for starter instruments and the manufacturers will not ignore this market by pricing themselves out of it.

Regarding the more "exotic" and rare woods, if supply of these becomes scarce the price of some boutique basses will or course rise. However, I cannot see this doing any harm to either the makers or their customers as the latter will still pay.