wood vs wood??

B

BloodRose

Professional Scapegoat
If one has a guitar (superstrat style ) made of alder, and a guitar (same make, shape and similar model) that has a mahog body and flame maple top, are the tonal differences going to be much? if so, how would they differ? I know the diff tween a LP and a strat, but Im wondering if 2 strat types are going to be that much diff...? Also, both have maple neck and fretboard...

thanks
 
Re: wood vs wood??

Oh, boy, this could go so many different ways.

No flames, guys... it's bad for the wood.
 
Re: wood vs wood??

kramersteen said:
Wait bro i will just check my crystal ball.
Click to expand...

ginormous said:
Oh, boy, this could go so many different ways.

No flames, guys... it's bad for the wood.
Click to expand...

oooo wise guys eh???? nyuk nyuk nyuk..

I know, its alittle bit vague of a question, but Im just curious how much and what kind of diff would I notice if I have a Charvel made of alder, vs a Charvel thats mahog with a maple top..? neck, board, body shape, bridge and nearly everything else would be same, just diff body wood. If it was just alder vs mahog, I would already know, but Im guessing the maple top would balance em out a bit
 
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Re: wood vs wood??

I wondered the same thing till I heard Guthrie talk about the differences between his old Shurs and his new Charvels. Their are differences but you would have to play both to find out for yourself.
 
Re: wood vs wood??

LTF said:
Speaking of the "wood debate" - I should add that if one plays with gobs and gobs of uberdistortion (say a pickup pushing 5000mV into a deathcrunch distortion stomp into a ubercrushmondogain amp), it won't matter what kind of wood you use. You could play a guitar made of concrete and you wouldn't hear the difference between one made of plastic.

Because all the distortion and compression you would get with that kind of setup would completely squash away any dynamics... you'd be hearing exactly just that: distortion and compression. Not the guitar.
Click to expand...

Exactly YOU wouldn't be able to hear it but others could.
 
Re: wood vs wood??

once upon a time, I used a thing called a search engine. and lo, the options were laid out before me like that waves that come crashing in at Big Sur. and I said to myself, "self, I shalt bookmark thine discoveries, lest someone not achieve enlightenment by way of yon wizardly searching mechanism" and behold, answers are before you to lay into much research and achieve thine own endeavors on the road to the mighty tone.


http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/the_guide_to/ultimate_guitar_guide_tone_woods.html

http://www.wood-database.com/

http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm
 
Re: wood vs wood??

thank you! Yeah, I know what you mean about the heavy distortion. Thats why I love my grunge pedal.. makes my squier strat sound like my LP! J/K... But seriously, I know what you are saying..
 
Re: wood vs wood??

darthphineas said:
once upon a time, I used a thing called a search engine. and lo, the options were laid out before me like that waves that come crashing in at Big Sur. and I said to myself, "self, I shalt bookmark thine discoveries, lest someone not achieve enlightenment by way of yon wizardly searching mechanism" and behold, answers are before you to lay into much research and achieve thine own endeavors on the road to the mighty tone.


http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/the_guide_to/ultimate_guitar_guide_tone_woods.html

http://www.wood-database.com/

http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm
Click to expand...

Thank you, oh divine Guru of enlightenment!! Only prob is, Im at work and most sites for me are blocked. For some odd reason, I can get in here. shhhhh! Dont tell, or they will block this one too..

Besides, I do already know the common differences between alot of the more common woods. Like LP with and without the maple top, or LP vs strat. Im mostly just wondering about having 2 guitars that are nearly identical, but one is alder and one is mahog with maple top, and one is alder. Will there be big differences (Im guessing subtle) and in what ways will they be dif? More mids with the alder, etc..
 
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Re: wood vs wood??

Thanks again Darth. I added the wood database to my "favorites". On another note, I always wanted to make a neck through 5 string bass out of desert ironwood.
 
Re: wood vs wood??

There's an old saying that you shouldn't put JB in mahog/maple body. It would sound like banshee. If you love JB, you should avoid it like ebola.







Click my signature. It's a good read.







PS: I swapped necks and bodies years ago and IME neck wood plays larger role than body wood (on solid body bolt on guitar with same parts and electronic/pickups ... not talking about semi/full hollow, set/neck-thru here). So as long as a guitar has lightweight body made from durable classic tonewood (alder, ash or mahogany ... doesn't matter) and assuming it has a good quality/playability neck, the rest is a matter of aesthetic taste to me. I'd just put my favorite pickups in it and work from there.
 
Re: wood vs wood??

LTF said:
Speaking of the "wood debate" - I should add that if one plays with gobs and gobs of uberdistortion (say a pickup pushing 5000mV into a deathcrunch distortion stomp into a ubercrushmondogain amp), it won't matter what kind of wood you use. You could play a guitar made of concrete and you wouldn't hear the difference between one made of plastic.

Because all the distortion and compression you would get with that kind of setup would completely squash away any dynamics... you'd be hearing exactly just that: distortion and compression. Not the guitar.
Click to expand...

Yeah im going to disagree vehemently. Wood matters just as much under high gain as it does under low gain. Just in different ways. The guitar that you find warm and subtle clean might become woofy and flabby under high gain. Those nice sparkling highs with the harmonics can become buzzy and screechy sounding. Tons of compression mean that not only are the big sounds blunted but the small sounds are now relatively louder so things that are minor and just some flavor in a clean tone can be a good or bad addition to a high gain one. Making a GOOD high gain tone can be just as difficult as any other. I want people in my tone to be able to hear IN THE BAND mix the difference between me picking v^v^ and vv^v this takes much more than a broom stick and a lego.
 
Re: wood vs wood??

LTF said:
Speaking of the "wood debate" - I should add that if one plays with gobs and gobs of uberdistortion (say a pickup pushing 5000mV into a deathcrunch distortion stomp into a ubercrushmondogain amp), it won't matter what kind of wood you use. You could play a guitar made of concrete and you wouldn't hear the difference between one made of plastic.

Because all the distortion and compression you would get with that kind of setup would completely squash away any dynamics... you'd be hearing exactly just that: distortion and compression. Not the guitar.
Click to expand...

Nonsense. I play *only* with heavy distortion and can hear the difference between all of my guitars, and I consider myself to be tone deaf.

For the OP:

I have two Squier Telecasters here, both made from basswood. Both with maple necks. They're from the same series. (Bullet H-S) They're even the same color. :)

One weighs 5 lbs, 14.5 oz all assembled.

One weighs 7 lbs, 3.5oz assembled.

Which one sounds light and airy, and which one sounds muffled?

While you *can* match pickups to the wood type in most cases, playing both guitars works better.
 
Re: wood vs wood??

Im'ma let you finish, but I don't get where people get their curlies all knotted up over the weight of a guitar. There are more factors involved than is there is a 16 oz difference between two guitars, especially when it comes to the wood....differences in hardware, # of pickups, front route or rear route, single or double cutaway, depth of the cutaways....all factoring in to the weight.

With regard to differences between wood, those links I posted will also show there are many types of a type of wood, reflecting different characteristics. Do you think the maple that ESP puts in a $4000 ESP is the same quality of selection and the maple they put in a $400 LTD?

Not all woods are the same.
 
Re: wood vs wood??

Wood effects the tone of distorted guitar quite a lot in my experience because wood choice plays a big role in harmonics, which become very prominent under gain as the signal clips and compresses. I found a video taking an ash and a mahogany strat style guitar built and set up to the same specs and they demonstrate how the body woods alter the sound both clean and with gain because they were trying to debunk the whole "woods don't matter in solid electric guitars" thing. But I'd rather this thread not devolve into one of those again so I'll leave it out for the sake of staying on track.
 
Re: wood vs wood??

darthphineas said:
Im'ma let you finish, but I don't get where people get their curlies all knotted up over the weight of a guitar. There are more factors involved than is there is a 16 oz difference between two guitars, especially when it comes to the wood....differences in hardware, # of pickups, front route or rear route, single or double cutaway, depth of the cutaways....all factoring in to the weight.

With regard to differences between wood, those links I posted will also show there are many types of a type of wood, reflecting different characteristics. Do you think the maple that ESP puts in a $4000 ESP is the same quality of selection and the maple they put in a $400 LTD?

Not all woods are the same.
Click to expand...

I was comparing *identical* guitars. It was most certainly one body weighing *way* more than the other with no other differences. When I put them together, I was actually looking forward to getting some deep tones out of the heavy body. Wasn't the case. Even with a bright pickup it was still muffled sounding. I also tried going against all logic and put a Tone Zone in it. It sounded a *little* better than the neodymium pickup, but still wasn't cutting it.

I have a third one here, it's 5 lbs, 12.5oz. Again, identical to the other two. This one also sounds more lively.

I have a fourth one here that I haven't put together yet, the body and neck together are 6lbs, 3 oz, but the body still has the neck pickup, tone knob, and switch installed which I'll be removing. That one will also probably be a little under 6 lbs when assembled.

I really wasn't trying to make weight a factor, but in this case, that was a heavy dead sounding piece of basswood. I actually said that he needs to try the guitars. :)

As for the heavy body, I'm going to give up on that one and sell it. It's....



...dead to me. :D
 
Re: wood vs wood??

Recently i did some listening tests with my three Strats. I played them acoustically with my ear against the body. then i played them acoustically in the normal fashion. Then again through a (clean) valve amp. The qualities that i heard in each guitar seemed to remain under all listening conditions.

The surprise was that the weakest was the 2007 Fender Highway 1 Strat. It came nowhere near the resonance of the 1982 Tokai or the 1969 body of what i lovingly know as 'the 69 relic'. My main conclusion is that the age of the bodies is responsible for most of the differences that I heard/ felt. (The Fender bodies are Alder, the Tokai is Sen, also known as Sen Ash or Japanese Ash, although it is not a member of the Ash family).

Consequently i have decided the Highway 1 has no place here, and it will be sold. It simply can't come close to the resonance and sound of the older wood.

So perhaps tests like these could be the way forward .... disregard what the guitar is made of, and simply listen for resonance, or 'life', in the instrument. If they sing, keep them. If they don't, move them along.
 
Re: wood vs wood??

I don't know what everyone else is posting about. I'm just posting to pontificate for my own amusement.

I can post some charts and graphs if that would help.
 
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