DETROIT — General Motors is teaming up with a Detroit guitar company that makes its instruments with reclaimed wood from city buildings.
Chevrolet and Wallace Detroit Guitars are working to release a limited-edition line of guitars made of long grain maple from GM's truck plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The tie-up marks the centennial of Chevy Trucks.
Wallace Detroit Guitars founder Mark Wallace says "Chevrolet is a foundational element in the story of Detroit." He says using the wood was an attractive opportunity for a "company that honors the history of Detroit in every instrument we make."
Plus, he says, the maple is "gorgeous" and provides a sound "unlike any other instrument."
Wallace Detroit Guitars was founded in 2014.
The Free Press featured Wallace in 2013 when he won an $8,000 grant for his pitch to salvage wood and turn it into guitars from the Knight Arts Challenge Detroit.
“It’s really nice to have someone else believe in your idea,” Wallace said at the time.
The contest was spearheaded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and awarded $2.1 million to 56 projects included Wallace's.
Detroit Free Press contributed to this story.
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