Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

[NegativeEase]

Re: Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

And it worked. Changing pups/wiring in a Strat is a breeze compared to many others.

Indeed, setting pins on a tune-o-matic bridge, through necks, channeling out cable conveyance from a rear cavity picket, and angled headstocks are much much harder for manufacturing.

 

[Ascension]

Re: Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

Just sold my Modern Player plus Tele to fund the PRS MT15 with a pine body.
Had a 59/Custom hybrid bridge Alnico II Strat middle a Alnico II Pro tele neck in it. Tones were a little towards the bright side but not harsh overall very nice sounding guitar. Grain was stunning through the Sunburst and while it was a little on the heavy side it was a very nice guitar.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

Pine has become very hip in the guitar world in the past 10-15 years. Lots of pine Teles are out there as custom builds/assemblies. Squier even uses (or used, at one point) pine on their '50s style Tele (though it seems to be heavy pine most of the time).

I am lucky enough to own a one-of-a-kind G&L Legacy that has a lightweight western sugar pine body AND neck (with a rosewood board). It is lightweight, and among the best sounding handful of "Strats" I've ever played...not to mention visually stunning in its translucent red finish. It was a prototype for a signature model that didn't ever get put into production.

AFAIK, you can custom order any G&L with a pine or paulownia ("empress") body.

It's also worth mentioning that the very first Fender guitars (in-house prototypes and pre-production demos for NAMM and musician trials) had multi-piece pine bodies that were 1/4" thinner than what we now think of as standard Fender body thickness. They were about the thickness of later student models like the Duo-Sonic.

I'm sure it's like any other guitar wood, in that it can sound good or bad, or anything in between the two. It can also look beautiful or ugly, or anything in between.

 

[OLDERBUDWISER]

Re: Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

I always figured that pine would be risky to use as a guitar because it's such a soft wood. Don't you get issues from that?

Yellow pine isnt soft, in fact it gets harder with age LOL

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

My Classic Vibe Tele was pine and sounded as Tele as you’d want.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

Yellow pine isnt soft, in fact it gets harder with age LOL

Huh. I learned something new today . . . apparently my long time assumptions were wrong. Soft woods aren't necessarily soft, and hardwoods aren't necessarily hard.

https://extension.psu.edu/what-is-the-difference-between-hardwood-and-softwood

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

Huh. I learned something new today . . . apparently my long time assumptions were wrong. Soft woods aren't necessarily soft, and hardwoods aren't necessarily hard.

https://extension.psu.edu/what-is-the-difference-between-hardwood-and-softwood

Cool read. Pine grain is much different than Deciduous Maple or other familiar Tonewoods -The luthier for the SG guitar I posted said working with Fir -which is in the Coniferous Pine family said working with Fir was a total pain in the ass. So I suggest that using Pine probably has some challenges that are unrelated to just being dinged easily -I'll ask.

I'll put money that the tiny uniform grain of Pine creates new issues.

 

[RorySquier]

Re: Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

I also think Pine is hip...just don't let your grandmother know.

;>)/

 

[Lovegun]

Re: Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

I'm in the belief that pine and fir hard to handle because of the sap. I assume it takes longer for those Woods to dry and not secrete sap.

 

[Artie]

Re: Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

I'm in the belief that pine and fir hard to handle because of the sap. I assume it takes longer for those Woods to dry and not secrete sap.

Part of the reason I ask, is because I bought several of these: https://www.homedepot.com/p/2-in-x-2-in-x-6-ft-Select-Pine-Board

They're really smooth, and kiln dried. 1.5 x 1.5 actual dimension, so they might make a nice "butcher-block" style body. Or, could just be painted. Seems like nice wood for not a lot of money.

In that link, the wood looks yellow-ish. It's actually almost oak white.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

Roast it
Then glue it
Then shou sugi ban

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

Part of the reason I ask, is because I bought several of these: https://www.homedepot.com/p/2-in-x-2-in-x-6-ft-Select-Pine-Board

They're really smooth, and kiln dried. 1.5 x 1.5 actual dimension, so they might make a nice "butcher-block" style body. Or, could just be painted. Seems like nice wood for not a lot of money.

In that link, the wood looks yellow-ish. It's actually almost oak white.

Dudes, I asked my friend in Germany who made the red SG Pine/Fir guitar I posted earlier -he said it's hard because of the constant imperfections (Sap, Grain etc) and coniferous wood is like a giant sponge -finishing takes forever.

the guitar does play and sound amazing though.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

There are different grades of pine. And there are different qualities of drying applied to it.

#1 pine from a higher end lumber yard will be much more clear, straight, and stable than your run-of-the-mill "pine" or "fir" that you pick up anywhere. That stuff is just rough framing wood. It has knots, voids, and other imperfections, and often twists like a mo-fo due to being farmed, harvested too young, and not dried well enough before milling.

People like using both kinds for guitars. For a while, it was hip to use ugly and/or reclaimed pine for guitars, with people boasting about the beauty of the knots in their Teles. Glad that fad has passed.

OTOH, a clear pine body is a thing of beauty. One of the only guitar bodies I have ever considered putting a simple clear finish on was a single piece pine Esquire body that Marc Rutters made for me. The grain was so straight and mild that it almost looked like it was already painted.

 

[Artie]

Re: Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

That stuff is just rough framing wood. It has knots, voids, and other imperfections . . .

The pine I have is not from the "lumber" section, but over in the finishing section, with the crown molding, etc. These 2x2's are totally straight and devoid of any imperfections or knots. Milled perfectly smooth. They almost look like maple or oak. I think they're intended for cabinet building or such. The Home Depot pic is bad.

 

[Lovegun]

Re: Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

Part of the reason I ask, is because I bought several of these: https://www.homedepot.com/p/2-in-x-2-in-x-6-ft-Select-Pine-Board

They're really smooth, and kiln dried. 1.5 x 1.5 actual dimension, so they might make a nice "butcher-block" style body. Or, could just be painted. Seems like nice wood for not a lot of money.

In that link, the wood looks yellow-ish. It's actually almost oak white.

I was speaking generally why builders don't use it, but I don't see a problem with the piece of wood you have.

 

[Artie]

Re: Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

I want to get started on it, but right now it's just unbearably hot & muggy in my "shop". (Garage.)

 

[mojosman]

Re: Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

There is a fantastic luthier named Ron Kirn from Florida that made a run of pine telecasters from 100+ year old pine recovered from old barns and out buildings that were being torn down. From what I remember they were as popular as free beer over on the tele board (TDPRI.com), and they were selling like hotcakes. He makes them by hand to order, and to your specs.

 

[Artie]

Re: Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

^^^^ That is sweet. Not the direction I'm going, but sweet nonetheless.

 

[Francois]

Re: Are there any Pine-bodied guitars?

Cheap and easy to break... Perfect for a The Who Tribute band !

That said, I like the SG pics above with pine / mahogany inserts.