What about this mash up of tone woods?

[Mr 9finger]

Re: What about this mash up of tone woods?

Maybe it's true but when I think about things like that I try not to fall into stereotypes created by the market with money and profit in mind.

Me either. The best sounding(to me) Strat I had ever put together had a mahogany body and neck with a rosewood fretboard and vintage wound single coils. Most Stratheads squawk at the idea and say that Mahogany makes a Strat too muddy with singles. I had the exact opposite experience with it, it was still articulate with a mellow tone to it. The only thing it really lost was some chime.

I think I might go with this idea if the money thing pans out. If nothing else, I'll slap another neck on it and get another body for the mahogany neck.

Slap a Bill Lawrence L500XL in the bridge and an L500R in the neck. Put an oversize block on the Floyd and see how it turns out!

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: What about this mash up of tone woods?

I can understand going with something different. You already have the Alder body so that is set. Rather than go with a mahogany neck (which may not match up with alder) and a selection of fretboard woods, I'd go with a one piece neck of a non-standard wood like a one piece rosewood neck or a one piece pau ferro. I like Dr K's suggestion of wenge. A bass player I played with had bass with a one piece wenge neck. That bass had the deepest low end you can imagine.

I put together a swamp ash strat with a one piece rosewood neck that I just love. With alder a RW neck may be a bit darker than normal but that may be what you want? I don't know.

PRS uses one piece RW with mahogony successfully too.

[MetalManiac]

Re: What about this mash up of tone woods?

Maple/Pau Ferro with Alder. Suhr really likes the Pau Ferro with Alder. Very Crisp and sparkly sound. Its got some maple properties tone-wise, however gets a really nice finger touch with the silky fretboard.

[MetalManiac]

Re: What about this mash up of tone woods?

Cocobolo, Pau Rosa,Basswood, Padouk, Purpleheart, Ziricote, Zebrawood, Korina, Black Walnut, North Ash , Madagascar Ebony, Blackwood, Lacewood,Pine, Redwood, oaK, Mesquite,Pecan,Canary, Cherry, Bocote, Wenge,

Better do your homework. ya can't mish-mash em. Some go really well together, others fail.

[WhoFan]

Re: What about this mash up of tone woods?

I'm just kicking around some ideas here. I found out my tax return is probably going to be more than I thought, so I'll have a bit more $$ to work with.

I'm trying to envision might sound.

Alder body
Mahogany neck
Ebony or Rosewood fretboard
Scale length is undecided

The body I have is routed for bridge and neck buckers and a recessed Floyd.

Pickups aside, Alder has a brighter sound and Mahogany has a warm tone to it. Ebony has a little more snap and note clarity, while rosewood kind of rounds off the notes and smooths them out.

I'm thinking with this odd combo of woods, the scale length and pickups are going to play a major role in the tone of the guitar. What do you guys think?

i have a Godin that has a body made of Soft Maple and a Mahogany neck... according to Warmoth.com Alder is very simular to tone to Soft Maple... I love that guitar!!! sounds great!!!!!!

[marvelous_seven]

Re: What about this mash up of tone woods?

Nice idea,tell us how it goes then
I think it would be nicer if you go with a hard one piece quartersawn mahogany neck,just to add stiffness and more stability,maybe a little bit more snap to the tone (I got this from Martin Koch's book).
Sometimes think outside the box is fun,as long as you're ready with any of the result.

[bruce bennett]

Re: What about this mash up of tone woods?

Alder body and Mahogany neck? Hmmm..Nah.

Kinda interesting you say that.. I just built one for Joe Walsh and it was Alder body , Mahogany neck with Ebony Fingerboard.

He's useing it right now on tour with the Eagles.



Oh and it weighed only 4.9 lbs with the stainless steel control plate

[Mr 9finger]

Re: What about this mash up of tone woods?

Maple/Pau Ferro with Alder. Suhr really likes the Pau Ferro with Alder. Very Crisp and sparkly sound. Its got some maple properties tone-wise, however gets a really nice finger touch with the silky fretboard.

A Pau Ferro fretboard isn't out of the question. I hadn't really thought about it to be honest.

Cocobolo, Pau Rosa,Basswood, Padouk, Purpleheart, Ziricote, Zebrawood, Korina, Black Walnut, North Ash , Madagascar Ebony, Blackwood, Lacewood,Pine, Redwood, oaK, Mesquite,Pecan,Canary, Cherry, Bocote, Wenge,

Better do your homework. ya can't mish-mash em. Some go really well together, others fail.

There's not doubt there are a ton of woods out there that could be used, months spent on research and several hundred, if not thousands trying them all. Some will work, some won't. With what experience I've gotten from putting my own guitars together in the past, the tried and true materials can be made to work using the right hardware and electronics in them.

i have a Godin that has a body made of Soft Maple and a Mahogany neck... according to Warmoth.com Alder is very simular to tone to Soft Maple... I love that guitar!!! sounds great!!!!!!

The Godin is actually what gave me the idea to use these woods together!

Kinda interesting you say that.. I just built one for Joe Walsh and it was Alder body , Mahogany neck with Ebony Fingerboard.

He's useing it right now on tour with the Eagles.



Oh and it weighed only 4.9 lbs with the stainless steel control plate

What scale length did you use on Joe's guitar? I'm leaning towards a 25" or 24 3/4".

[acakatura]

Re: What about this mash up of tone woods?

I have a USACG Alder Body strat with their super wide Mah/Ros Neck and It sounds awesome
I would describe it as having a bit more weight in every note then the usual maple neck with rosewood fretboard
Before that neck I had a quarter sawn Maple neck , The new neck sounds much better IMHO
Good Luck !

[bruce bennett]

Re: What about this mash up of tone woods?

Joe's guitar is 24.75 scale.

[Mr 9finger]

Re: What about this mash up of tone woods?

I have a USACG Alder Body strat with their super wide Mah/Ros Neck and It sounds awesome
I would describe it as having a bit more weight in every note then the usual maple neck with rosewood fretboard
Before that neck I had a quarter sawn Maple neck , The new neck sounds much better IMHO
Good Luck !

That's kind of what I'm looking for. A smoother, chunkier tone, with some thump to it. I want something that's a little darker in it's natural tone, but can be dialed in with some high end bite with the right amp and pickups.

Joe's guitar is 24.75 scale.

Thanks! I've been leaning towards that scale length. I love how slinky a set of heavy top/skinny bottom strings feel with it.