Chuck_Norris
New member
Which of the two do you prefer for hard rock & metal and why?
Body wood: Alder vs Mahogany for hard rock & metal?
- Thread starter Chuck_Norris
- Start date
Archer_of_Fish
New member
Re: Body wood: Alder vs Mahogany for hard rock & metal?
Depends on the rest of the guitar's components and the rig you are going to run. EIther can work.
Depends on the rest of the guitar's components and the rig you are going to run. EIther can work.
Chuck_Norris
New member
Re: Body wood: Alder vs Mahogany for hard rock & metal?
Set neck or bolt on neck. Fixed bridge. High gain amp.
Set neck or bolt on neck. Fixed bridge. High gain amp.
RobSoundtrack
New member
Re: Body wood: Alder vs Mahogany for hard rock & metal?
One for riffage
The other for solos!
One for riffage
The other for solos!
TheLivingDead
Dawn Of The Shred
Re: Body wood: Alder vs Mahogany for hard rock & metal?
This is what I was thinking.
Love mahog for it's fuller rhythms and alder for its well-rounded tone and bumped up presence.
Basswood would be my current favorite.
This is what I was thinking.
Love mahog for it's fuller rhythms and alder for its well-rounded tone and bumped up presence.
Basswood would be my current favorite.
marvelous_seven
New member
Re: Body wood: Alder vs Mahogany for hard rock & metal?
As long as it has good humbucker in the bridge,you'll be good to go.
As long as it has good humbucker in the bridge,you'll be good to go.
ItsaBass
New member
Re: Body wood: Alder vs Mahogany for hard rock & metal?
Funny; I like using a bridge single coil when I play hard rock and metal!
We each know what works for ourselves. It just proves that there is no right answer for this question.
Funny; I like using a bridge single coil when I play hard rock and metal!
We each know what works for ourselves. It just proves that there is no right answer for this question.
Quencho092
New member
Re: Body wood: Alder vs Mahogany for hard rock & metal?
Looks like more people don't really care about wood choice as long as it's a good guitar!
THUS CONFIRMING MY GUITAR TONE WOOD DEBUNKING TROLL-ISMS! My strat now sounds just like an LP deluxe, no question.......
Looks like more people don't really care about wood choice as long as it's a good guitar!
THUS CONFIRMING MY GUITAR TONE WOOD DEBUNKING TROLL-ISMS! My strat now sounds just like an LP deluxe, no question.......
ItsaBass
New member
Re: Body wood: Alder vs Mahogany for hard rock & metal?
Yes; and we all know that swamp ash is really only in it's proper use when being played in a cajun/zydeco band! And basswood is only good for basses, right?
Yes; and we all know that swamp ash is really only in it's proper use when being played in a cajun/zydeco band! And basswood is only good for basses, right?
J
Jessie's ghost
Guest
Re: Body wood: Alder vs Mahogany for hard rock & metal?
All it proves is that great hard rock & metals guitars can be made from a variety of woods. If you want to prove that all woods sound the same, you're going to have to get more scientific than anything that's popped up here recently.
All it proves is that great hard rock & metals guitars can be made from a variety of woods. If you want to prove that all woods sound the same, you're going to have to get more scientific than anything that's popped up here recently.
MetalManiac
Li'l Junior Member
Re: Body wood: Alder vs Mahogany for hard rock & metal?
I'm going with Alder Superstrat with Maple / Rosewood neck. Either bolt on or set neck.
Mahogany set neck Superstart with Ebony neck is a great classic /Metal axe. Thats simplistic, but you get the idea.
I'm gonna go with Alder body.
Mahogany is more complex..usually requires a set mahogany /Ebony neck and more careful pickup selection.
I'm going with Alder Superstrat with Maple / Rosewood neck. Either bolt on or set neck.
Mahogany set neck Superstart with Ebony neck is a great classic /Metal axe. Thats simplistic, but you get the idea.
I'm gonna go with Alder body.
Mahogany is more complex..usually requires a set mahogany /Ebony neck and more careful pickup selection.
CTN
The Drama Dude
Re: Body wood: Alder vs Mahogany for hard rock & metal?
both sound great for hard rock and metal. it's got more to do with the pickups, playing and the amp than the type of wood your guitar's made of.
For my old band's album I double tracked my guitar parts
Track 1 rhythm was my TB-5/SH-2n mahogany body, mahogany set-neck ibanez through my Jet City JCA100H.
Track 2 rhythm was my SuperDistortion-loaded alder strat through my buddy's Splawn Quick Rod.
I used my strat for about half of my solos, and my ibanez for the other half.
Both tracks individually sounded great.
Together they sounded full, tight, saturated and complex, but detailed, crisp and lively.
both sound great for hard rock and metal. it's got more to do with the pickups, playing and the amp than the type of wood your guitar's made of.
For my old band's album I double tracked my guitar parts
Track 1 rhythm was my TB-5/SH-2n mahogany body, mahogany set-neck ibanez through my Jet City JCA100H.
Track 2 rhythm was my SuperDistortion-loaded alder strat through my buddy's Splawn Quick Rod.
I used my strat for about half of my solos, and my ibanez for the other half.
Both tracks individually sounded great.
Together they sounded full, tight, saturated and complex, but detailed, crisp and lively.
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Edgecrusher
New member
Re: Body wood: Alder vs Mahogany for hard rock & metal?
I didnt know that everyone wanted the same sound in a hard rock guitar.
If you want to do any tone wood debunking you need to use exactly the same guitar minus the wood. Not two wholly different guitars. The day you have 2 strats with exactly the same neck frets hardware and pickups and finish the only difference being body wood then you can make some comments about tone wood. The guitars need to sound exactly the same NOT similar for you to say it makes no difference and they need to do it through any amp not just 1 set for a dead pan middle tone.
Until then everything you say is a best is a misguided opinion but as much as you run around preaching it it starts to smell a lot like a troll.
I didnt know that everyone wanted the same sound in a hard rock guitar.
If you want to do any tone wood debunking you need to use exactly the same guitar minus the wood. Not two wholly different guitars. The day you have 2 strats with exactly the same neck frets hardware and pickups and finish the only difference being body wood then you can make some comments about tone wood. The guitars need to sound exactly the same NOT similar for you to say it makes no difference and they need to do it through any amp not just 1 set for a dead pan middle tone.
Until then everything you say is a best is a misguided opinion but as much as you run around preaching it it starts to smell a lot like a troll.
MetalManiac
Li'l Junior Member
Re: Body wood: Alder vs Mahogany for hard rock & metal?
Edgecrusher;3053579 If you want to do any tone wood debunking you need to use exactly the same guitar minus the wood. Not two wholly different guitars. The day you have 2 strats with exactly the same neck frets hardware and pickups and finish the only difference being body wood then you can make some comments about tone wood. The guitars need to sound exactly the same NOT similar for you to say it makes no difference and they need to do it through any amp not just 1 set for a dead pan middle tone. [/QUOTE said:
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J
Jessie's ghost
Guest
Re: Body wood: Alder vs Mahogany for hard rock & metal?
How do you figure? It sounds like he's just promoting good science.
How do you figure? It sounds like he's just promoting good science.
Quencho092
New member
Re: Body wood: Alder vs Mahogany for hard rock & metal?
Well first off I know that I get annoying about it, which is why I posed the statement as a joke. Tone differences between guitars of the same model is a very valid notion supporting the belief that all guitars sound different.
But is the difference more about how well set up a guitar is, and free of poor construction anomalies? or is it because the tone wood was selected from an endangered forest in some exotic location like the Taiga or Amazon vs Mexico?
When a guitar plays cheap, there's something wrong with its construction (no sh!t right?). The bridge could be set up like crap, intonation is bad, action is set to buzz, or frets are all messed up (which doesn't really happen that much anymore, though brands have diff crown shapes/fret sizes materials and preferences differ), or neck is warped or making poor contact in the neck pocket resulting in a dud sounding guitar. I seriously doubt that wood quality could possibly be such a massive variable like something such as pickups or the way a bridge is mounted/materials, you would have to compare a good guitar with a pile of crap that was set up by an orangutang (you get the point, a bad strat is because the hardware hasnt been fitted/adjusted right or neck is a POS).
Well first off I know that I get annoying about it, which is why I posed the statement as a joke. Tone differences between guitars of the same model is a very valid notion supporting the belief that all guitars sound different.
But is the difference more about how well set up a guitar is, and free of poor construction anomalies? or is it because the tone wood was selected from an endangered forest in some exotic location like the Taiga or Amazon vs Mexico?
When a guitar plays cheap, there's something wrong with its construction (no sh!t right?). The bridge could be set up like crap, intonation is bad, action is set to buzz, or frets are all messed up (which doesn't really happen that much anymore, though brands have diff crown shapes/fret sizes materials and preferences differ), or neck is warped or making poor contact in the neck pocket resulting in a dud sounding guitar. I seriously doubt that wood quality could possibly be such a massive variable like something such as pickups or the way a bridge is mounted/materials, you would have to compare a good guitar with a pile of crap that was set up by an orangutang (you get the point, a bad strat is because the hardware hasnt been fitted/adjusted right or neck is a POS).
Quencho092
New member
Re: Body wood: Alder vs Mahogany for hard rock & metal?
I simply promote this notion because tonal differences between solid bodies has been hyped so much to the point that people go on a proverbial tone chase for eternity when guitars with the same exact hardware and pickups but different bodies/necks (not hollows) could easily fool any listener. The quality of assembly is even more important than the quality difference between parts made of the same material.
If you put thought into your music and use your gear well, it isn't impossible to emulate many popular recorded sounds using a versatile strat/tele/lp and a good amp with some good quality pedals if needed. I doubt that any of those 3 guitars (if not a total POS runt anomaly from an assembly line) would fail at getting an appropriate rock/blues/jazz/r&b/funk/pop even metal tone with a good player behind the axe, tones in the ballpark of classic recordings when you're using the right gear and mixing it well.
It's not like Jimmy page's LP's and Teles were made from some legendary wood or what not, he just knew how to get the sounds he wanted and the ideas were contagious so they became legendary to us.
I simply promote this notion because tonal differences between solid bodies has been hyped so much to the point that people go on a proverbial tone chase for eternity when guitars with the same exact hardware and pickups but different bodies/necks (not hollows) could easily fool any listener. The quality of assembly is even more important than the quality difference between parts made of the same material.
If you put thought into your music and use your gear well, it isn't impossible to emulate many popular recorded sounds using a versatile strat/tele/lp and a good amp with some good quality pedals if needed. I doubt that any of those 3 guitars (if not a total POS runt anomaly from an assembly line) would fail at getting an appropriate rock/blues/jazz/r&b/funk/pop even metal tone with a good player behind the axe, tones in the ballpark of classic recordings when you're using the right gear and mixing it well.
It's not like Jimmy page's LP's and Teles were made from some legendary wood or what not, he just knew how to get the sounds he wanted and the ideas were contagious so they became legendary to us.
MetalManiac
Li'l Junior Member
Re: Body wood: Alder vs Mahogany for hard rock & metal?
But they were. No longer available premium old growth Honduran Mahogany, Brazillan Rosewood; these will always be the worlds choice tonewoods. Meticulously handwound pickups using the finest skilled artisans with the greatest materials and technique ever used, and old World master Craftsman luthiers building the guitar like a fine Stradavarius, and whose time honored and perfected skills oft died with them. Those guitars can never truly be replicated , except we have one of the keys to the true vintage sound with the pickups here.
But they were. No longer available premium old growth Honduran Mahogany, Brazillan Rosewood; these will always be the worlds choice tonewoods. Meticulously handwound pickups using the finest skilled artisans with the greatest materials and technique ever used, and old World master Craftsman luthiers building the guitar like a fine Stradavarius, and whose time honored and perfected skills oft died with them. Those guitars can never truly be replicated , except we have one of the keys to the true vintage sound with the pickups here.
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