When you think of guitar tonewoods, your mind probably goes to hardwoods like rosewood, mahogany, or koa. But what if the future of guitar making is actually growing right outside your window, in the trees lining city streets?
Taylor Guitars is proving that the most innovative solutions often come from the most unexpected places. Their Urban Wood Project is transforming how we think about guitar materials, sustainability, and waste - all while creating some of the most beautiful instruments you've ever heard.
The Philosophy Behind the Change
Sustainability as a Journey, Not a Marketing Buzzword
Scott Paul, Taylor's Head of Natural Resource Sustainability, doesn't mince words about the industry's approach to environmental claims:
"Sustainability is a journey, not a destination. So if you claim to be sustainable, that you have arrived, it's bullshit. You're not sustainable."
This refreshingly honest perspective drives everything Taylor does. They're not claiming to have solved all environmental problems - they're committed to constantly improving their practices and finding better ways to source materials.
Scott brings a unique perspective to the guitar world, having spent 14 years at Greenpeace before ending up at what he calls "a bit like Camelot": a family-owned, employee-owned company where people genuinely care about the products they're making.
The Reality of Changing Resources
The guitar industry faces an uncomfortable truth: traditional materials are becoming increasingly scarce. According to Scott, manufacturers worldwide are facing a 'math problem': with 8 billion people and staggering consumption of natural resources, the old ways simply aren't sustainable.
For guitar makers specifically, the changes are visible and immediate. Taylor's CEO and Master Guitar Designer, Andy Powers, explains that spruce trees were once so large "you couldn't get your arms around them," today's trees are much smaller. The old growth forests that provided premium tonewoods for generations are largely gone.
Discovering Urban Forests
Cities: The Hidden Wood Source
Here's something that might surprise you: cities are full of trees. Massive canopies of them. When you fly into any major city and look down, you'll see how green most urban areas actually are.
These aren't random plantings. Urban trees serve critical functions like providing shade and cooling, creating noise or visual barriers, control soil erosion and so on.
But here's the challenge: when these trees grow too large, they become dangerous. They risk falling on buildings or, worse, people. So they must be removed.
Traditionally, these removed urban trees have had one destination: the wood chipper, destined to become mulch or even landfill waste.
The Global Urban Wood Reality
Andy points out that urban wood isn't unique to California. Much of the mahogany Taylor uses actually comes from street trees in India - planted by the British who loved mahogany and established them throughout the country. When these street trees are removed, they become lumber for guitar parts.
This pattern exists worldwide, making urban wood a global opportunity rather than a local curiosity.
The Partnership That Changed Everything
Taylor's urban wood story began when they connected with West Coast Arborists, a tree care company that manages about 11 million trees across California and Arizona. Since 1972, they've been trimming trees and providing tree care maintenance for over 320 communities.
The partnership was natural - both organizations were already thinking along the same lines. As Andy puts it: "Surely there's something more valuable here than just shredding trees for mulch."
The Wood Exploration Process
Learning New Species Like a Chef Discovers Ingredients
Andy Powers describes the process of working with urban woods like a chef exploring a farmer's market:
Andy: "It's like a chef going to a farmer's market and going, 'I have never once seen this. What kind of vegetable is this? What do you do with it? Do you eat it raw? Do you cook it?'"
The team would walk through urban wood yards with chainsaws, examining unfamiliar species:
- Looking at grain structure
- Making educated guesses about characteristics
- Cutting sample pieces to test
- Taking chunks back to the workshop for experimentation
This process required years of practical research - learning how each species dries, how it works with tools, how it behaves during construction, and ultimately, how it sounds.
The Moment of Truth
When Bob Taylor and Andy Powers first visited West Coast Arborists to examine urban woods, it was "kind of the moment of truth." If they didn't find viable tonewoods, the entire project would fail.
What happened next was remarkable: both designers, working independently, gravitated toward the same species as potential tonewoods. While they knew familiar species like Black Acacia and Walnut would work, they discovered that unfamiliar species like Shamel Ash and Ironbark Eucalyptus had incredible potential.
Urban Wood Success Stories
Shamel Ash: The Golden Retriever of Tonewoods
Shamel ash (urban ash) has become the star of Taylor's urban wood program. Andy Powers gave it the perfect nickname: "the golden retriever of tonewoods" - because no matter what you do to it, it wants to please you.
When testing Shamel ash, Bob and Andy said it reminded them of mahogany - and even better, "old mahogany." According to them, this is the highest compliment you can give a tonewood.
But it's not just about sound. Shamel ash passes all the practical tests a guitar wood must meet:
- How does it plane?
- How does it sand?
- How does it bend?
- How does it dry?
It needs to excel in all these areas before it can even be considered for guitar construction.
Red Iron Bark Eucalyptus: The Surprising Performer
Originally from Australia, Red Iron Bark Eucalyptus challenged Andy Powers' expectations. In the end, this incredibly dense, heavy wood behaved much better than he anticipated.
Andy Powers: "It's like a cross between some rosewoods and ebony. It's one of the woods that will sink in water."
Despite being extremely hard and dense, characteristics that usually make wood difficult to work with, Red Iron Bark proved manageable and produced excellent results.
The Ebony Revolution
Taylor revolutionized ebony use in the guitar industry through a simple realization: the traditional approach was incredibly wasteful.
For decades, ebony suppliers would cut down 10 trees and leave 9 on the forest floor because they weren't solid black. Only perfectly jet-black ebony was considered "acceptable" for fingerboards.
Bob Taylor thought this was outrageous. The rejected ebony was still ebony - it just had natural color streaks and variations that made each piece unique.
Now Taylor uses all ebony, creating fingerboards with beautiful, natural color variations. Artists actually seek out specific fingerboards because each one is completely unique, unlike the uniformity of solid black ebony.
This change influenced the entire industry. More builders are becoming aware that you can use all ebony, not just the solid black examples.
Innovation in Manufacturing
Zero Waste Philosophy in Action
Taylor's approach to sustainability extends far beyond just finding new wood sources. They've implemented a comprehensive zero-waste philosophy that finds value in every scrap of material.
What doesn't become guitars becomes:
Cutting Boards and Kitchenware: Fall-off from guitar wood becomes beautiful cutting boards and kitchen utensils. This isn't a side business - it's a commitment to using every bit of material the forest provides.
Knife Handles: Taylor has a partnership with Buck Knives, turning ebony scraps into knife handles rather than throwing them away.
Sawdust for Landscaping: Even sawdust finds new life with local landscaping companies who pick it up for use in their projects.
Future Projects: Materials that don't have an immediate use get saved for future innovations. As Ed Granaro, Vice-President of Product Development, explains: "We save them to decide later, what are we going to do with this? Because there's a use for it."
The Taylor Neck: Designed for Sustainability
The Taylor neck design wasn't just about sound or playability - it was fundamentally about resource conservation. Bob Taylor was "looking out into the future and realizing, wait, if we continue to make necks the same way, there isn't going to be enough mahogany to go around for all of us. Not just Taylor, but for the industry."
This forward-thinking approach led to innovations that use materials more efficiently while maintaining or improving quality.
Automation That Serves People
Taylor uses automation strategically - not to replace craftspeople, but to improve their working conditions. Their buffing robots handle the physically demanding work that can be harmful to workers over time.
Ed Granaro explains the philosophy: "For us, the balance is how do we improve the lives of our employees? How do we eliminate some of the heavy lifting, the difficult work that might be tiresome if you're doing it over and over."
The robots handle 90-95% of the buffing work, leaving craftspeople to handle the final touches that require human skill and judgment.
From Idea to Reality
Ed describes the magic of Taylor's innovation process:
"All of this starts with an idea. Like you're just sketching out an idea whether solving a problem... you're trying to design something, it starts with a sketch. And then you work that problem, you work that sketch. And then the next thing you know, you have something in front of you. To me, that process of idea and sketch to a physical thing, that's where the magic lies."
Global Impact and Ethical Sourcing
Building Relationships, Not Just Supply Chains
Taylor's approach to international sourcing goes far beyond simple transactions. They build deep, long-term relationships with the communities that supply their wood.
Their commitment includes:
- Annual visits to supplier communities
- Spending days in the field to understand local challenges
- Buying wood they don't immediately need to keep communities stable
- Supporting infrastructure projects like wells in Cameroon
Scott Paul explains the philosophy: "We need to take care of the communities that supply us the wood, because if they go under, it's also bad for us. Not just bad for them."
A Moral Compass in Action
Taylor's wood buyer, Chris Cosgrove, consistently impresses even former Greenpeace activist Scott Paul with his ethical standards:
"No, we're not dealing with that place. We can get it. We might even be able to get it cheap, but we're not dealing with that place."
This moral compass requires both ethical commitment and deep knowledge of supply chains - understanding not just what wood is available, but where it comes from and how it's sourced.
The Bigger Picture: Industry Transformation
Challenging Traditional Assumptions
Taylor's work challenges fundamental assumptions about guitar making.
The reality behind "traditional" combinations:
- Brazilian rosewood, mahogany, and spruce combinations exist because that's what was available, not because of superior properties
- Leo Fender used alder because a furniture company went out of business and had a warehouse full of it
- Violin makers use maple and spruce because "that's what grew on the mountain"
Scott Paul delivers a powerful message to guitar buyers:
"When you're looking to buy a guitar, forget all that propaganda. Just check out a couple of different ones, and one will speak to you. One will fit your voice. One will fit your fingers. One will fit your breathing. One will just feel right, and you'll know it. Buy that one."
Expanding Possibilities
With urban wood and other sustainable sources, there are now many more different tonewood combinations available, each producing a slightly different voice. As Paul asks: "Shouldn't that be celebrated?"
The Future of Resources
Paul warns that change is coming whether the industry prepares or not:
"You can keep your head down and keep whistling and maybe you get to retirement, but everyone at your factory is not going to get to retirement before serious trouble starts to happen."
But this isn't cause for despair - it's an opportunity for innovation. Companies that adapt and innovate will thrive, while those that stick to old methods will struggle.
Building an Urban Wood Economy
Beyond Guitar Making
Taylor's urban wood project aims to inspire broader change. They're not trying to move the needle alone - they want to demonstrate possibilities that others can scale.
The vision includes:
- More urban trees being planted
- Higher value extraction from trees when they're removed
- Reduced waste in urban forestry
- New economic opportunities for arborists and woodworkers
European Potential
The concept has exciting potential in Europe, where centuries-old buildings contain wood from trees that were already hundreds of years old when originally harvested. This creates opportunities for "urban wood and reclaimed wood from old houses" as cousins in sustainable material sourcing.
The Sound of Sustainability
What Musicians Need to Know
The message for musicians is simple but revolutionary: great guitars can come from any number of wood combinations. The key is finding the instrument that connects with you personally.
Urban wood guitars offer:
- Unique character - each piece tells the story of its city
- Excellent quality - meeting or exceeding traditional standards
- Environmental benefits - using materials that would otherwise be wasted
- Expanding options - access to species never before available for instruments
Looking Forward: The Sustainable Future
Regulation and Market Forces
The shift toward sustainability isn't just idealistic - it's driven by practical realities:
- Increasing consumer expectations for transparency and accountability
- Growing regulation from the European Union and other jurisdictions
- Resource scarcity making traditional materials less reliable
- Economic advantages of local sourcing and waste reduction
A Call to Innovation
Taylor's story demonstrates that sustainability and quality aren't opposing forces - they're complementary drivers of innovation. By embracing constraints and challenges, companies can discover new possibilities and create better products.
The guitar industry's future lies not in depleting the world's remaining old growth forests, but in finding creative ways to use the abundant resources that surround us in new forms.
The Journey Continues
As Scott Paul emphasizes, sustainability is a journey without a final destination. Taylor's Urban Wood Project represents not an end point, but a beginning - proof that when companies commit to continuous improvement and creative problem-solving, they can build a more sustainable future while creating products that exceed traditional standards.
The urban forests around us aren't just pretty landscaping - they're the raw materials for the next generation of musical instruments. And that's a future worth building toward.