Alder or Mahogany?

[ChurchHill]

Walnut my friend walnut Because it smells so good while your playing!

Actually, I have a walnut bodied Strat build that I'm working on now. Always wanted a walnut guitar... I'm excited to finally get it done.

 

[ChurchHill]

Good wood is good wood so start there. [...] I always shoot for a singer...meaning it sings, resonates and sustains unplugged. I like the darkness and warmth of it when you get a good match.

This ^^^^

I think regardless of the woods used, if a guitar can't sing, resonate, and sustain when it's unplugged, it won't ever sound that great plugged in.

I think of it this way... while I've seen terrible pickups fairly ruin otherwise great guitars, I've never seen a magic pickup that can make a terrible guitar sound great. Or... you can polish a turd, gold plating and all, but at the end of the day, it's still a turd (a shiny, polished, expensive turd, but still a turd nonetheless.)

 

[ChurchHill]

. Even wood from the same tree, if dried differently (incorrectly), is going to sound different.

Wood from the same tree dried “correctly” is going to be different. To me that’s part of the beauty. Most wood species including “tone woods” are so inconsistent that you really have to seek other components with consistent tonality within your tone pipeline that feel right and are compatible with your tonal vision.

I agree 1000%, especially about it being part of the beauty!