They're my two Schecters. Both feel very smooth and easy to play, but they don't sound awesome and they aren't lively. Kind of thunky and boxy in the midrange, and bright without a lot of sparkle. One has a Floyd so I guess it sounds like a Floyd. The other one is a TOM. I have it sorted with the right pickups now, but it's not resonant. I must look out for one of these rare true swamp ash guitars.
ok I'm going to get another G&L guitar...swamp ash vs alder
- Thread starter esandes
- Start date
They're my two Schecters. Both feel very smooth and easy to play, but they don't sound awesome and they aren't lively. Kind of thunky and boxy in the midrange, and bright without a lot of sparkle. One has a Floyd so I guess it sounds like a Floyd. The other one is a TOM. I have it sorted with the right pickups now, but it's not resonant. I must look out for one of these rare true swamp ash guitars.
GuitarStv
Sock Market Trader
Swamp ash is one of the least consistent woods, with a wildly variable density anywhere from 42 - 675 kg/m^3. I'd expect that this would result in pretty significant differences in guitars made from the wood - even more so than relatively consistent woods like alder and mahogany (both of which can also be quite changeable from piece to piece).
treedroppings
New member
maybe 8 1/2 lbs?
Generally, yes, which is too heavy for a Strat.
Swamp ash is more scooped than alder...at least the examples I've tried, anyway. Alder is pretty even across frequencies- none really stand out.
Archer250
New member
It is, but to me it literally doesn't matter because it's punchier in the high mids anyways, so it's much more satisfying to play.
To me, Alder is like a less interesting-sounding basswood. Both are flat, but basswood has more present mids and sweeter highs.
Ash has tight, strong lows and very present highs. I like pairing it with a maple neck and board.
In fact, that's probably my favorite wood combo. Ash body + full maple neck. Maple top optional.
treedroppings
New member
mine has a Pete Florance 57 humbucker in it! And the ‘scoop’!
GuitarStv
Sock Market Trader
I have a light weight swamp ash jazzmaster with a chunky maple neck - it consistently produces soft highs and reduced bass when compared to my heavier alder bodied strat with a maple neck. The alder is much more scooped. The mahogany bodied telecaster I've got with a maple neck is much more scooped sounding than both of the others.
Generalities about wood are meaningless when comparing the specific piece of wood in your guitar. They might give you a rough guess when starting out, but until you play it you won't know what it'll sound like. And two guitars made of the same wood can easily sound completely different.
Generalities about wood are meaningless when comparing the specific piece of wood in your guitar. They might give you a rough guess when starting out, but until you play it you won't know what it'll sound like. And two guitars made of the same wood can easily sound completely different.
