Electric Guitar Body Wood = What Tone?

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blumuz123

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In its simplest form.
Which electric guitar body wood = what tone?

Any input
thanks
:thumbsup:
 
I'll say from the ones I've had experience with..

Basswood= pretty balanced
Mahogany= kind of a more aggressive mid emphasis and has good bottom end. Often mated with a maple top to add high end.
Alder= it has nice lows, think of full sounding strat, sweet but not harsh high end. Not as much midrange honk as mahogany?

Check out suhr's website (http://www.suhrguitars.com i think) as he has a quick rundown on the different types. I think Warmoth guitar's site also has a run down.
 
Broknstuff is pretty right on.

Basswood is very balanced, but durable it is NOT. Plenty of people have problems with neck stress fractures and whatnot.. really soft wood. To me, it sounds bland.

Alder is balanced sounding. Good presence in the high mids and mids. Great for strats.

Mahogany really shines in the low mids. It just has CHUNK to the sound.

Ash is pretty bright and articulate. Sometimes painfully so.

Warmoth, Suhr... both websites have great descriptions of the woods and their respective tones.

Whether or not it's set-neck or bolt on, I just love mahogany. Something a bout the way it resonates feels so different than alder. It has just great bass and low mids. Thick and full sounding.
 
Yes, it's possible to generalize wood tone, BUT>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I've run across crazy-bright pieces of mahogany where 50 pickup changes didn't help.

I've also run across resonant pieces of basswood that didn't sound bland at all.

I've run into pieces of alder that I couldn't keep from feeding back, no matter what I did. (pickup swaps, electronic revamps, etc)

It just goes to show, one guitar can sound great, and one can sound bad. regardless of what kind of wood it is.


Here goes:

Mahogany = warm focused midrange. good sustain. Sounds great with distortion, sounds pisspoor for cleans. Usually weighs more than alder, basswood, or swamp ash.

Alder = brighter, fairly balanced. more sustain than basswood, but less than mahogany or maple. good clean or overdriven. lightweight

basswood = more balanced than alder. not as bright as alder. lightweight, but there are heavy exceptions. My RG760 = weighs nothing. My white rg550 = weighs a ton.

swamp ash = similar to alder, but wider tonal range, and less mids. lightweight

ash = tonally similar to swamp ash, but weighs a lot.

maple = focused upper midrange, awesome cut, incredible sustain, usually weighs a lot.
 
guitarslinger":3m2zxmb9 said:
Yes, it's possible to generalize wood tone, BUT>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Mahogany = warm focused midrange. good sustain. Sounds great with distortion, sounds pisspoor for cleans. Usually weighs more than alder, basswood, or swamp ash.
Click to expand...

Whatchutalkingbout??? :gethim:

I'm a mahogany lover here. And for cleans, I woundn't say pisspoor by any stretch!

Different than alder, ash, maple. yes. Snappy, bright cleans? No. But not pisspoor!!! Warm, round, deep, sustaining...
 
RockStarNick":1cwiqomd said:
guitarslinger":1cwiqomd said:
Yes, it's possible to generalize wood tone, BUT>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Mahogany = warm focused midrange. good sustain. Sounds great with distortion, sounds pisspoor for cleans. Usually weighs more than alder, basswood, or swamp ash.
Click to expand...

Whatchutalkingbout??? :gethim:

I'm a mahogany lover here. And for cleans, I woundn't say pisspoor by any stretch!

Different than alder, ash, maple. yes. Snappy, bright cleans? No. But not pisspoor!!! Warm, round, deep, sustaining...
Click to expand...

I agree with you here Nick. I am a big Mahogany fan. I use it on both my guitars and basses. I love the tone of mahogony coupled with a maple cab on the body. Most guitars I use maple necks and ebony fingerboards. For me, mahogony body w/ maple cap and maple necks w/ ebony fingerboards are my favorite setups!

For bass, I love mahogony or alder, with a wenge neck!

Eric
 
I agree. I love Mahogany guitars. And for what its worth, John Suhr recommends a Mahogany neck with them as well.
 
Interesting.

Is Lauan mahogany also referred to as Sepele? I see that stuff all over as a 'hog substitute.
 
I agree with you here Nick. I am a big Mahogany fan. I use it on both my guitars and basses. I love the tone of mahogony coupled with a maple cab on the body. Most guitars I use maple necks and ebony fingerboards. For me, mahogony body w/ maple cap and maple necks w/ ebony fingerboards are my favorite setups!

For bass, I love mahogony or alder, with a wenge neck!

Eric
Click to expand...

+1
Mahogany body, maple top and ebony fretboards is what I prefer. I've never been able to totally love the brighter woods like alder or ash. I've always felt starting with a warmer sounding guitar is easier than trying to tame a bright guitar.
Another favorite is KOA, but that is getting pretty pricey and harder to come by. It has a tone similar to mahogany although I prefer it without a maple cap.
 
muudrock":iro2h80p said:
I've always felt starting with a warmer sounding guitar is easier than trying to tame a bright guitar.
Click to expand...

+100000
 
I use mahogany with Kmart clear drawer film over it to achieve the best balance with my walmart pink eraser tubes :thumbsup:
 
Jeff Hilligan":3mz1ssr7 said:
I use mahogany with Kmart clear drawer film over it to achieve the best balance with my walmart pink eraser tubes :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

I go for mahogony with the diamond check plate over the guitar to get that "metallic" sound :). Then roll a condom over the "head" stock to give it more of a "woody" sound :)

Eric
 
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