Hang on to your lumber!

[larryp58]

As ongoing problems continue with management and record keeping at Gibson, along with diminishing select woods, my only guess is that the premium acoustic guitars made by Gibson Montana in the last few years will become a thing of the past. These instruments I feel will soar in value and become extremely hard to get as they will be sought after by everyone when "the axe falls". Already, other guitar manufacturers (Martin, Gibson, Takamine) are researching other types of materials to construct guitars from (carbon composite, wood laminates, etc.). Solid wood guitars made from rosewood and mahogany will soon be a thing of the past or so expensive many will not be able to afford them (check prices on latest Custom Shop models) I fear. I think guitars from these new materials will be mass-produced and the"hand-made" process will go out the window. My recommendation is to "hang on to your lumber". They're like gold, and will only go up in price. This is just me thinkin' out loud. I hope I'm wrong!!! Thoughts? What are ya'll thinkin'?

[Deadgrateful]

I think guitars will continue to be made outa wood long as were all alive. If they stop making instruments out of wood, then they have to stop making furniture, wine barrels and baseball bats out of wood too. Which isn't going to happen. I think that mahogany production will cease at some point, as will all the other rosewoods, but only till numbers climb. Theres lots of other woods that make good guitars. Personally I like to make all of mine out of compressed Eagles feathers and Unicorn hide.

[ksdaddy]

I have guitars made of pretty wood, expensive wood, rare wood, holy grail wood, and I also have some made of plain-looking plentiful wood, ugly wood, questionable wood, laminated wood, and even more that have very little wood in them at all. A good guitar is a good guitar regardless of it's construction material. A bad guitar is a bad guitar.... well, you know the rest.

 

The cork sniffers will burn me in effigy but I'm here to say it does not make one bit of difference other than giving you bragging rights and four or five digits on your Visa statement. A fine piece of pre-ban Brazilian Rosewood slathered with mermaid saliva is not going to make a good guitar by virtue of it's looks or cellular makeup.

 

I say make them out of what's available.

 

Think back on the history of Gibson. Think of the varied materials used over the years. Then compare that to the various construction methods used over the years. Volutes, double X bracing, big bridge pags, headstock angles, fret size, binding material, various sunbursts, scale lengths, bridge shapes.... really now, which has more bearing on the quality and desirablility of any Gibson?

[J-200 Koa]

Wood will be the material of choice for a long time as far

as guitar building is concerned. However, the quality of

tonewoods has already started to drop. Just five years

ago it was rare to see a D-28 Martin with bearclaw in the

top. Nice, straight grain was the preferred appearance of

the top. Today, you will find traces of bearclaw in D-42s.

Martin has already become less particular in the quality of

their Sitka Spruce tops. Other manufacturers are sure to

follow. As supplies of first quality tonewoods diminish or

increases in price, the use of lower grade woods is certain

to become more common.

[suburude63]

I think guitars will continue to be made outa wood long as were all alive. If they stop making instruments out of wood' date=' then they have to stop making furniture, wine barrels and baseball bats out of wood too. Which isn't going to happen. I think that mahogany production will cease at some point, as will all the other rosewoods, but only till numbers climb. Theres lots of other woods that make good guitars. Personally I like to make all of mine out of compressed Eagles feathers and Unicorn hide.[/quote']

 

Do you guys in GB have any wood left?

[J-200 Koa]

The cork sniffers will burn me in effigy but I'm here to say it does not make one bit of difference other than giving you bragging rights and four or five digits on your Visa statement.

 

I agree that ksdaddy is right in theory. However, when you

charge as much as Gibson does for their guitars you tend to

expect premium woods to match.

[suburude63]

"The cork sniffers will burn me in effigy but I'm here to say it does not make one bit of difference other than giving you bragging rights and four or five digits on your Visa statement. A fine piece of pre-ban Brazilian Rosewood slathered with mermaid saliva is not going to make a good guitar by virtue of it's looks or cellular makeup."

 

 

I agree to a point ! But you dont see crap guitar companys using Braz. Rosewood do you ? You see mostly High Grade Luthiers who make great guitars use it . Why ? Because high grade woods are used make great guitars period !

 

Mahogany is better than plywood to make a guitars back and sides> Great guitars have solid spruce toops not Douglas Fir tops do you think its just to stroke Egos ? Or to produce better sound . Cmon lets get real here.

[albertjohn]

Do you guys in GB have any wood left?

 

We have the mighty English Oak. No good for guitar making I think.

 

Willow for cricket bats.

 

Sycamore grows like a weed in our climate. Apparently part of the maple family and is used for guitar building.

 

I'd say the premium woods will be around a while longer and will see out my time. But like in all things, limited supply will increase the price and guitar builders, like any business, cannot afford to stand still.

[Buc McMaster]

Indeed.......hold what you've got. Though there will be good woods available for guitar building for many decades to come, the quantities will be limited and the prices will be such that the average Joe or Jane will not be able to afford them. The days of a solid wood instrument of traditional materials for under $2K are numbered. Which means our guitars will be the envy of future generations of players, just like we lust after vintage instruments today, the difference being the future will have a very limited, expensive selection of new production traditional wood guitars available.

 

Geez.......did that make any sense?

[Deadgrateful]

guitar builders' date=' like any business, cannot afford to stand still.[/quote']

 

Hmmm, what about mimes?

[MisterGibs]

This is a matter of organisation, I think.

My opinion is that to make a good acoustic instrument - it is like to make a samurai sword. If you want to make a good one - well, it's your grand father that should have been preparing materials for you.

So if Gibson, Martin Takamine and others want to make good guitars and FEEL that there is some problem now - they MUST look around in areas where rosewoods grow up. And to start to cultivate forests.

It will be expencive - oh yes. But just figure it out - If somebody had forseen THAT problem 150 years ago - well - Gibson could have several forests in several parts of the world.

 

Here I have to say that I think - ksdaddy has an absolute right opinion. There are other types of woods and materials to make wonderful guitars.

 

Me - personally, I am not concerned about what will happen. For me it is important what happens just now right here.

 

And the question for me is - do I play good enough on the guitars that I have??????? Do I serve them well????????

[albertjohn]

And the question for me is - do I play good enough on the guitars that I have??????? Do I serve them well????????

 

 

Well said Krassi. You'd make a guitar make from bolsor wood sound good!

[larryp58]

Indeed.......hold what you've got. Though there will be good woods available for guitar building for many decades to come' date=' the quantities will be limited and the prices will be such that the average Joe or Jane will not be able to afford them. The days of a solid wood instrument of traditional materials for under $2K are numbered. Which means our guitars will be the envy of future generations of players, just like we lust after vintage instruments today, the difference being the future will have a very limited, expensive selection of new production traditional wood guitars available.

[/quote']

 

That's exactly what I was saying, Buc!

[MisterGibs]

And my answer is: "No, I don't"

 

So I have to play more and better!

[BigKahune]

The sky is falling . . .

[Buc McMaster]

The sky is falling . . .

 

No. It's trees that are falling.

[ChrisA83]

Hmmm' date=' what about mimes?

[/quote']

[DanvillRob]

Good thing I read all the responses before I started..... For some reason I though "Hang on to your lumber" was naughty!

 

Now I see we're only talking about guitars!

 

I believe premium instruments will continue to be made from wood. However, getting "good" wood will become more and more expensive, and the "good" wood will become "less good", (i.e. visible knots, uneven grain, etc).

 

For me? I'll hold on to all the guitars I cherish, and eventually rid myself of the crap...then one day I'll die and all of this won't matter to me, (except I hope I have grandkids to leave all my stuff to).

[bkharmony]

I really need to get my J-185 12-string and J-200 Western Classic. They'll be untouchable soon.

[RASHARU]

I had a Dean Exotica FM (laminate flamed maple) A/E a while back & it was actually a fantastic guitar. It didn't resonate very well unplugged but it sounded great plugged in. You just never know. I think sometimes we grow to appreciate the sound of whatever we've got.

[BigKahune]

The sky is falling . . .

 

 

No. It's trees that are falling.

 

 

Good point Buc. Too many trees are getting cut down. I've tried a couple of alternative types, including a couple of Martin's HPL boxes with real wood tops and using micarta for the fingerboard and bridge. Actually they sound surprisingly good. I confess I didn't pony up, but my cousin did - a nice Martin HPL guitar with a spruce top, all black. We could be seeing a lot more product like that in the future.

[larryp58]

Great responses! Very good conversation! I hope the guys at Gibson read this stuff! I think I'll go hug my guitars now......

[RASHARU]

I confess I didn't pony up' date=' but my cousin did - a nice Martin HPL guitar with a spruce top, all black. We could be seeing a lot more product like that in the future.[/quote']

 

I have one of the Martin LXM (3/4 size) guitars just like your cousin's. I keep it in my locker at work so I can practice on my lunch hour every day (I work in a noisy factory). People are always amazed at the sound it can produce.. for what it is. Totally unaffected by the weather, too!

[DanvillRob]

I have one of the Martin LXM (3/4 size) guitars just like your cousin's. I keep it in my locker at work so I can practice on my lunch hour every day (I work in a noisy factory). People are always amazed at the sound it can produce.. for what it is. Totally unaffected by the weather' date=' too! [/quote']

 

I had a "Backpacker" once... had a fair amount of sound, but I thought the guitar sucked.

[onewilyfool]

Node and I went to the Healdsburg Guitar Festival this past summer. I have never seen so many Brazillian Rosewood Guitars and Koa Guitars, and Adirondack Spruce guitars in my life. Now THERE is world awareness!!!!

 

I guess these logging companies have never heard of re-forestation????

 

Most Sitka Spruce in Canada is bought up by the Japanese, they use if for prefab homes and building. There are MANY MANY full Sitka Spruce logs sunk in the deep cold water harbors of Japan, which they bought years ago as a stock pile. So Spruce will probably be available for a while. Again someone COULD re-forest.