Anyone know where Fender gets their wood from?

[Bongolation]

I was able to come across many articles concerning Samick Musical Co., whom Fender outsources to in manufacturing the Squier Stratotcaster models.

How recent are these articles?

 

[Bardley]

They get their "wood" from people paying $1k for a Geddy Lee Jazz...

 

[dvh]

OK, I got the scoop today. 90% of the wood used comes from the American Pacific Northwest, however, in recent development, Fender has been looking at using cheaper quality woods outside of the US. One of the main reasons being, is that North American Maple is quickly being killed off and is becoming much more expensive.

Don't know where this comes from. There is a plentiful supply of maple in the northeast and southern Canada.

 

[frankblackcat]

Ahhh! It turns out that Samick has a major factory located in Bogor, Indonesia--and coincidentally, Agathis, Spruce, Pine, etc. are all indigenous there (these are many of the woods that are used in lower level Squiers, especially Agathis)!

.

That's news to me if spruce and pine are indigenous to Indonesia (accepting that generic terms like pine cover a multitude of timbers from genera other than Pinus). You might want to be a little skeptical (I mean careful rather than cynical) when reading what companies write about where their wood comes from, whether it's guitars, garden furniture or for fibre. There's a lot of double speak when it comes to this subject, and that's before we get started on wood from "sustainably managed" sources.

 

[Michael Case]

Old kitchen cabinets, bookshelves, and any other wood objects found in the trash.

 

[Mr. Majestic]

I know where they get their Swamp Ash.

 

[GeneralElectric]

I know where they get their Swamp Ash.

Swamps?

 

[Oberion]

I know where they get their Swamp Ash.

Swamps?

...at an ash ply in da swamps

 

[manic_mailman]

That's news to me if spruce and pine are indigenous to Indonesia (accepting that generic terms like pine cover a multitude of timbers from genera other than Pinus). You might want to be a little skeptical (I mean careful rather than cynical) when reading what companies write about where their wood comes from, whether it's guitars, garden furniture or for fibre. There's a lot of double speak when it comes to this subject, and that's before we get started on wood from "sustainably managed" sources.

My bad, they import Spruce from Thailand. I don't know why I included Spruce in that sentence there.

How recent are these articles?

Well, the USDA GAIN report that I got was from 2002, and from Entrepreneur Jan. 2008.

 

[MtManiac]

Home Depot

 

[ClassicJazz]

According to my Fender Sales Training guide, the bulk of the wood they use comes from the Northwest USA and Canada. They have pretty strict guidelines on were they get the woods from.

 

[Lucky Strike]

From recycled Gibsons

 

[Lucky Strike]

They get their "wood" from people paying $1k for a Geddy Lee Jazz...

LOL

 

[Holy War]

Don't know where this comes from. There is a plentiful supply of maple in the northeast and southern Canada.

it comes straight from the fender factory, read the post

 

[dvh]

it comes straight from the fender factory, read the post

It's not really very explicit in the original post. In either case it still seems hard to understand. I work in the forest industry and there's no issue with maple - at least in southern Canada.

 

[Mr. Majestic]

I help locate swamp ash, here in Louisiana, for the suppliers that sell directly to Fender and they are located in the Pacific Northwest.

 

[ClassicJazz]

Ok, this is straight out of Fender's Product Training Manual, sitting on my lap. And I quote:

"We get our maple from Canada, New England, Michigan and the Appalachian Mts. Our vendors' forests are NOT clear-cut"

"Fender approved alder comes from the Northwest U.S"

"Lightweight swamp ash (or "delta ash") comes from Mississippi and Louisiana where the trees stand in water. This ash is milled in Eugene, Oregon."

So that should answer that!

 

[roman_999]

I heard that they get their rosewood directly from Brazil.
You should email one of the Fender guys at fender.com, they would probably tell you.

 

[mongo2]

Wood's great. That stuff grows on trees around here!!

 

[P-BASSLOVER]

I know mid to late to late 90's Squires were made out of glued Pencil Shavings.