Over the last seven years the guitar industry has been in a turmoil over the Lacey Act amendments of 2008, the Gibson guitar wood raid of 2011, and varying opinions on what should be the responsibility of consumer products companies in guaranteeing the wood they use has been legally harvested. Bedell Guitars feels strongly that we have an obligation not only to do due diligence confirming legal harvest, but a responsibility to protect the sustainability of our world’s hardwood and rainforests. A tree grows in an eco-system, we not only must honor the life of the tree, but also do all we can to protect and sustain the eco-system that nurtured the tree. We never use wood from clear-cut trees and we trace our wood back to the location of the tree. We call it Seed to Song.

Bedell Guitars set out to design guitars where every piece of wood grew in America, where all of the parts like tuners and fret wire were made in America. The instrument was built 100% in America by American craftsmen. We named the guitars the Home Grown Collection. After hearing several musicians’ passion and concern for our forests, Bedell Guitars built a model with a Bedell Blackbird burst and no animal parts – no shell, no bone and no hide glue. We named it the Bedell Blackbird Vegan.

The Bedell family wants to start a movement. We hope to join forces with musicians and inspire them to spread the word to help sustain our environment. This will in turn push for more wood product manufacturers to do the same thing. Instruments can still sound phenomenal when using certified legal tonewoods. Doing so may be just a little more difficult or a little more expensive, but in The Bedell Family we don’t see dollar signs, we see progress. Doing the right thing never sounded better.