what is your favorite guitar wood combo? why?

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veji
veji
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What is your favorite body wood combo? for what music and why?
i think for me.. alder+ maple neck/maple board would be good for clean
and basswood/maple top + maple neck/maple board would be good for shred/distorted

how about you guys?
 
I been loving the basswood body/maple top+maple neck for about 10 years now. I do like my mahogany+rosewood neck RG tone as well though.
 
Mahogany with maple cap is great for a thick heavy tone, at least on my Schecter and LP.

Alder is great for super strat type guitars and is really balanced, with maybe a bit more emphasis on upper mids than mahogany.

Ash has a brighter top end and is not as warm in the mids. Sounds cool though. Someone here recently said that wood type doesn't make a big difference in the way a guitar sounds...that couldn't be further from the truth. :no:
 
I guess I don't have a favorite. I like to go from one to another. Which is one of the reasons I've had three Suhr Custom Moderns built with the same specs except for the woods and finishes, which consist of: Alder body - Maple neck - Indian Rosewood board, Mahogany body/Maple top - Mahogany neck - Pau Ferro board, Basswood body/Maple top - Maple neck - African Rosewood board (soon to be delivered in Feb/March.)
 
glassjaw7":7xgywynk said:
Someone here recently said that wood type doesn't make a big difference in the way a guitar sounds...that couldn't be further from the truth. :no:
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If you are referring to my post, then I wasn't so much trying to convey that wood doesn't affect tone, but two things. 1. the idea that Mahogany doesn't always sound like 'Mahogany' Alder doesn't always sound like 'Alder' etc. and 2. There are other far greater variables to consider than wood type. Wood type is the final 5%. Whether the wood resonates well and transfers vibrations will affect the tone and feel more than the wood being one species over the other. Lots of people seem to have locked into the simple mindset of 'Mahogany good.....' and don't really even think that the wood quality or guitar design may have something to do with it as well.

With that said, can anyone agree on what is the 'tone' of Alder wood? Not that I can find. Some people say it's bright and spanky, and other people say it's dark and buried sounding. Both are not false, yet both are not true either, and further yet, they both CAN be true :thumbsup:

To the thread, I've been using Alder body Rosewood neck for years now and it works for me. I have no complaints :thumbsup:
 
Mahogany/Maple cap body, mahogany neck/ebony board. I also like maple neck/ebony board and maple neck/maple board. :thumbsup:
 
^^^^^^
JakeAC5253

I like your posts, but I can't read them without substituting Jeff Goldbloom's damn voice. It makes me annoyed at you even when I like what you are saying.

Yeah, I don't know whether to call wood the final 5% or not, but I don't think it makes as big a difference as a lot of other things.

String gauge, for example. For a tight, full, resonant crunch, heavy strings make a huge huge difference. No one ever talks about it though.

I think my favorite wood for body is mahogany. I have some really nice sounding guitars in mahagony, both with and without a maple top. My LP that is all mahogany has a little more of a muted tone than my Schecter with a maple cap. The Schecter has a tighter crunch though.

I think finish is probably at least as important has wood. Mahogany has deeper pores than maple, so it is more resonant. Still, I purposely bought my LP to be more low, full, even muddy. That's why I got a satin matte finish on it. I like the gothic drone of the thing. It might not cut through a full band, but it'll make a wicked loud drone.

I really think that it is the thick high-gloss finish on a strat that gives it that extra pop and sparkle, much more so than the alder.

Bridge piece too makes a big difference. If you want to make your strat sound thin and muddy, pull up the trem and put a rubber washer under it. Yuck!

Still, it's not rediculous to be picky about woods. That's what separates a lot of guitars from each other. And it does affect the sound. I just wish people talked more about string gauge or bridge pieces because I might learn something.
 
Hmm.......I could really care less. I pick up a guitar and for many reasons it either sounds good or it doesn't. :confused:

You mention a wood and I've played guitars made of it that either sounded good or bad. :yes:
 
Mahogany core/maple top with humbuckers.

Alder with single coils.

Time tested and classic.
 
srinivassa":lmgxgpkm said:
^^^^^^
JakeAC5253

I like your posts, but I can't read them without substituting Jeff Goldbloom's damn voice. It makes me annoyed at you even when I like what you are saying.
Click to expand...

:lol: :LOL: I get that a lot.

srinivassa":lmgxgpkm said:
Yeah, I don't know whether to call wood the final 5% or not, but I don't think it makes as big a difference as a lot of other things.

String gauge, for example. For a tight, full, resonant crunch, heavy strings make a huge huge difference. No one ever talks about it though.

I think my favorite wood for body is mahogany. I have some really nice sounding guitars in mahagony, both with and without a maple top. My LP that is all mahogany has a little more of a muted tone than my Schecter with a maple cap. The Schecter has a tighter crunch though.

I think finish is probably at least as important has wood. Mahogany has deeper pores than maple, so it is more resonant. Still, I purposely bought my LP to be more low, full, even muddy. That's why I got a satin matte finish on it. I like the gothic drone of the thing. It might not cut through a full band, but it'll make a wicked loud drone.

I really think that it is the thick high-gloss finish on a strat that gives it that extra pop and sparkle, much more so than the alder.

Bridge piece too makes a big difference. If you want to make your strat sound thin and muddy, pull up the trem and put a rubber washer under it. Yuck!

Still, it's not rediculous to be picky about woods. That's what separates a lot of guitars from each other. And it does affect the sound. I just wish people talked more about string gauge or bridge pieces because I might learn something.
Click to expand...

I use really heavy strings as well. They just sound better, and they make you a better player :thumbsup:
 
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