Are guitars vegan?

[xJimx]

Beware most of the crappy 'vegan guitar straps' sold by vegan stores.

Your best bet by far is DiMarzio.

[puppydog]

[quote="Man On Bike."]I've started to learn to play the guitar, but, I'm worried that my guitar might not be vegan, how can I know for sure?

[bob_summers]

bumping this in case anyone has a suggestion for a lower-end acoustic
main worries are mother of pearl, bone (nut/bridge) and animal glues.

[XkillerX]

so how can i tell if my ibanez rg is vegan or not? so far it is happily living its life as a breathatarian.

[littlepurplegoth]

2nd hand is going to be your best 'bet' by far.

Or a nice single piece carved electric.... (wish I still had the link for the chap I saw at Greenbelt years ago... sigh, those guitars were keepers... but I was but a skint student )

I have a Washburn D10, which I'm told contains no animal glues. I don't know if they still make them though?

[bob_summers]

glue's the hardest thing to find out, whereas bone or abalone is often listed on the maker's website.

i'll despatch some emails to the more popular makers and report back if any of them are particularly helpful.

[quote="XkillerX"]so how can i tell if my ibanez rg is vegan or not? so far it is happily living its life as a breathatarian.

[Jonathan]

I think if you are going to buy a new instrument then you can worry about whether it contains animal products or not. If you are buying something older, the chances are that it might. For instance, I just bought a grand piano for £250 (a real bargain - it's worth around £2000). It dates from 1899, has leather and wool parts in the action, and I think the key tops are ivory. The keytops are getting replaced as they are worn, but there is no alterative for the inner workings of the piano. What am I supposed to do though - not play piano?

[Rubber_Ritchie]

Couch vegan guitar straps are not cheap but excellent quality. http://www.couchguitarstraps.com/ I recently got one from the US although apparently you can now buy them in Denmark st in London. I think if you're concerned about a guitar using animal products in the glue etc, then simply buy a second hand one. Air guitar is for people who attend Star Trek conventions.

[hardcore iv]

I was just checking out thisvid on TED of Jake Shimabukuro playing Bohemian Rhapsody and read in the comments about "planet saving guitars" and found a Canadian luthier who will make vegan guitars on request http://www.jedidiah.ca/ and a Finnish company that may have a couple of vegan, but not left-hander, friendly guitars http://www.flaxwood.com/home/

[hardcore iv]

This thread is still one of the top results when searching for vegan guitars so I thought I would share some recent findings.

LUNA guitars has a vegan line of acoustics http://www.lunaguitars.com/acousticproduct/songgc.php
Wheatware make biodegradable picks http://www.wheatware.com/shop/index.php?target=categories&category_id=49
Oroborus customs can make you a vegan guitar http://oroboruscustoms.com/
You can buy the same strap Geezer Butler uses from here http://www.heavyleathernyc.com/product/geezer-butler-carved-vegan-cross-strap/
Pretty cheap hemp guitar straps from here http://www.rawganique.com/HAguitar.htm