2.5-minute read

Acoustic or electric, soul-soothing or headbanging, the tonal quality of the guitar music that puts you in the zone is greatly influenced by the types of wood used to craft the body, neck, and fingerboard of the instrument. Whether it’s sourced from a common tree species like ash, spruce, or maple, or an exotic tropical like ebony, rosewood, or mahogany, the wood used to construct guitars, known as tonewood, has unique characteristics—such as density, resonance, texture, and warp resistance—that lend that special something to the sound of the strings. As a result of decades of deforestation, legal and illegal logging for export, and the introduction of invasive insects and disease, many of the trees used to produce the world’s most valuable tonewoods are now under threat.

To identify eco-friendly alternatives to endangered tree species, researchers in Germany and Finland are working to unpick the acoustic properties of rare tonewoods. In the meantime, Taylor and Fender, industry leaders in the art and science of building stringed instruments, have stepped up to launch two propagation and planting projects designed to help save the imperiled ebony and ash trees used to create the distinctive sounds of their guitars.

The jet-black, extremely durable, insect-resistant heartwood of the African ebony tree (Diospyros crassiflora) is one of the most prized and expensive woods on the planet. Ebony heartwood has been used for centuries to make everything from ships and sculptures to furniture and flooring. It is also one of the best woods for stringed instrument fingerboards and the one preferred by many acoustic and electric guitar manufacturers. One of 10,000 tree species currently facing extinction, African ebony trees grow in small, isolated clusters in lowland rainforests from Nigeria to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. During the last century, over 50% of ebony have been cut down. Almost all of the large trees from the slow-growing species have been harvested for export. Researchers at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands estimate that 10 to 30% of those exports are illegally logged.

Enter Taylor Guitars and the Ebony Project: a pioneering conservation partnership between the guitar manufacturer, UCLA, the Congo Basin Institute, and The Higher Institute of Environmental Sciences. Based in Cameroon, Africa, the Ebony Project was established to protect and conserve the rare tree species, develop livelihoods for rural communities, reforest degraded land, and increase rainforest habitat. Trained by Ebony Project staff, local communities learn to build and maintain nurseries and propagate and grow ebony saplings. The nurseries are donated to the community to grow other valuable food and medicinal trees for sale or personal use, including mango, avocado, and kola. With the ultimate goal of planting 15,000 trees, the Ebony Project aims to create a sustainable model for the production of the exotic tonewood that also provides critical social and economic benefits to local people. Thriving forests, self-sufficient rural communities, and more guitar music for your ears—a conservation triple win.

And in Cleveland Ohio, home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, FWP tree-planting partner American Forests has launched the Roots of Rock initiative with Fender Musical Instruments and researchers at the U.S. Forest Service in an effort to save the ash tree (Fraxinus Americana) from the hungry maw of the emerald ash borer (EAB). Fender has used ash to construct its legendary electric guitars for 70 years, but since the EAB arrived in the U.S. in 2002, the invasive species has destroyed hundreds of millions of ash trees in North America putting the future of rock at risk. To ensure Fender aficionados can continue to practice their musical artistry, the Roots of Rock team is identifying trees that have successfully warded off the voracious insect. Seeds and shoots from those resilient trees are being used to breed an EAB-resistant variety of ash that will help restore the species to its former glory. Knowledge gained from the Roots of Rock initiative to preserve the music of trees will also be used to combat invasive insects and diseases that threaten the survival of other native species to better protect the health and biodiversity of forests in North America and around the world.

You can learn more about the Roots of Rock Initiative here and read a progress report on the Ebony Project here. Oh, and by the way, rock on!