Tonewoods used in all Bedell Guitars are legally acquired, in accordance with all domestic and international regulations, including Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and Lacey Act, and have verified supporting documentation.
Bedell Guitars will never knowingly use any tonewood from clear-cut trees.
Each guitar sold currently comes with a unique journal showing the location of where the wood was sourced as well as all chain of custody documentation. It also depicts the story and inspiration behind the design of the guitar. These journals can be found online.
“The journals have been an amazing way to share the inspiration behind the design of the guitar,” said Tom Bedell, Founder of Bedell Guitars. “I have a blast going out into the forests and finding cool, beautiful and salvaged or reclaimed trees and then coming back to Bend and designing amazing sounding instruments.”
Starting January 1, 2015 every Bedell Guitar has also included a plant and animal listing. These listings state the common name, scientific name and country of origin for the tonewood and animal parts in the instrument.
An example of the plant and animal listing for the Bedell Blackbird Vegan model.
“Across the globe, growing consumer demand for hardwood products is fueling illegal logging that threatens some of the world’s most vulnerable native hardwoods forests. Unfortunately, it’s often difficult for consumers to know whether the wood in the products they buy comes from legal, sustainable sources,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe. “Bedell Guitars, through its Tonewood Certificate, shows that it is dedicated to ensuring that its customers can make informed, environmentally conscious choices about the instruments they buy and we commend them for this commitment to sustainability.”
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For guitars containing woods that are regulated under CITES they will also contain information on Bedell’s Wood Concierge service. Bedell Guitars promises that any Brazilian rosewood guitars they sell can travel the world and if it can’t – they’ll buy it back. To make it even easier they have a team dedicated to help consumers with the proper permitting they need to travel and/or purchase outside of the U.S.A.
“All Bedell Guitars are built with legally harvested, non-clear cut woods that can travel throughout the world. The Bedell Tonewoods Certificate is included with each instrument so Customs Officials can more clearly identify the woods and verify if they require additional paperwork. We will also help with the paperwork and necessary information for travel so you can be at ease” said Bedell.
Acoustic Nation is written by Laura B. Whitmore, a music industry marketing veteran, music journalist and editor, who has contributed to Parade.com, Guitar World, and others. She has interviewed hundreds of musicians and hosts the She Rocks Podcast. As the founder of the Women’s International Music Network, she advocates for women in the music industry and produces the annual She Rocks Awards. She is the Senior Vice President of Marketing for Positive Grid, making the world safe for guitar exploration everywhere! A guitarist and singer/songwriter, Laura is currently co-writing an album of pop songs that empower and energize girls.
