In your own opinion best tone wood

[That90'sGuy]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

Best tone wood for WHAT? That is the question.

+1,000,000.

Sometimes you want the thicker tone and warmth of a mahogany/limba/rosewood/basswood sorta thing or you're going for something with some pop like spruce/maple/ash,etc. I guess there's really no right or wrong way to go as long as the end result is what you're looking for.

Since this thread seems to come down to just one wood - i choose alder. It sits in the middle of bright and dark and works so well with so many different pickups that it's hard to dismiss it. All mahogany guitars don't really work all that well for me, I usually like a maple top to add some brightness back in (but my amp is a bit on the darker side, so that's why I can't get by with really dark guitars).

 

[buckethead]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

The reason this poll is so general is for many applications these woods can be use for.

Zakk mylde- gibson mahogany- heavy

kirk hammet- alder heavy

blah blah blah you get the point. So for me to make reference to any kinda music is lame.:soapbox:

I picked the woods for what most companies produce.

 

[Thunder]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

Evh - Ash

Satch/Vai - Basswood

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

I chose Alder but only because there's no Ash and because I usually like my Mahogany body with some kind of a top while I like an Alder body all by itself.

However I really don't have a favorite per se, my current fav. guitar is Honduras Mahogany Body/Quilted Maple top and a Maple neck w/Rosewood fingerboard.
Incidentally, my second best is Mahogany body/neck(-thru) w/Ebony top(!!!) and Rosewood fingerboard.

 

[BTMN]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

Honduran Mahogany with Limba right there with it. :cool2:

 

[Nagarajah725]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

Padauk

 

[Ascension]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

For me on the top 3 it's
Mahogany
REAL lightweight Swamp ash
Poplar.

 

[Hellion]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

I went with mahogany, but there are so many great tonewoods, and it really depends on what you're wanting out of the instrument that dictate which is "best".

 

[jimijames]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

I've played a few older fenders, and I'm convinced that old alder is my #1 with a maple neck/rosewood fretboard and medium-jumbo or larger frets.

 

[SlowGroove]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

For me, what ever is the darkest in tone . . . so that is probably Mahogany !

Is there any Mahogany Tele's out there ? Inever looked into it.



James

 

[wanmei1]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

I believe there are three truly great and outstanding tonewoods:

1. Mahogany.

2. Mahogany.

3. Mahogany.

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

For me, what ever is the darkest in tone . . . so that is probably Mahogany !

Is there any Mahogany Tele's out there ? Inever looked into it.

Sure there are!
They're called USACG and Warmoths!!! :9::9::9:

 

[Atomic Chameleon]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

Alder with a maple top, or super light swamp ash

Oh, neck wood 1pc maple

 

[Diego]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

Alder.

I don't think I'll ever give basswood a shot again, unless it's got a maple cap.

 

[Sludgenutz]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

I chose mahogany. It's not the wood, it's me. I know alder is great, but whenever I try it, it sounds kinda "crowded" (other people call it clear tone!) and it throws off my ear completely.

I like hearing darker woods, and hearing the darkness-es within the wood. I guess it's akin using to one's eyes to peer into the night sky. At first, one might a observe a handful of the brightest stars. After a while, your eyes adjust, and one sees much more. < An optional maple cap and/or ebony board cleans up the atmosphere to make everything a notch clearer. :scratchch

I need to try some alder for a long length of time to adjust my gear/mind's eye/mind's ear. I was thinking my next guitar would be a stock alder MIM Strat, just for the hell of it.

 

[Thunder]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

How about African Bubinga? Lol! Actually used on custum knife handles but just
might be interesting in a guitar.

 

[wanmei1]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

I like hearing darker woods, and hearing the darkness-es within the wood. I guess it's akin using to one's eyes to peer into the night sky. At first, one might a observe a handful of the brightest stars. After a while, your eyes adjust, and one sees much more. < An optional maple cap and/or ebony board cleans up the atmosphere to make everything a notch clearer. :scratchch

Nominated for the 2008 worst analogy award.
:eyecrazy:

 

[Diego]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

I didn't know we had Yoda on the SDUGF.

 

[wanmei1]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

How about African Bubinga? Lol! Actually used on custum knife handles but just
might be interesting in a guitar.

Yamaha use it on some of their pseudo Strat Pacifica's.

 

[Thunder]

Re: In your own opinion best tone wood

nominated for the 2008 worst analogy award.
:eyecrazy:

Lol!