SSS Swamp ash and maple

[KnifeR]

Re: SSS Swamp ash and maple

California '50s set will give you all that great vintage Strat tone (SSL-1). Very clear, bright, pristine highs without being harsh.

Right!
If you will search for a bit hotter Bridge - SSL-4 QP fits perfect to these pickups

[KnifeR]

Re: SSS Swamp ash and maple

Neck too? Impossible, conifers of any kind are too soft, even not all maple is hard enough for neck duty

As to the body, lots of cheap replacement bodies are some kinds spruce, pine, etc

You can infitrate the wood with a special resin used in composites industry (Special EPOXY) but after that the spruce in the neck wont sound the same!

[shoestring]

Re: SSS Swamp ash and maple

I see no reason to argue with your suggestions...

Nor do I, but none the less I'll look about ;-)

[shoestring]

Re: SSS Swamp ash and maple

SSL-1s would probably good as well. They may be just what you need in ash.
5/2s might be needed in ash once you finish the build. You never know.
Klein pickups would be something to check out for sure. They have period correct strat pickups from year to year.
David Allen pickups
Dimarzio True Velvets
Fat 50's....boy there's a lot of alternatives.

I have a swamp ash strat that I love to death, but the neck wood is unconventional being all rosewood.

Thanks Lake Placid. The David Allens sound nice :-) An all rosewood neck is quite unconventional, but I bet it sounds sweet :-)

[shoestring]

Re: SSS Swamp ash and maple

SSL-1s would probably good as well. They may be just what you need in ash.
5/2s might be needed in ash once you finish the build. You never know.
Klein pickups would be something to check out for sure. They have period correct strat pickups from year to year.
David Allen pickups
Dimarzio True Velvets
Fat 50's....boy there's a lot of alternatives.

I have a swamp ash strat that I love to death, but the neck wood is unconventional being all rosewood.

Thanks Lake Placid. The David Allens sound nice :-) An all rosewood neck is quite unconventional, but I bet it sounds sweet :-)

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: SSS Swamp ash and maple

Why not 3 x Alnico II Pro? I've got a Lite Ash Stratocaster I'm selling, all black and all original: swamp ash body, maple neck, 3 x Alnico II Pro Staggered.

[LReese]

Re: SSS Swamp ash and maple

I prefer a milder pickup for Ash/Maple - 6K range for all 3.

Had a Texas Hot Antiquity (Standard neck pickups) in the bridge of an Ash/Maple Strat for a while - A great pickup in that position.

[shoestring]

Re: SSS Swamp ash and maple

Guys. Thank you so much for all your help. So far I'm looking at SD antiquities as well as bare knuckle. Apache and Mothers Milk both sound fantastic, the Apache the most vintage true of those two. I'll be diving into more sounds and pups soon. Also I'll post a build thread in the near future.

To one and all a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

[jtougas]

Re: SSS Swamp ash and maple

My suggestion would be to use what you have first, then move in the direction that corrects what you feel is lacking.

[namklak]

Re: SSS Swamp ash and maple

DiMarzio True Velvets for a clear bell-like quack. I have those in an alder body, maple neck, ebony fret board Warmoth Stratish. Beautiful clean or with saturation. Killer slide tones with saturation.
For cheaper, try the Fender Tex Mex - slightly hotter than true velvets but they sound cool - great bang for the buck. Tried those in my '74 Strat, and I never took them out.

[J E C]

Re: SSS Swamp ash and maple

Adieu, why not Spruce, Ceder or Douglas Fir. Use some Graphite strips in them, one on each side of the T-rod running up in to the peghead, and a laminate of maple or some other hard wood on the back of the peghead to stiffen and strengthen it, and a hard wood FB. Douglas Fir would probably be strong enough with out the graphite. I have a neck that I made with some Red Ceder. It has a graphite U-channel T-rod in it that runs through the peg head, and a Black Walnut FB and veneer on the back of the peghead. I do have to admit I have not used this neck yet, but soon. Teuffel uses Alder for the necks of his Niwa Guitars with Pau Ferro FBs and a laminate on the face of the peghead. Not trying to be *****y, just pointing out a different point of view and ideas.

[shoestring]

Re: SSS Swamp ash and maple

This is something to aim for!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLRXNQDozxU

[Adieu]

Re: SSS Swamp ash and maple

My suggestion would be to use what you have first, then move in the direction that corrects what you feel is lacking.

works if you NEED the guitar and HAVE the stuff ready... all of it... and a complete, fleshed out concept. as well all the skills to get it perfect on first try

on the other hand, lots of us like the slow, contemplative pace where you might explore and change around three other elements while you wait for a certain part to pop up, learn a trick or two while you wait for the "popped up" part to arrive, etc... and once you have it in your hands, it doesn't even matter much if it's not what you actually wanted or needed, because the waiting gave you a chance to explore other avenues, consider things you didn't quite think through before, and maybe taught you a trick or three if you got tired of waiting for one thing or another and improvised a more elegant solution along the way

[Adieu]

Re: SSS Swamp ash and maple

Adieu, why not Spruce, Ceder or Douglas Fir. Use some Graphite strips in them, one on each side of the T-rod running up in to the peghead, and a laminate of maple or some other hard wood on the back of the peghead to stiffen and strengthen it, and a hard wood FB. Douglas Fir would probably be strong enough with out the graphite. I have a neck that I made with some Red Ceder. It has a graphite U-channel T-rod in it that runs through the peg head, and a Black Walnut FB and veneer on the back of the peghead. I do have to admit I have not used this neck yet, but soon. Teuffel uses Alder for the necks of his Niwa Guitars with Pau Ferro FBs and a laminate on the face of the peghead. Not trying to be *****y, just pointing out a different point of view and ideas.

imho alder is MONSTROUSLY strong compared to most common woods. used some for cabinet bracing, and a decently thick piece of alder can take some serious punishment. you can pretty much stud it with huge self-drilling screws like a porcupine and nothing happens to it, and when sawing it, you'll have hairline thicknesses at the ends holding together pretty huge pieces to the bitter end, where a conifer would long have splintered off....and that's just common hardware store crud bought up for pennies

also, this not an imho but a common classification:
alder, maple, birch = HARDwood
spruce, pine = SOFTwood

[J E C]

Re: SSS Swamp ash and maple

imho alder is MONSTROUSLY strong compared to most common woods. used some for cabinet bracing, and a decently thick piece of alder can take some serious punishment. you can pretty much stud it with huge self-drilling screws like a porcupine and nothing happens to it, and when sawing it, you'll have hairline thicknesses at the ends holding together pretty huge pieces to the bitter end, where a conifer would long have splintered off....and that's just common hardware store crud bought up for pennies

also, this not an imho but a common classification:
alder, maple, birch = HARDwood
spruce, pine = SOFTwood

I under stand were your coming from,
But the modulus of elasticity of Red Alder is 1.38 compared to Doug-fir at 1.95, Sitka Spruce at 1.57, and Big Leaf Maple at 1.45. The max shear strength parallel the grain for Red Alder is 1080 psi compared to Doug-fir at 1130 psi, Sitka Spruce at 1150 psi, and Big Leaf Maple at 1730. The impact bending height of drop to failure for Red Alder is 20" compared to Doug-fir at 31", Sitka Spruce at 25", and Big Leaf Maple at 28".
There are Soft Woods that are stronger than a lot of Hard Woods, and some that are a lot harder than a lot of Hard Woods.
You got to admit, those are some pretty good numbers for Doug-fir and Sitka Spruce compared to Red Alder and Big Leaf Maple!
I've been designing and building things since I was about 12. I worked in a cabinet shop doing mostly custom one off stuff, and making fixtures and tools for 4.5 years using Maple, Ash, Walnut, Cherry, Red Oak, Alder, and Poplar. I built my first guitar at 16, and worked doing repairs, custom building and making fixtures, tools and machines for a friend of mine on and off for many years. I've designed and built 2 gang saws for cutting fret slots (they cut all the slots at one time), that are still being used almost everyday after 20+ years. One of them is a hybrid sort of thing. I finagled the 34" scale and the 25.5" scale (up to 24 frets) around till I was able to cut them both with the same saw. Nether one is exact but they are close enough that you have to measure carefully to tell the difference and there is no problem with intonation. You can also get other scales out of it (27 5/8") depending on which blade you use for the nut. I worked for Moses Graphic for 9.5 years designing and building fixtures, tools, machines, molds, custom instruments, and various products. I know, what I know, from practical experience, experimentation, and research. There is a way to cope with and get around almost any problem.