Sustainable Hemp Guitars

[Ganjarden]

Rock and Roll used to be about excess. Loud, sweaty, wild, sexy musicians that didn’t give a damn about anything but making music. Well times have changed. With more and more musicians organizing ‘carbon neutral tours’, packaging their albums in recycled materials and some are even using solar power to record their music. Now eco-friendly musicians can choose to make their music on the world’s most eco-friendly guitar – the 100% organic hemp cellulose guitar. We caught up with Austrian designer Adam Wehsely-Swiczinsky to talk about what it feels like to make music on the world’s most sustainable electric guitar.

Tell us about the hemp cellulose guitar.

In the 2000 I was researching fiber-materials for a new, more modern, sustainable material for acoustic guitars. After researching all injection-molding and composite materials that I found and that were not usable, due to acoustic or static reasons, I found the material that is called Hempstone® or Zelfo® which seemed to have the perfect characteristics for an instrument.

Is this the world's most sustainable guitar?

I would say it is the world’s most sustainable electric guitar!

Is the hemp organic?

Totally! The fiber we use is from Switzerland and there is no resin or glue added into the Hempstone® pulp.

How long did it take you to create the guitar?

I started with the first completely acoustic prototypes in 2000 during my industrial design diploma. By the end of 2005 I started working together with Andreas Neubauer from Neubauer Guitars for the development of a high-end product. We soon found Norbert Schmid from Drumparam who molded the raw bodies for us. Roughly 1.5 years ago we finally had the first instrument for the pilot run.

How does the hemp-cellulose guitar compare to a standard guitar?

Most guitar companies use rain-forest wood like mahogany or similar wood types. We avoided that. And hemp grows four times faster than trees, even the domestic types of hemp.

Does the guitar sound any different?

Yes, it does. The “caimes” develops a wonderful sound with great body, overtones and a lot of substance, but it is still in the traditional electro-acoustic sound range.

Has the guitar been well received?

Is it popular?The “MADA caimes” guitar and the new “MADA sab” bass are high-end products that are handcrafted by master craftsman Andreas Neubauer, so they are not mass products. But they are indeed well-received by great musicians like Willie Nelson, who played one at the Hard Rock Cafe at Timesquare in New York for the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance.

The guitar was also nominated for the National Austrian Design Award in 2007 and the Vienna Innovation Award 2007.

Any well-known musicians using one?

Willie Nelson as mentioned earlier and on the set of the latest Disney comedy “Old Dogs“ by director Walt Becker, staring John Travolta and Robin Williams, the brand-new hemp guitar plays a role. The movie starts in June 2009.

Austrian designer Adam Wehsely-Swiczinsky (left) and Andreas Neubauer (right) holding the MADA hemp cellulose guitar

News Hawk- Ganjarden http://www.420Magazine.com
Source: GreenMuze.com
Contact: GreenMuze.com
Copyright: 2009 GreenMuze.com
Website: Sustainable Hemp Guitars