Ash or Alder?

[GuitarGuru88]

Um i am also thinking of getting a tele....because they also can hold their own with punk and/or some metal.....I was wondering which wood is better? Ash or Alder? Tonal Qualities? Weight? more or less like mahogany? and does fender sell a tele with a set neck without humbuckers?

 

[Erlend_G]

Re: Ash or Alder?

Well, i'll try to answer this as good as i can.
Just remember that what i say is just my opinion, mmmmm'kay?

Ok...
About the tonal qualities, i would say that alder gives a tigther tone, while ash is more buttery, alder is more scooped while ash is midrangy, alder is airy sounding while ash is denser. And also alder has a more brilliant treble, while ash has a chimier top end.

Swamp ash (most common) are generally ligther or the same weigth as alder, while Hard Ash are about as heavy as maple.

About which wood is more similar to mahagony, would be like "what tastes more like pear= orange or watermelon". All three woods are completely different .
Anyway, i would say ash, it's darker and more dense sounding, like mahagony.

I don't think that fender sells any teles with set necks and singlecoils. Anyway i would reccomend you to buy a Tele-style guitar from a different brand, like Schecter or similar. I think that when you buy a Fender you pay for the name .

Anyway, good luck
-Erlend

 

[GuitarGuru88]

Re: Ash or Alder?

yeah good point...fender is like gibson....you pay for the name...I know that you pay for quality too but still.

 

[nepalnt21]

Re: Ash or Alder?

ash is brighter than alder. i like ash better for use with a tele, but alder for a strat. ash might be too bright for punk or metal but good for other stuff. its a matter of personal taste.

 

[nepalnt21]

Re: Ash or Alder?

About which wood is more similar to mahagony, would be like "what tastes more like pear= orange or watermelon". All three woods are completely different .
-Erlend

this is true

i would say that alder gives a tigther tone, while ash is more buttery, alder is more scooped while ash is midrangy, alder is airy sounding while ash is denser. And also alder has a more brilliant treble, while ash has a chimier top end.

in my experience, alder is more "buttery", so i think you should test a few alder and ash guitars as it is a matter of personal taste. :22:

 

[FenderBender03]

Re: Ash or Alder?

If your looking for a Telecaster and wanna play punk or metal, i think you should lean towards one made of Alder. It's usually lighter in weight than Ash, and the tone isn't "airy" like most Ash bodied Teles. That being said, a great platform to start at for a good "shredder" Tele would be a Standard MIM model. I own an MIM Tele and an MIM Strat and wouldn't trade either of them for anything. Another great plus for these MIM Teles is that, first, they're OH so easy to mod, and they come from the factory with a humbucker routing in the neck position. My Tele is just heavy enough to make it feel really "solid". But really it's not much lighter or heavier than my 50's RI Esquire thats solid Ash. So i guess there are lots of variations in both types of wood. Just go play a bunch and take home the one that made the best connection with you.


FenderBender

 

[GuitarGuru88]

Re: Ash or Alder?

would you trade the tele for a GAX70? StocK?

and post a picture of the tele!!!! please!

 

[Erlend_G]

Re: Ash or Alder?

Well, nepalnt21, as i said, this was just my opinion. I once sat down for two hours with two identical fender strats, one was alder and the other one ash.

I felt that the alder one was more widely spread in the frequency range, the highs were higher and the lows deeper, and it also had a more piercing, hollow tone, but with a very tigth low end.

The Ash one had a much broader, thicker buttery midrangy tone, with a overall more focused, dense, smooth tone.

Well well, i suppose there is variances between different pieces of alder and ash, and i've only had my time to test two guitars like this once.

Ok?
-Erlend

 

[GuitarGuru88]

Re: Ash or Alder?

MiM = made in mexico?

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Ash or Alder?

i would figure that ash is "woodier" for lack of a better term. I love the tone of ash in strats so much, i wish i had gotten one!

 

[nepalnt21]

Re: Ash or Alder?

Well, nepalnt21, as i said, this was just my opinion. -Erlend

like i said, its a matter of personal opinion. i wasnt saying you were wrong, i was merely showing guitarguru that ppl have different tastes and that he may want to go out and test a few ash and alder guitars instead of basing his decision only on what we say.

 

[FretFire]

Re: Ash or Alder?

MiM = made in mexico?

Yep.

 

[nepalnt21]

Re: Ash or Alder?

MiM = made in mexico?

yes

 

[drp555]

Re: Ash or Alder?

I think if you want the traditional tele sound you have to go with ash body/maple fretboard...but since you want to use it for punk/metal styles I'd think an alder/rosewood tele would be the best fit ...Just my opinion, like some others have said, go and try out a bunch of tele's with different body and fingerboard woods and see what you dig the most....