Paniolo Tonewoods | Hawaiian wood for guitars

Hawaiian wood for guitars

Paniolo Tonewoods is a collaborative effort of Pacific Rim Tonewoods, Taylor Guitars, and various Hawaiian partners. Our goal is to ensure the vitality of native koa forests in Hawaii by propagating koa and by selectively harvesting trees to make guitars.

Paniolos, Hawaii’s cowboys

In 1793, Captain George Vancouver gave a dozen longhorn cattle to King Kamehameha I, who put them under "kapu," which essentially gave them free range and protection from hunters. Over the years, these feral cattle thrived and eventually became a problem. Mexican...

Haleakala

It's all about the volcanoes in Hawai'i. The high volcanic mountain peaks catch the clouds that make the rain that waters the islands' lush vegetation. That same rain has weathered layers of volcanic ash, cinder and lava flows into deep, fertile soil. Haleakala is...

Taylor Guitars

Since its founding in 1974, Taylor Guitars have been played –and loved– by musicians worldwide. Taylor's commitment to excellence, integrity, and innovation is also apparent in Taylor's efforts to ethically source tonewoods. Purchasing a company in Cameroon,...

Using young koa for guitars

Steve McMinn presented on the subject of using young koa for guitars at the "Acacia Koa in Hawaii: Facing the Future" 2016 Symposium at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Download (PDF 1.2MB): Using Young Koa for Guitars Using Young Koa for Guitars Paniolo...

VIDEO: at Haleakala Ranch

Paniolo Tonewoods has been working with Haleakala Ranch and Native Nursery on Maui to selectively harvest and to propogate koa. Here, Bob Taylor of Taylor Guitars, Scott Meidell of Haleakala Ranch, and Steve McMinn of Pacific Rim Tonewoods,...

One Million Trees of Aloha

In 1984, Jean Ariyoshi, the wife of then Governor George Ariyoshi, wanted to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Hawaiian statehood by having 25,000 trees planted in Hawaii. A year after this successful campaign, she decided to launch One Million Trees of Aloha, to...

Keali’i Reichel with koa guitar

Keali'i Reichel, born and raised on Maui, is an internationally acclaimed musician, scholar, and teacher. He is pictured here playing a Taylor guitar with koa top, back, and sides.

Native Nursery on Maui

Ethan Romanchak and Jonathan Keyser started Native Nursery with a commitment to growing plants native to Maui for the purposes of statewide reforestation and landscaping. Haleakala Ranch, one of Paniolo's key collaborators, has been working with Native Nursery to...

The Fenceline

Cattle, deer, and pigs have eaten and trampled young koa for centuries now, much diminishing native koa forests that have already been stressed by pasture clearance and over-harvesting. The elimination of native species has allowed for the dominance of invasive...