With the advent of CITES restrictions on rosewood, the realities of sustainable guitar-building are finally hitting the industry, but one French luthier reckons he has the answer: bamboo.
Following five years of independent research, Jean-Yves Alquier found bamboo to have acoustic, durability and aesthetic qualities to rival tropical hardwood, while retaining CO2 neutral credentials, including production, transport and transformation.
Just launched on Kickstarter, the company’s first production model, the Cosmic One, features a bamboo body and fretboard, which promises a resonant, bright tonality.
In addition, it boasts a titanium wraparound bridge, two custom P-90 pickups and a flamed maple top.
Also available is the Custom Cosmic Buzz, which features a bamboo density body with honeycomb chambers; a flamed maple neck is reinforced with titanium rods, while there’s also a titanium vibrato and three custom S2/double-rail pickups.
Just 100 Cosmic Ones will be available for €1,990 from Kickstarter, while the one-of-a-kind Custom Cosmic Buzz will set you back €8,500.
