Climate Change Could Shred Guitars Known for Shredding

Science Talk

Scientific American

Science

4.2 • 644 Ratings

🗓️ 12 February 2021

⏱️ 14 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It is the wood that the rock greats have sworn by—swamp ash, in the form of their Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster guitars—for more than 70 years. If you have ever listened to rock, you have probably heard a solid-body swamp ash guitar. But now climate change is threatening the wood that helped build rock and roll. In today’s podcast, veteran guitarist Jim Campilongo takes us through the finer points of swamp ash and what it would mean to lose it. Bonus material: Here’s Campilongo showing the difference between the sound of a solid-body swamp ash guitar and a hollow-body one. And here’s a little information about Campilongo’s latest project: He teams up with his longtime collaborator Luca Benedetti on the album Two Guitars. Check it out. Editor’s Not (2/16/21): This podcast incorrectly stated that the article on climate change and swamp ash in the February 2021 edition of Scientific American was authored by Priyanka Runwal and Andrea Thompson. The author was Runwal alone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:32.8	This is Scientific Americans Science Talk podcast. I'm Jeff Delvisio.
0:36.9	I'm Jeff Delvisio.
0:49.3	Today on the podcast, climate change is now even affecting rock and roll.
0:54.6	More specifically, the wood that built some of the greatest rock and roll guitars of all time.
0:57.5	More on that right after this message from our sponsor.
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1:47.0	And we're back.
1:49.0	If you've ever listened to classic rock, you've probably heard a Swampash guitar.
1:53.4	Muddy Waters, Jimmy Page, Bruce Springsteen, they all played Swampash Fender Telecasters.
1:59.6	But that would, and hence that guitar, is now under threat,
2:02.8	thanks to climate change. In a piece in the February Scientific American, Andrea Thompson
	...

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