Bamboo as a tonewood - what do you think?

[darkandrew]

Just came across this on eBay; a guitar made from bamboo (with a maple neck). What are your thoughts?  Edit - I'm not thinking of buying one, I just saw it and was curious.

Edited February 24, 2019 by darkandrew

[Cato]

I really like the look of that, but I generally like anything tele shaped especially with a natural finish.

The P90s are an added bonus.

Would I buy one? 

Probably not.

'Eco friendly' suggests bio-degradable and I 'm firmly of the school that believes that a well looked after guitar should, with proper maintenence, last at least a couple of lifetimes.

Edited February 24, 2019 by Cato

[darkandrew]

Bamboo as a sustainable wood, I get, but I'm guessing there must be a lot processing involved to roll-out each piece, cut it to a uniform size and then glue all the pieces together to create the sheet material. I also wonder if it is then left au-natural or whether it is finished with some sort of clear coat - as you say, if it's not properly finished, it will eventually rot and biodegrade.

[EdwardMarlowe]

All wood is, ultimately, bio-degradeable. Unless you leave it in a damp basement / attic or bury it under compost for six months, I doubt you'd need to worry.... 

One of the big acoustic makers was experimenting with bamboo for acoustic tops a few years ago - I think it was Yamaha? I'd like to give it a try. Sustainable is good. 

Leo Fender would have probably tried it - for all folsk these days fetishise his "tonewoods", Leo just used what was cheap. Pine, ash, alder.... 

[leftybassman392]

[Pedantry]

Eco-friendly is not the same as biodegradable.

Eco-friendly is to do with sustainability and minimising environmental impact.

Biodegradable is to do with the breakdown of organic matter.

Depending on the manufacturing process the guitar may or may not be biodegradable. Doesn’t stop it being eco-friendly though as long as the bamboo is obtained from a sustainable source.

[/Pedantry]

ETA: The bamboo construction doesn't automatically make it a bad guitar. If you go to YouTube and type 'bamboo guitar' into the engine you get quite a selection of interesting-looking guitars made partially (or even completely) from bamboo.

 

Edited March 15, 2019 by leftybassman392

[dieseldalziel]

Bamboo as a tonewood? I wouldn't panda to that idea

[ezbass]

Puns on GC too?  I can’t bear it .

Edited March 15, 2019 by ezbass

[jazzyvee]

I'm bamboozled by it al...… I'll get my coat. 

[EdwardMarlowe]

On 15/03/2019 at 14:20, dieseldalziel said:

Bamboo as a tonewood? I wouldn't panda to that idea

That's the only danger I can see: if you  leave it too near a Panda, they might eat it.

Srsly, though, if I could ban one word from the guitarist lexicon, it would be 'tonewood'. Different woods colour the sound slightly.... as does design, finish, fit, hardware, electronics, the pedals and amps you use.... The miniscule difference that the actual wood makes to the tone (as part of the melee of all things that make up the overall tone) is merely that - a difference. The idea that any one wood's contribution to the overall sound is objectively qualitatively better than another is bunk. All else is superstition.

[Kiwi]

I've heard other guitar made from bamboo and it sounded pretty good, although that could be down to the pickups.  Pickups make more of a difference in guitars than basses I've found.  I have a strat with a maple body and you would be hard pressed to tell it was anything other than alder thanks to the EMG's in it.