Strat Body.....Alder vs Swamp Ash

Re: Strat Body.....Alder vs Swamp Ash

screamingdaisy said:
Drug my amp down to the guitar shop.....I'll be getting alder with a rosewood fretboard.

They had an alder w/maple top and maple fretboard that also sounded pretty cool, but I prefered the bridge sound on the alder/rosewood.
My G&L Legacy is alder with maple/maple and I'm still surprised by the fullness of the sound it gets. I keep expecting it to sound thin but apparently it'll do whatever you want it to....
 
Re: Strat Body.....Alder vs Swamp Ash

Oy, screamingdaisy: :needpics:

:beerchug: Cheers on the new guitar man, enjoy it.
 
Re: Strat Body.....Alder vs Swamp Ash

Screamindaisy- Single coils with the clean channel of the Mark III freaking own dont they?
 
Re: Strat Body.....Alder vs Swamp Ash

chcjunior said:
My G&L Legacy is alder with maple/maple and I'm still surprised by the fullness of the sound it gets. I keep expecting it to sound thin but apparently it'll do whatever you want it to....


Good to hear. I really like the treble/bass tone knob setup they run. I kinda miss being able to set the tone individually for each pup, but I think I'll get over that once I get accoustomed to the new setup.

Ocifer said:
Oy, screamingdaisy: :needpics:

:beerchug: Cheers on the new guitar man, enjoy it.

Can't post pics yet....still saving up. It'll be a few months before I get this one.

That said, I'm thinking of going either pearl or vintage white with a red tortise pickguard.

S500_Pearl-White_full.jpg


Or maybe a clear coat;

Tr_Legacy_Natural.gif



BluesGuyJ said:
Screamindaisy- Single coils with the clean channel of the Mark III freaking own dont they?

Single coils through any channel on that amp own. On a neck single (DiMarzio Vert Vintage Blues) the lead channel was so freakin' smooth that after about 10-20 minutes of noodling I had forgotten that I was playing through high gain and totally stunned when I hit the channel switch and it went back to clean.
 
Re: Strat Body.....Alder vs Swamp Ash

J Moose said:
IME, the real varience between them is in the bottom end. Alder seems to be tighter and have a "harder" midrange while swamp ash has a bigger, looser bottom end and "softer" midrange.

My thougths excactly. You are a thousand times better on explaining than i am ;)
 
Re: Strat Body.....Alder vs Swamp Ash

High quality, lightweight and resonant Alder or Swamp Ash both sound equally excellant.

Heavy ash can sound worse than lightweight and resonant Alder and heavy alder can sound worse than lightweight and resonant Swamp Ash.

I like them both equally...but I like the looks of Swamp Ash more than the bland look of alder.

Lew
 
Re: Strat Body.....Alder vs Swamp Ash

I'm with Lew on this one -- either ash or alder can sound great. Lightest isn't always best, but lighter is often better. And I don't think the maple vs. rosewood fingerboard thing is critical in terms of tone, but rather more so in terms of feel. It's all personal and subjective in the end, so it's always best to try before you buy, if possible.

I would say that I prefer translucent or transparent finishes on ash, but could easily go with a nice custom color on alder. BTW, I love the look of white blonde with a rosewood board -- looks great with a tortoise shell pickguard, but an aged pearl guard can look surprisingly good with that combo, too (especially in the case of a Tele with a nickel covered neck pickup).
 
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