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tot_Ou_tard
February 27th, 2008, 07:22 AM
Which wood do you prefer for a strat?

Alder? Swamp ash? Something else?


Why?

mrmudcat
February 27th, 2008, 07:26 AM
Swamp ash !!!!! I like this tonewood over everything on a strat!!

tot_Ou_tard
February 27th, 2008, 07:32 AM
Swamp ash !!!!! I like this tonewood over everything on a strat!!

Muddy, what does swamp ash bring to the party?

mrmudcat
February 27th, 2008, 07:59 AM
Reasons for me is sound first and foremost.Swamp just seems to sustain resonate better/longer yada yada!! I know it is a tired spiel but its true to my ears atleast:D Leo used ash im pretty sure on the first strat.
Secondary reasons are plenty. The grain patterns are so distinct /unique, natural and see thru stain finishes come out very pretty. :AOK:

The ash wood also seems stronger to hold hardware better meaning less strippage of screw holes, neck bolts etc....and is lighter:AOK:(oops edited before seeing wings post)

tot_Ou_tard
February 27th, 2008, 08:08 AM
All very good reasons Muddy.

Does anyone wish to counter with Alder, or chime in with a chorus of

Ash! Ash! Ash! Ash!

?

mrmudcat
February 27th, 2008, 08:14 AM
I am not in the "it dosent matter what wood it is, it is electric so there is no tonal difference" camp.:whatever:

I think this is a weak argument presented by those not able to relize the complexities of tone and the sum of all parts combining to achieve said tone,especially the wood.:thwap: ;)
So yea>>>>>>>>>>

ASH:bootyshake: ASH:bootyshake: ASH:bootyshake:

Spudman
February 27th, 2008, 08:18 AM
I've always connected with Alder the most. It just seems to work for me, but I'm looking at getting an Ash Strat style guitar soon. Alder is still my favorite.

mrmudcat
February 27th, 2008, 08:23 AM
Spuds most of my strats are alder and all sound great. I love the thin nitro finish on this wood. Ash is just my thing I guess ash/maple combo=:master:Just to toss out there as I think it is the least important reason to choose one over the other. Ash im sure is considered an upgrade and is a lil more value so it should help retain a better value of a completed guitar:beer:

sunvalleylaw
February 27th, 2008, 08:58 AM
I only have had one, and it is alder, and I like its sound, so I'll say alder. I guess the grain of swamp ash may be desirable for clear finishes visually. At least I understand most clear finish styles are ash.

wingsdad
February 27th, 2008, 09:05 AM
My Strat is alder and weighs as much as an LP (almost 10 lbs.). I like it's tight, biting 'sound'...combined with a maple board, and 'just' stock Fender strat pups. (I once changed them to some Duncan things, and couldn't yank them fast enough...they 'ruined' the sound of the guitar, to my taste, anyway).

My G&L Comanche is swamp ash, maple board, and much different pups, so it's a totally different bird. But even tho it's way lighter at about 6 lbs, as m-cat points out, and mebbe its the pups, too, this 'sings' and sustains more when I ask it to, compared to the alder beast.

Take these remarks with a grain of msg, though, because both these guitars are also influenced by brass bridges, not cast pig metal. The Comanche aslo has a graphtech nut, the Strat's is whatever Fender put on it...'ivoroid', I guess, or in layman's terms, plastic? Doesn't bother me. I personally think that other than playing open strings, the nut is not much of a factor once you cut it off by fretting.

sunvalleylaw
February 27th, 2008, 09:08 AM
I may have to do a comparison some time to see. I bet I would end up saying I like both and wish to have one of each. Kinda like eventually wanting both a rosewood/spruce dread (ala D-28), and mahogany/spruce (ala D-18). ;-)

Tone2TheBone
February 27th, 2008, 09:48 AM
Both my Strats are Alder but I love the solid Ash tone on my Muddy Tele so I probably would want an Ash Strat at some point. Ash.

marnold
February 27th, 2008, 10:30 AM
The problem with much of the wood debate is that there is quite a bit of variety even within the same species. Basswood is in general a light wood, but my basswood Model 7 weighed a ton. My basswood Fender is as light as a feather comparatively speaking. With swamp ash, was this particular piece of wood completely submerged? Partially? For a few years or a few decades? Add to that the fact that very few guitars are made from one solid hunk o' tree.

I'm not saying that wood plays no role at all in tone. It does. But it is one small part in a greater tone picture. Obviously the differences are far greater when you are dealing with acoustics.

I won't even get into the other issues such as availability, visual beauty, renewability, etc.

stingx
February 27th, 2008, 10:31 AM
I'm an oak man myself. :)

I'll tell ya though, I wouldn't mind having a guitar made of snakewood (http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/snakewood.htm).


http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/snakewood/snakewood%201%20s100%20q60%20web.jpg

Brian Krashpad
February 27th, 2008, 11:16 AM
I doubt I'd be able to tell the difference. I'm not a Strat guy anyhow. I've had 3 over the years but they were all cheapies. The first one was an 80's Korean Squier, I don't even know what it was made of.

The other 2 (MIM Fender and Peavey USA Predator) I've had were both poplar, and they sounded fine to me. I also have a poplar Tele (probably with a laminate top of alder or ash, Fender didn't ever list such but because mine is a burst and you can see the grain, and poplar can be streaky, I suspect a laminate top of something else).

I'm sure alder, ash, or poplar would be fine for my purposes. I do have an ash '52 RI Tele.

Bloozcat
February 27th, 2008, 11:55 AM
Alder...no, wait, swamp ash.....alder...swamp ash....

Truth is, I like them both. But for different reasons.

Take an alder body and a swamp ash body, both at 4lbs, and there's subtle, but noticable differences in the tone.

Swamp ash has a solid bottom, slightly more upper mid and treble, with a snap or pop to the tone. It's kind of a "more direct" tone, if that makes any sense. Only slightly less warm than alder.

Alder is more balanced and warmer than swamp ash. Solid warm bottom, slightly more middy than swamp ash, and enough upper mids and highs to give it a balanced tone. I like the description that Tommy Rosemond at USACG uses...the "tastes like chicken" of tone woods.

Of course there's no accounting for the differences in any particular piece of wood of any kind over another type of wood of similar or identical weight. Some bodies just sound fantastic, while others sound like a wet blanket.

Since I've used alder for the longest and I'm most used to it, I think I'm a little more intrigued with swamp ash lately. Probably cause it's different more than anything else.

Brian Krashpad
February 27th, 2008, 01:13 PM
This just occurred to me-- I wonder if anyone's made Strats out of Northern Ash instead of swamp ash.

That's what most of the old Peavey T-60's were made of (some of the painted ones were poplar).

Bloozcat
February 27th, 2008, 02:10 PM
This just occurred to me-- I wonder if anyone's made Strats out of Northern Ash instead of swamp ash.

That's what most of the old Peavey T-60's were made of (some of the painted ones were poplar).

Yeah, northern ash is used for guitar bodies. It's heavy (5-lbs. and up), and it's bright with a long sustain. Doesn't sound like my cup of tea for a Strat. More like baseball bat and hockey stick material to me....:D

tot_Ou_tard
March 5th, 2008, 06:56 AM
Wow, some great replies. Thanks!

Since Teles were brought up. How about the same question for Teles.

Bloozcat
March 5th, 2008, 07:04 AM
Wow, some great replies. Thanks!

Since Teles were brought up. How about the same question for Teles.

Ash, for me anyway.

Kodiak3D
March 5th, 2008, 07:40 AM
Well my "strat" (actually a Washburn X-33) is solid alder, and I like it. However, I'm definitely interested trying out other wood types.

Jimi75
March 5th, 2008, 07:42 AM
I like Basswood quite a lot. It offers a wide spectrum of sounds, it sounds warm but not so muddy/thick as Alder.

My Jimmie Vaughan Sig is a Basswood model and it sounds super!

Bloozcat
March 5th, 2008, 08:16 AM
I like Basswood quite a lot. It offers a wide spectrum of sounds, it sounds warm but not so muddy/thick as Alder.

My Jimmie Vaughan Sig is a Basswood model and it sounds super!

Your Jimmy Vaughan Strat is basswood, Jimi?

I thought the Jimmy Vaughan Strats started out as poplar initially, then went to alder after a couple of years (beginning in 2000/2001, I think). :confused:

Jimi75
March 5th, 2008, 08:26 AM
Your Jimmy Vaughan Strat is basswood, Jimi?

I thought the Jimmy Vaughan Strats started out as poplar initially, then went to alder after a couple of years (beginning in 2000/2001, I think). :confused:

Yeah I am quite sure it is. You are absolutely right with what you are saying, but I guess there was a first run wiht Basswood and it is one of the first series. This is what my dealer told me when I bought it and this is what I heard later on from Fender.

ZMAN
March 5th, 2008, 08:43 AM
I have a really good cross section of tone woods. I think though that a guitar is a combination of the wood, type of fretboard and pickups. So it is really hard to say I like one more than another. I tend to like them for the tone they put out. I have basswood but all of them are Maple boards, I have ash with noiseless pickups and maple. I have alder with SCN and maple, or tex mex and maple. Agathis is not bad either with the rosewood and vintage style pickups. So to choose a specific wood is quite hard.
Weight can be an issue and my Ash strat is quite heavy, while my CIJ Basswood is relatively light. With strats being such versatile instruments you can hear deep growling tone to shrill high pitched tone. I guess that is why I have so many!