What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

[Brow]

Hey guys.

I'm seriously GASing for a Telecaster at the minute, and was wondering how much difference the body wood makes to the tone? I'm kind of new to Tele's, but just lately there's been something about them that just screams 'Buy me, Buy me' whenever I walk past 1 in a shop

From doing a little reading it appears that the main body woods for a Tele would be either Ash, Alder, Poplar or Basswood.

Which in your opinion would be my 'best' option for a Telecaster to play Classic Rock, Indie Rock and Blues on?

I'm planning on a Single Coil in the bridge and a humbucker in the neck and to also have a Maple neck and fretboard on it

Thanx for any info guys.

Craig

 

[mrid]

Re: What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

Ash would be my first choice, but I've got an alder tele that I really like.

 

[MikeRocker]

Re: What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

Swamp ash all the way!!! If you want authentic Tele twang, it's the only choice!!!

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

IMO i like alder tele's the best b/c they have a bit of a thicker/rounder sound over an ash body tele. if your going to be playing forms of rock i think alder would be better so you will have a more usable rounder/fuller sound rather than the over the top ash tele twang. but who am i talk lol i'm the anti-twang haha my main guitar is an alder tele with a hotrails and an sm-1 mini hum and i play metal and punk with it lol.

-Mike

 

[MikeRocker]

Re: What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

my main guitar is an alder tele with a hotrails and an sm-1 mini hum and i play metal and punk with it lol.

BLASPHEMY!!!! :laugh2:

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

lol i have two of them actually,hahahaha one MIM with a hotrails and a vintage stack and one highly modified MIA tele (that's the main one i mentioned) i'm hooked on tele's for metal and punk...plus the tele hotrails is a killer sounding pickup...much better than the strat version!! a tele with the right pickup choice can do ANYTHING!!! plus they are just real comfortable guitars to me since the modern bridges are real flat for resting your hand on at times and dunring palm mutes. plus with more wood than a strat and a string through body they sustain better and have a thicker sound (well with a hotrails lol). i'm a tele sinner and i love it!!! i must have more teles!!!!

-Mike

 

[MikeRocker]

Re: What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

All kidding aside, that just shows how versatile they are. A lot of people don't pay 'em that much attention, like it's the Strat's dim-witted brother that nobody mentions, but if you check 'em out they have a lot to offer. I'm a proud twanger, and I think it's great that you can play punk and metal on what to me is a twang machine!

 

[dani]

Re: What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

swamp ash and mahogany. can't go wrong with either for classic rock depending on what you want. of course, middle of the ground would be alder.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

THE Tele wood is swamp ash, and IMO swamp ash Teles do have the tone, that said...mine is Alder and I love it. Lew just put one together that is basswood, and he loves it. As a rule I tend to stay away from basswood, it tends to be soft, too soft for me, and as for poplar, when I bought my strat it came down to 2 guitars...one was poplar and the other was alder...I noticed a huge difference in the tone...mostly in the bottom end richness and the sustain, the poplar was lacking.

 

[Butch Snyder]

Re: What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

Either alder or ash are best. Poplar is really not the most desireable. Basswood is mainly uised overseas because it's more readily available than the hard woods here. Also, no woods will sound alike. I have heard some ash that sounds bad while hearing alder and it souned awesome. My Tele is alder and it is by far the best sounding Tele I have had.... Even with its Rustoleum finish....

 

[mrfjones]

Re: What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

i will just add that all of my teles are ash for a reason. i like the way the ash sounds more than the alder. Never found an alder one i liked more than the ones i have.

 

[Artie]

Re: What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

As a rule I tend to stay away from basswood, it tends to be soft . . .

+1 . . . I've replaced the 'bucker in the bridge of my basswood Tele twice, and already, one of the bridge screws has lost its "bite". And I tend to be very careful.

Edit: I should probably add, it is my favorite sounding guitar, at the moment.

 

[Brow]

Re: What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

Thanx for all the replies guys.

IF I do end up getting a Tele, I'm hoping Gordon Smith Guitars (the same guys that made me a LP last year) will make it for me.

I'm looking for a Tele with a Single coil at bridge, Humbucker at neck, 3 way toggle switch (a'la LP), Individual Volume and Tone controls, a Natural Finish and an F hole

Keep the opinions coming guys

Craig

 

[Hellion]

Re: What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

I like alder. My "Bastardcaster" is alder, sounds quite Tele-ish to me.

The thing about Teles is they're incredibly modifiable. Find one that you like the sound of, then if it's not exactly like you want it, make it your own!

 

[Kelsey]

Re: What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

I have 3 swamp ash and two alder Teles, and I love 'em all. I think alder tends to have a bit more balanced tone, whereas ash tends to have more bottom and top end. But the difference is subtle and the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. They all sound like Teles, although I'm not heavily into twang, so my Tele ideal may be different than some folks' ideal.

 

[Brow]

Re: What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

Thanx for the opinion guys.

I think the best thing I can do at this point is to go out and play as many Tele's as I can (preferably with different body woods) and see what I like

Craig

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

I'm really digging the Maple top/Basswood body combo lately.

Maybe I should get an Anderson? :naughty:

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

IMO, the three best would be Alder, Swamp Ash and Basswood.

Alder would tend to be heaviest (but not always) and the brightest and tightest in tone...though still nice and deep and resonant. I've had alder Teles that sounded better than some swamp ash Teles...and vice versa.

Swamp Ash would tend to be lighter (but not always) and be even more resonant. A little livlier and more complex and more of an acoustic tone. A nice snappy, but hollow, pluck to the strings. Classic 50's Tele tone.

Basswood would pretty much always be the lightest of the three and have the most resonant and warmest tone - bright enough but not as bright and twangy as the other two. Less snap and twang than alder or swamp ash, IMO.

I love my basswood Tele. It is so easy on the ears and has such a big, clean, deep and resonant tone that I love just playing jazzy chord melody stuff on it like you would a Gibson L5.

Lew

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

I'm really digging the Maple top/Basswood body combo lately.

Maybe I should get an Anderson? :naughty:

My Tele is a beautifully grained Swampash, but I won't really know it's potential till I chuck the Anderson-style Monstertone pups, which are similar to Duncan QP's. I think I'm gonna go for a JD bridge and a splittable hot tele neck, so I can use it in vintage or hot mode.

I think my favorite wood for Fenders is alder, but I have to tell you guys that the Maple cap on Basswood combo that is being used by Anderson, Grosh, G&L, and others, is absolutely great! My G&L Legacy Deluxe has a thin maple cap on Tilia (basswood), and it produces a bigger tone than both alder or ash. It may not be for everyone, but maple/basswood is a wood combo you're going to be seeing a lot more of......it's surprisingly good.

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: What's the 'best' wood for a Telecaster body?

For traditional tele twang tone, it has to be swamp ash.

My preference is alder, however, as I like a more balanced midrange, especially for clean neck pickup work.

I also recommend basswood. Warm, clear and open.

As for maple/basswood, I know that John Suhr, Tom Anderson and that Tyler guy consider it the best tonal combination of all.