Do body woods make *that* much of a difference?

[Anthem]

Say you have two guitars that are the same except for the body wood, here is an example:

#1: maple/maple bolt on neck, mahogany body, fixed bridge

#2: maple/maple bolt on neck, alder body, fixed bridge

Will the mahogany one sound thicker and warmer than the alder one? I'm talking plugged into a distorted amp. Most rear routed guitars' pickups are mounted on springs so they're really not touching the body. Does the warmness and thickness of mahogany guitars have more to do with setneck and mahogany neck through construction? I've always wondered if mahogany bodied bolt ons sounded that much different than alder.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Do body woods make *that* much of a difference?

Say you have two guitars that are the same except for the body wood, here is an example:

#1: maple/maple bolt on neck, mahogany body, fixed bridge

#2: maple/maple bolt on neck, alder body, fixed bridge

Will the mahogany one sound thicker and warmer than the alder one? I'm talking plugged into a distorted amp. Most rear routed guitars' pickups are mounted on springs so they're really not touching the body. Does the warmness and thickness of mahogany guitars have more to do with setneck and mahogany neck through construction? I've always wondered if mahogany bodied bolt ons sounded that much different than alder.

I belive it makes a huge difference. Do a search on this forum and I belive in the vault there is a shootout like that between ash and limba...

 

[aleclee]

Re: Do body woods make *that* much of a difference?

I have three PRS CEs. One's solid alder, one's alder/maple, and one is mahogany maple. They all sound different, even though the first two have identical pickups.

It depends on what you mean by "that much" but there is a difference and I believe it is noticeable. It's not the difference between a Strat and a Les Paul but if we believe that Alnico 2 sounds different from Alnico 5, why wouldn't alder sound different from mahogany?

 

[Reckless Abandon]

Re: Do body woods make *that* much of a difference?

Yes

 

[Anthem]

Re: Do body woods make *that* much of a difference?

So what's the advantage of mounting pups directly into wood instead of springs? Do the springs alter the tone that much?