Brazilian Rosewood Tree
Important enough to use wood from an endangered species? Specifically, Brazilian Rosewood?
But let’s take this even a step further. How important is tone in general to you? Important enough to buy gear from manufacturers who use non-sustainable materials or do not practice environmentally-safe methods of construction and waste disposal?
I ran across an interesting thread on The Gear Page last night that really got me thinking. In that article, guitar builder Terry McInturff wrote that he lost a sale because he refuses to use Brazilian Rosewood – actually the article bothered me to the point that I decided to join in the call to action to not use Brazilian Rosewood (Click here to read the article – opens a new window).
But after a lot of troubled thought last night, I decided to make an environmental support statement of my own that not only includes Brazilian rosewood, but extends to other issues as well. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a tree hugger, but I believe that as the highest-order intelligence inhabitants of this planet, we all have a responsibility to act as stewards of the Earth to protect and preserve its resources for the enjoyment and enrichment of the people of this world, now and in the future.
What troubled me last night is the fact that as a tone freak, my beloved instrument is often constructed of exotic woods, and often painted using dangerous and environmentally unsafe materials and disposal methods. There’s nothing I can do about guitars have already been built, but there is something I can do about the ones that haven’t, and lots I can do personally to not support deforestation of exotic woods and environmentally unsafe construction methods.
Why am I making this appeal here? Because I believe that we guitarists have a huge collective voice that will be heard if we take a stand together. Please don’t read this wrong: I’m not saying we should be militant and go out and commit some violent act to prove a point. That’s just plain stupidity and acting on rage. No one wins with that kind of behavior. Instead, I’m going to make what I’ll call my “Green” statement:
Brendan’s “Green” Guitar Statement
- I will only purchase guitars that are made with non-endangered species of wood.
- I will only purchase guitar gear from manufacturers who practice environmentally safe methods of construction and waste disposal.
- I will take the time to research companies’ practices before making a decision.
- I will encourage my fellow guitarists in making a “Green” stand.
This is a statement of passive resistance, and a refusal to be part of things that will have a deletrious effect on the Earth. I’m sure there will be those who will call me names, and who really don’t give a shit about any of this. I can’t control that, but neither will I judge them back. Everyone has a choice. I get that. I’m just taking public stand that I will do my best to contribute to the health and not the harm of our planet. If it makes me unpopular, so be it. But if I don’t have my principles, then what do I have?
I also realize that this eliminates a fairly wide range of gear builders, especially the big brands, who have fairly large facilities overseas where environmental controls are much more lax than in the States. It also means that I will probably have to pay a higher price for gear that abides by the stand I’m taking. Again, so be it. What’s the price to my children in the future if I don’t act responsibily about our Earth now?
I love serendipitous moments, when I stumble upon something new when I’m doing something else entirely. Such was the case of me stumbling upon Tone Freak pedals. I was seeing if the domain name “tonefreak.com” was taken, and at the top of the search results was Tone Freak Effects. You know me and overdrive and distortion pedals. I LOVE ‘EM! And Tone Freak Effects specializes in two kinds of overdrive, two kinds of distortion pedals, plus a buffer/booster and a really nice trem pedal.
Guitar Gear 