“We may be able to make good-sounding instruments out of any material”: Yamaha’s Upcycling initiative turns scrap instrument offcuts into one-of-a-kind guitars – and it could transform the guitar-building industry
Using surplus material from its piano and marimba instrument production lines, Yamaha has assembled three 'upcycled' guitars
(Image credit: Yamaha)
Yamaha has announced its Upcyling Guitar range – a concept series of electric guitars that looks to improve and address the sustainability of instrument production – has won a prestigious design award.
The mission of the eco-friendly guitar family is pretty simple: to reduce wastage in the instrument manufacturing world and maximize material efficiency by re-using offcuts of wood and similar components from Yamaha’s other lines to build guitars.
However, it could ultimately have a wider-reaching impact on the broader guitar-building industry, as Yamaha seeks to transform the way unorthodox materials are used to produce electric guitars and acoustic guitars.
Upcycling Guitar stemmed from Yamaha’s “Wood for Musical Instruments” exhibition, which promoted the firm's efforts on, among many things, environmental conservation.
The benefit of the Upcycling Guitar mission is twofold. First, there is less wastage, and the ‘unorthodox’ woods that end up as part of a guitar help improve the appeal of new sustainable materials in guitar manufacturing.
To that end, surplus material from Yamaha’s piano, marimba and other instruments have been repurposed to produce the Upcycling Guitar models.
(Image credit: Yamaha)
Second, it results in some seriously cool, one-of-a-kind prototypes that are quite unlike any other Yamaha guitar you could hope to find.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Broadly speaking, the Upcycling Guitar project was first announced back in 2022, but it wasn’t until the summer of 2023 that its first creation – a Pacfica model made from scrap pieces of leftover musical instrument production – was put on display.
Late last year, the collection received two new additions in the form of the Piano and Marimba Revstars, and now the entire collection has been honored with the Red Dot’s Design Concept Award for 2024 – a prestigious German design award that is highly respected around the world.
Yamaha 'Marimba' Revstar (Image credit: Yamaha)
The two latest additions to the Upcycling Guitar collection are quite something. The first, the ‘Marimba’ Revstar, was crafted from scrap rosewood, which had been taken from Yamaha’s marimba production line. That rosewood was intended to be used for the instrument’s soundbars.
The Piano Revstar, meanwhile, is made from (you guessed it) surplus piano woods, including spruce, birch and maple. Of course, most of these materials are pretty common in the world of guitar making, so it will be interesting to see just how far Yamaha intends to go with future upcycled offerings.
(Image credit: Yamaha)
“Yamaha uses a lot of wood to make instruments, but unfortunately some of it is left over as scraps or materials that cannot be used,” a press statement reads. “The wood used in a wide variety of musical instruments includes wood that has not been used much in guitars until now, but we are reexamining their appeal and reviving them as guitar materials to explore new value in guitars.
“In doing so, we aim to upcycle by utilizing the value of each material, rather than compromising on quality in order to recycle the materials.”
As mentioned above, sustainability is only part of the mission. Through Upcycling Guitars, Yamaha hopes to significantly improve the wider industry of guitar production.
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Yamaha)
(Image credit: Yamaha)
(Image credit: Yamaha)
“At Yamaha, we scientifically analyze the performance of musical instruments to gain a deep understanding of the properties of materials necessary for musical instruments and work to incorporate these into our designs,” the statement continues.
“As we gain a better understanding of what makes rare woods truly superior, and what characteristics are truly important for musical instruments, we may be able to make good-sounding instruments out of any material.
“If the technology to freely create sounds from any material was established, how would a good guitar be made? We believe that because of the increased freedom, it will be important to work together with the player to explore 'new goodness.'”
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
