Sting's Limited Edition Guitar
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 07. 7.06
Back in 1999, Martin Guitar Company designed two guitars called the Limited Edition Certified Wood Sting Signature models. These guitars were designed for Sting himself, in recognition of his long and successful career, in addition to his long-standing commitment to the environment. More than 70% of the wood utilized in the construction of each of these models is harvested from forests independently certified by the Rainforest Alliance's "SmartWood" program and Scientific Certification Systems, both of which operate in accordance with the rules of the industry's governing body, The Forest Stewardship Council. Most recently, Martin Guitar Company introduced a smaller acoustic guitar, which Sting has not only enjoyed but also wrote a few hits with. Called “The Sting: Mini Signature Edition”, Sting asked that this guitar be built with tonewoods managed and harvested with forest preservation in mind. Like the original, 77% of the wood utilized in the construction of the Mini also originated in forests managed in a sustainable and ecologically responsible manner. In addition, the guitar utilizes spruce braces from reclaimed sources constituting 8.4% of the utilized wood. Only 100 of the Mini guitars were made and each carries two labels: one with a Signature Edition signed by Sting and Martin Chairman C.F. Martin IV and the other a Sustainable Wood Series label that explains the wood content percentage. Via ::Sustainable Style Foundation ::Martin Guitar Company
Hooray for Pennsylvania's CF Martin Co. (dating from the early 1800's). Add them to the list of other PA companies focused on sustainability for many years: JI Case Knives; and Armstrong Flooring http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/05/armstrong_bring_1.php
I just bought a Martin Custom Smartwood guitar and I love it. And I feel a great sense of self-satisfaction sporting my new, sustainable wood (what?).
This custom, hand-made guitar--made by one of the top guitar makers in the world--cost me less than $2,000. Their Smartwood stock models are less than $900. For those of you who know about guitars, yopu'll know this a deal for a beautiful-sounding, sustainable Martin.
I just read your story about the Guitar built by the Martin Guitar Company for Sting and would like to add some observations as briefly as possible. I have been building guitars, lutes and harpsichords since the 1954. I built my first guitar in Greenland near the North Pole and continued in Chicago on North Ave. across the street from The Old Town School of Folk Music starting in 1958. I moved to Dallas TX in 1963 arriving on the day President Kennedy was shot. Around 1965 I made an all western red cedar guitar, which a friend still has, which I would say was the first use of this wood for guitars: I showed it to Jim Sherry a guitar importer on the South side of Chicago who shipped a large amount of cedar to Japan that came back as a S. Yairi all cedar guitar then everyone started using cedar. I made a padauk guitar with a cedar top at that time which I still have. A spruce top has a warm tone, a cedar top as a crisp tone devoid of lingering over tones.
The Sting: Mini features a top of western red cedar, highly regarded among guitar builders for warm tone and superb responsiveness. Scalloped 1/4” top bracing assures impressive volume. The back and sides are Soloman padauk, a beautiful red-orange tonewood similar in sound to mahogany. The neck of genuine mahogany is harvested from sustainable sources, and the fingerboard and straight line (non-belly) bridge are crafted from katalox, a beautiful wood with a density and color similar to rosewood.
I just purchased a Martin Smartwood - because it is a great guitar. But I suppose that when the sea comes up to my eyeballs due to natural climate cycles I can at least gloat that I did my part. Maybe if I turned out the bathroom light...