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Which body wood would sound thicker?

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  • #1

    Which body wood would sound thicker?

    Hello all-

    I'm planning on ordering a Carvin 727 custom built guitar very soon, and I need your opinions on body wood. It's a 7 stringer, and I plan on getting a hardtail thru the body bridge for added sustain/tone. I'm a little confused over what body wood setup I should get. Cosmetics take a back seat to tone- what good is a pretty guitar that sounds like crap? The guitar will be a neck-thru model with a solid maple neck. Here is what I'm considering so far:

    -Mahogany (Honduran) body sides, regular paint finish
    -Mahogany body sides with a quilt maple top, regular paint finish
    -Mahogany body sides with a bookmatched Koa top, either clear satin finish or a tung oiled finish
    -Mahogany neck/body sides with tung oil or clear satin finish

    Fretboard will be ebony, and guitar will have 2 direct mount humbuckers. I really love the tone of Honduran Mahogany- rich, dark, singing tones. I play aggressive rock/metal as well as dirty, Souther-Fried boogie stuff.

    Any opinions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for all the help, guys!
    Very Metal.

    :firedevil :headbang: :firedevil

    ESP Lynch Kamikaze 4
    ESP Lynch Sunburst Tiger
    ESP Lynch Skulls and Snakes
    ESP Lynch Serpent-colored lefty body
    ESP KH-1
    LTD F-207-7 string- custom metal headstock tone block
    BC Rich KKV
    Schecter Omen 7-7 string- SD '59 neck/Custom bridge
    Soldano Series II Super Lead 60
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Which body wood would sound thicker?

    I would go with all mahogany or the mahogany with the Koa top. The neck design on the Carvin's (rock maple/ebony with a truss and 2 carbon rods) makes them brighter than usual, so you would need the mahogany to fatten it out. The maple would look pretty, but might make things a bit brighter than you're used to.
    Ain't nothin' but a G thang, baby.

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Which body wood would sound thicker?

      Thanks, Benjy 26! I've read that several times on the Harmony Central site. Seems many who got the flamed/quilt maple top found out it was way too bright sounding. Makes for a pretty looking, thin, trebly sounding guitar.

      Right now I'm leaning towards a maple neck-thru, with Mahogany sides and a Koa top. Any difference between a tung oil and a clear satin finish? Some sites (Wayne Guitars) boast that a oil-finished guitar sounds amazing! Never tried one before, so I don't know about that.

      My other option would be a totally blacked-out maple/mahogany guitar. I mean totally blacked out- no fret markers, black hardware, jet black paint. The only thing you'd see on it would be the strings and the frets!
      Very Metal.

      :firedevil :headbang: :firedevil

      ESP Lynch Kamikaze 4
      ESP Lynch Sunburst Tiger
      ESP Lynch Skulls and Snakes
      ESP Lynch Serpent-colored lefty body
      ESP KH-1
      LTD F-207-7 string- custom metal headstock tone block
      BC Rich KKV
      Schecter Omen 7-7 string- SD '59 neck/Custom bridge
      Soldano Series II Super Lead 60

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Which body wood would sound thicker?

        Please keep us updated on your purchase... I've been eyeing the same guitar for a while, in mahogany too no less.

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Which body wood would sound thicker?

          I shall! I was in Hollywood CA a few months ago, and I stepped into the Carvin store. I was VERY impressed with these guitars! The build quality, materials, and resulting tone and playabilty were incredible. How they charge so little is a mystery to me. I looked into an ESP custom shop 7 string, and the price they quoted me was in the $4000 range! I'd rather have a fleet of about 4 of the Carvin DC 727's in different colors!
          Very Metal.

          :firedevil :headbang: :firedevil

          ESP Lynch Kamikaze 4
          ESP Lynch Sunburst Tiger
          ESP Lynch Skulls and Snakes
          ESP Lynch Serpent-colored lefty body
          ESP KH-1
          LTD F-207-7 string- custom metal headstock tone block
          BC Rich KKV
          Schecter Omen 7-7 string- SD '59 neck/Custom bridge
          Soldano Series II Super Lead 60

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Which body wood would sound thicker?

            I don't have direct experience with this, but a maple neck-thru guitar with an ebony fingerboard will probably be pretty bright no matter what you do in terms of wood for the "wings". I'd avoid the maple cap and think hard about a rosewood fretboard if it's available.

            People swear the finish makes a big difference, and I'm sure it does on acoustic guitars. On a neck-thru electric, I'm not so sure, especially for your musical styles. You might want to explore the Library over on the Musical Instrument Makers Forum (must register to see the Library) to read up on tung oil. Also take a look at TruOil as a finishing alternative.

            Hopefully Zerb, Blueline or JohnJohn can give us better insight on this.

            Chip
            Heritage 535 Special, Warmoth frankenstrat, MIM Strat, & Taylor 314C(no E)
            Amp Builds: Tweed Princeton (5F2-A) variation, 2 BF Princeton Reverb clones, & Super Reverb clone
            Sometimes use a Blues Jr., Tech 21 Trademark 10 & Power Engine 60
            SPG modded DS-1, TS-7 & CryBaby; Visual Sounds Rte. 66 & H2O; Guyatone Tremolo
            SD pickups: SSL-2, APS-2, tapped Quarter Pound, Custom 5 & Antiquity humbuckers

            "Conan! What are the best things in life?"
            "Girls, guitars, guns and cars!"

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Which body wood would sound thicker?

              I would definitely go with the all mahogany with the tung oil finish.
              I've got a DC135 that's all koa/tung oil. Definitely a nice, warm, "pure" tone. It reacts very well with the M22T p/u. With distortion, it tends to get a very well rounded tone that just sings with distortion. I replaced the M22T with a Pearly Gates (not as powerful, but a brighter tone with a bit more character than the M22T, and more expressive dynamics).

              My DC400T (maple top, Maple neck, mahogany body wings) is very bright sounding, almost scooped sounding, so yeah, I'd go with all mahogany or all koa (a little bit "higher voiced" than mahogany).

              Brett
              Hamer XT Sunburst Archtop Flame- Phat Cats; Hamer Sunburst Archtop Quilted- Jazz(n)/Pearly Gates(b); Brian Moore i21 - Alnico 2 Pro(n)/Pearly Gates(b); Tex Mex Strat - Classic Stack(n)/Lil' 59(b); Carvin DC135T - used oval HotRails(n)/CustomCustom(b); '68 Gibson ES-335 - Jazz(b); RI Fender Bass VI (bari-electric Hot Rails bridge?); Standard Tele-Ash(SE)pickups?

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Which body wood would sound thicker?

                Thanks for all the info, guys! You're really helping me out with my decision.
                Very Metal.

                :firedevil :headbang: :firedevil

                ESP Lynch Kamikaze 4
                ESP Lynch Sunburst Tiger
                ESP Lynch Skulls and Snakes
                ESP Lynch Serpent-colored lefty body
                ESP KH-1
                LTD F-207-7 string- custom metal headstock tone block
                BC Rich KKV
                Schecter Omen 7-7 string- SD '59 neck/Custom bridge
                Soldano Series II Super Lead 60

                Comment

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