Ash vs alder body tele

[treyhaislip]

Does a heavier alder body for the same guitar sound fuller with more sustain than a lighter alder body?

Not necessarily--this is the problem with trying to assign specifics to something organic and something with so many variables.

There are people who say things like tonewood, weight, size, cut, etc. is a farce and there are people who swear by it.

I have an extremely light Roasted Swamp Ash Tele (whole guitar is under 5lbs) that has great sustain and very full tone. I speak generally about certain properties such as wood, weight and cut but honestly, there are more than one way to correct any issue...a solid setup does wonders for a guitar. Throw in different hardware, pickups, wiring, etc. and you've gone down the rabbit trail of virtually endless variables of tone. :eyecrazy:

 

[esandes]

With all due respect to the valuable insights ptovided, there's a youtube from our friend Johsn Segeborn where he clamps planks of wood to a guitar and does a before and after. There's a difference.

 

[Mincer]

Does a heavier alder body for the same guitar sound fuller with more sustain than a lighter alder body?

Dunno. Whatever tone the heavier wood imparts isn't worth it to me. I'd rather have the weight savings.

 

[esandes]

One thing we may all agree to is ash is better for rhythm and alder for lead.

I have a swamp ash US G&L Fallout maple neck and fretboard. It's the only ash guitar I have. The low end resonance carries over to the neck like a Les Paul feels in your neck hand. I can hear and feel that extra bass.

I must say that I cringed when I first heard of chambered Les Pauls.

 

[alex1fly]

Not really my place to police the discussion but tonewood subtleties seem to be covered ad nauseum all over the interwebs and there's a pretty significant lack of consensus when it comes to blanket generalities. Much more interesting (to me) are discussions about particular features and how to best utilize them. For example, take an instrument with lots of low end resonance - what do you do with it? How does it affect your playing? Is it simply cool to feel in your hands?

 

[jeremy]

One thing we may all agree to is ash is better for rhythm and alder for lead.

I have a swamp ash US G&L Fallout maple neck and fretboard. It's the only ash guitar I have. The low end resonance carries over to the neck like a Les Paul feels in your neck hand. I can hear and feel that extra bass.

I must say that I cringed when I first heard of chambered Les Pauls.

i wouldnt agree with that. ive have both ash and alder strats and while they sound different, i wouldnt say one is better for leads vs rhythm

 

[treyhaislip]

Not really my place to police the discussion but tonewood subtleties seem to be covered ad nauseum all over the interwebs and there's a pretty significant lack of consensus when it comes to blanket generalities. Much more interesting (to me) are discussions about particular features and how to best utilize them. For example, take an instrument with lots of low end resonance - what do you do with it? How does it affect your playing? Is it simply cool to feel in your hands?

I am all for tonewood discussions—I think what is missing from most
of the discussions is not what your ear or “scientific” testing but rather how different combos make a player play.

I like to use “generally” when describing wood tone. I’ve yet to have a bright guitar made from Mahogany but that is just my experience.

I do like analyzing an issue with a guitar where one takes in all of the variables to get the tone one is after.

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

Generally since the 1950's Fender has used ash on their see through finishes and alder on their solid finishes. Ash has a much more interesting grain pattern and looks great when you can see it.

Of the two, I've found I like the alder body guitars I've had more than the ash ones. I know that's almost heresy when it comes to Fender (Ash is viewed as the king of Fender bodies) but I just find I like the tone better. Also now that quality ash has become more difficult to source, the lighter ash is also harder to find. It's way easier to get a light alder body than light ash on current production. Looking at Wildwood's inventory and just about all the ash body guitars they have in stock that were made in 2020 are over 8 lbs.

 

[esandes]

Ash has a much lower resonance frequency than alder. I do notice and appreciate the resonance on the fret hand coming from the neck when strumming chords. Just like a Les Paul.

 

[GuitarStv]

Generally since the 1950's Fender has used ash on their see through finishes and alder on their solid finishes. Ash has a much more interesting grain pattern and looks great when you can see it.

Of the two, I've found I like the alder body guitars I've had more than the ash ones. I know that's almost heresy when it comes to Fender (Ash is viewed as the king of Fender bodies) but I just find I like the tone better. Also now that quality ash has become more difficult to source, the lighter ash is also harder to find. It's way easier to get a light alder body than light ash on current production. Looking at Wildwood's inventory and just about all the ash body guitars they have in stock that were made in 2020 are over 8 lbs.

There's still light ash out there. I built a Warmoth Jazzmaster from a 3lb, 13oz Ash body last year. Fully assembled, it comes to a hair over 7 lbs . . . with a Floyd.

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

There's still light ash out there. I built a Warmoth Jazzmaster from a 3lb, 13oz Ash body last year. Fully assembled, it comes to a hair over 7 lbs . . . with a Floyd.

I never said there isn't any. Its just harder to source on a production line level scale. Which is why Fender is holding it back for their CS builds. The problem is only going to get worse as the emerald ash borer destroys more of the North American ash population.