Anyone heard if Fender will be not using rosewood anytime soon?

God I hope not.

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http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam

Not much of a rosewood fan anyway.

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

hey rosewood is ok but i love maple better

Why would Fender stop using rosewood?

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Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

The U.S. and other governments are clamping down on the use of "exotic woods" supposedly in the name of conservation.Tropical forests are being stripped of all woods, especially in cash-strapped countries,and this has a devastating effect on wildlife and also is the main cause of soil erosion.After the trees are culled from an area it is left to recover on its own-which it can't do-consequently all the soil erodes.In most countries when trees are harvested new seedlings are quickly planted in their place but that costs money and these countries are reluctant to spend money on this even though it would be to their advantage in the long run.Of course it's not only the countries that are to blame but the large international logging conglomerates that have little or no regard for the enviroments or wildlife they are decimating all in the name of the almighty dollar.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Gibson is in trouble with the gov't -- the industry as a whole isn't. Other companies have no trouble sourcing Indian rosewood legally. It's possible Gibson did something wrong or that the gov't has a vendetta against Gibson's CEO. But it's business as usual for other companies.

Here's a quote from a wiki article (I know wiki is often wildly inaccurate, but at this point no one knows the truth about the situation: charges haven't been filed yet. The quote is just one possible explanation for why Gibson could be the only one in trouble.)

"In 2009 controversy arose surrounding the intensification of rosewood logging in Madagascar's national parks.[1] Logging was linked to criminal syndicates that laundered rosewood logs through Reunion and Mauritius before transporting timber to China for processing.[2] Finished wood and furniture was then shipped to Europe and the United States. In November 2009 Gibson Guitar Corporation in Nashville was raided by federal authorities for its alleged use of illegally sourced rosewood"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosewood

Why? Not all rose wood is scarce.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Gibson just came out with a SG Jr that has baked maple as it's fretboard wood. I have yet to check it out in person. Could be interesting.

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Chet Feathers

Authorized TonePros Dealer
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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

Martin is using Black Richlite for fingerboards on some of its guitars. My Martin Performing Artist Series guitar has it. It looks nice and sounds great to me. it's made from paper pulp and resin. I really don't care as long as it plays and sounds good.

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Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

They have had this "Raw Power" for some time now... also a "LP" Kind of cool, but for me they just dont feel right
http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/SG/Gibson-USA/SG-Special-Raw-Power.aspx

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Hey, Boy Blue is back!

I really like the maple neck on my SX, wish it was on my Musicmasters. I'd also heard that in the name of conservation that ALL uses of wood were being examined, for everything from guitars to furniture etc.

I guess limits on any/all wood would not surprise me.

I have wondered about this too. Given the situation with Gibson etc.

I do not know where they get it but the rosewood on the "Squire Bullets" is often the prettist on any of their guitars.

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I remember when we were free!

No. This is merely more, "Infallible Web Dogma".

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You dig?

"I'd also heard that in the name of conservation that ALL uses of wood were being examined, for everything from guitars to furniture etc."

There are lots of different species of wood. Some species grow fast and lend themselves to plantation growth -- they produce their best lumber when they're planted in rows and have lots of clear space and sunshine. Some species grow well enough on their own that they can be sustainably harvested from the wild. Most forests east of the Mississippi are third or fourth generation -- they've been clearcut (or close) and regrown several times.

Those woods are pretty much perpetual. Alder, ash, maple, white&yellow pine, oak, basswood, walnut, and many others will be available at current levels for centuries to come. The supply of many of them will actually increase somewhat.

However, demand for wood is burgeoning and outstripping the growth in supply levels of the commodity woods so the prices continue to rise. As time goes on there will be more and more use of wood substitutes. But various woods will always be available.

There'll always be some types of wood, but not all types of wood. Some species grow slowly, are picky about soil/climate, and/or produce their best lumber when they're crowded and shaded by other trees. Sitka spruce, Brazilian rosewood, Honduras mahogany, some ebonies take a long time to grow and they produce relatively low yields. They would have had to start plantations 50~75 years ago to be producing now, and there was little incentive to do that back then. Wild supplies were still plentiful, and no investor wants to put money in a project that won't make any money until after he's dead and gone. The investor would put his money into growing commodity trees with triple the return on his money.

Indian rosewood is a quicker growing species, plus they started plantations generations ago. The best Indian was/is old growth wild trees and those are getting rarer, but there's a steady supply of Indian RW.

Gibson's CEO says that the gov't is accusing them of breaking some Indian law by buying unfinished boards. Other sources say the gov't suspects them of having bought from shady dealers selling illegally cut wood. Either way, no one is saying that Indian rosewood can't be used by guitar makers.