Alder wood batches in pre cbs

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Guitarman555

New member
Does anybody know about different types of alder wood batches in pre-cbs Fender guitars? I have heard something about Washington batch around 62, than Oregon before 64 and after Californian wood, each bit different resonance and sustain. Is it true or probably myth?
Don t need to repeat here what everyone knows: that wood type is not most important on electrical guitar, that Leo bought cheapest he could and that i should better practice guitar because fingers are most important:)
 
none of that would surprise me, but i dont know. hell, i doubt even fender knows at this point
 
NO dont bring up tonewood!!
Sone people swear wood makes no differance...yet they own no plywood guitars🤣
 
Ok plywood is laminate
Laminate tops are industry standard
So that prized figured burst is laminate
So all are plywood

Two ply wood

Does wood matter,? Probably
In an electric solid body ?
Body wood not so much
Neck wood , undoubtedly

I have two ash body with maple neck guitars

They sound alot alike

I have Basswood and mahogany and they sound similar enough that if I played samples blind, you couldn't distinguish one from another

Neck wood makes a huge difference

Fretboard not at all
Rosewood does feel better to me under the fingers
But makes absolutely no difference in tone

There is a lot of marketing trying to make one product standout against the masses
And to overvalue some inane part so as to separate the consumer from as much money as possible
 
Density of the wood (affecting resonance and sustain) can vary from tree to tree. Trees in a region might have some common characteristics due to weather patterns they grew in, but I think you can always find equivalent density blocks of wood of the same species growing in different areas. I wouldn't put too much stock what region the wood came from. I have a '66 Strat, which is a much maligned CBS era, but out of the 4-5 Strats I've owned, it's always hands down the best sounding, and I've wholesale moved electronics and bridges between them and the '66 still sounded like it does. It sustains like my Les Paul. I've recorded tracks and ringing chords at the end of songs matched in duration between the LP on one side and the '66 on the other, with no processing (no compression or limiting).
 
I have a hard time pinning down the sound of an electric guitar to one specific component.
 
I will say everything has ecceptions. But in strats most( not all but most) basswood ones Ive played sounded dead. And a larger %( again not all) Alder ones seem to resonate well. IME
 
The only higher end Strat that I've (knowingly) played with basswood was my EVH 78 Eruption that I bought out of impulse because of how well it sounded. I put a DMZ ADM in it and it's now the most dynamic humbucker guitar I own.

The only other basswood Strats of decent quality I can name off the top of my head are some of the MIJs. But I'm no expert, so there are probably more.

On the other hand, if you are looking for a basswood guitar that sits in the minimum viable product category, those can be found anywhere.
 
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Guitar forum Koolaid.
 
I once thought body wood did matter but, after 30 years of experiments, I think it only affect the unplugged sound (and back ache in case of excessive weight), it's the combination of the parts that really has an effect on sound and playability, given the fact 80% of it comes from pickups
(IMHO, obvioulsy)
 
Its a safe bet that any guitar made in the 1950's & 60's was "old growth" wood and superior to anything since.
Its also safe to assume most those guitars are long gone.
Common knowledge unless you're a nOOb.
 
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