At UBC's Centre for Advanced Wood Processing, PhD student Joseph Doh Wook Kim plays a flawless riff on an electric guitar made with plantation-grown Fijian mahogany. The sound is deep, warm and perfect-just like a guitar made with native South American mahogany, the industry benchmark for guitar tonewoods.
The difference is that while native mahogany is regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to protect endangered forests, the Fijian variety is sustainably harvested, legally traded and grown in plantations.
Safeguarding wood supply
Dr. Phil Evans, a professor in the UBC faculty of forestry and "wood detective," has worked with U.S. and Canadian enforcement agencies to identify CITES-listed timbers and combat illegal logging. Partnering with Environment and Climate Change Canada, he co-developed a chemical method for distinguishing plantation-grown mahogany from native wood, ensuring supply-chain transparency and reducing the risk of illegal logging.
Testing a sustainable guitar was the logical next step-and Kim was the natural choice. A UBC cell biology grad, boutique guitar builder and metal guitarist, Kim brought the technical and musical chops to the project.
"Joseph explained how the wood's properties shape an electric guitar's sound," said Evans. "So I challenged him: Could we build a sustainable guitar that plays just as well as the gold standard?"
The team sourced pre-regulation native mahogany from an old shop in the U.K., and plantation-grown Fijian mahogany from Australia. Using computer-controlled machines at UBC, they built two identical guitars-right down to the electronics and hardware.
Can musicians tell the difference?
The guitars underwent three rigorous tests: a blind listening test, a live audience test and a side-by-side comparison of tone, durability and playability.
"The Fijian-mahogany guitar held its own in every category," said Kim, who has played in bands for more than 15 years and built over 50 custom guitars. "The tone, sustain and playability were just as good-and in some cases, better."
Professional musicians noticed subtle differences in "attack" (the initial note impact) and some frequencies, but these didn't affect the overall quality.
"This proves you don't have to sacrifice sound for sustainability," Kim adds.
A sound solution
Fijian mahogany has been used in guitars before, but Dr. Evans believes this is the first rigorous evaluation of its acoustic performance.
Combined with the chemical test developed with Environment and Climate Change Canada, the guitar research can help ensure that guitars marketed as sustainable are genuinely so.
"If manufacturers embrace sustainable alternatives like Fijian mahogany, it could reduce pressure on endangered forests without sacrificing quality," said Dr. Evans. "With over a million electric guitars sold annually worldwide, the potential impact is massive."
