Ashes To Ashes
Fender stops use of ash for its production guitars
With the exception of select reissues and limited editions, ash will no longer be used to make Fender guitars. The move comes as a result of serious threats to the wood’s sustainability, especially the swamp ash variety Fender harvests in the south of the US. “It’s something none of us took lightly,” Fender executive vice president of Fender Product, Justin Novell, tells us. “Ash is part of the DNA of what we do at Fender.”
The destruction to ash trees caused by the emerald ash borer species of beetle has been widespread and swift, moving down from Canada. “It’s eating its way through the forest,” Justin explains, “and ash will be completely gone in a couple of years – I guess like how American chestnut got destroyed in the 30s, and it’s over. This is not like it will go away for a couple of seasons and eventually grow back.”
Swamp ash in particular has also been affected by a second issue. It’s named because it has been soaked in flood waters and harvested when they recede. But opportunities for this have been few. “We only use the bottom part of the tree, where the water is,” adds Justin. “But the floods have not been receding, so these areas are underwater for two thirds of the year, and it’s gotten to the point where we are sitting there for six or eight months waiting for ash we can’t get reliably. The beetle is still coming whether there’s floods or not, so it’s really narrowing down.
“It just hit the point where we couldn’t put it in a production guitar telling everyone we can make something that we can’t get any more,” Justin concludes. “That said, there will probably be a couple more feasts and famines before the species is entirely gone. If we get ash, we’ll use it and make limited editions. But due to the circumstances, our ash production will be winding down.”
The company is now looking into using pine to complement its roster of core woods, which includes the fast-growing and replenishing alder and maple.
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