Tonewoods

4xv

So im already planning my next build and just wondering what tonewoods work well together? Im making another exploreresque beast with a walnut neck and quilted maple top the question is what body wood to use? It will also have an ebony fingerboard but not sure weather a fixed bridge or floyd type will be going in, mainly for metal but also with some clean stuff thrown in. Suggestions will be most welcome!!

WezV

I would go with Limba/Korina/Idigbo with that 

or more walnut, but probably one of the above to keep the weight down

AustrianJohn

I don't understand what you mean by "tonewoods work well together"? (The problem may well be my lack of understanding.) If you've already chosen a walnut neck, quilted maple top and ebony fingerboard - what is your expectation from the choice of wood for the rest of the guitar?

My view? The pickups, your fingers, and even your plectrum will have more impact on your tone than the choice of body or neck wood. Just pick a pretty bit of wood and build a cool guitar!

4xv

Hey just putting it out there, some things may work well some things may not. At the end of the day you just cant beat experience and at this moment in time that is something I have little of. I guess I don't want to build something that becomes an ornament, looks good sounds crap. I just want to try and make the best instrument I can looks wise and sound wise and that's why I'm here to gain knowledge from the people who have been there and done that. 

sixstringsupplies

pickups, amplifier and electronics have the most impact....

wood does too of course.....pick something that looks sexy.

Good luck with the build!

WezV

sixstringsupplies said:

pickups, amplifier and electronics have the most impact....

wood does too of course.....pick something that looks sexy.

Good luck with the build!

Aesthetics is certainly one factor to consider.  For me weight, grain structure and tap tone usually come first

Any choice should be made based on the merits of the individual piece, but generalisations about species can help to get close

ICBM

With a walnut neck and a maple top on something the size of an Explorer, the rest of the body needs to be made of the lightest wood you can find, within reason. Balsa may be going too far, but not much .

With the first two plus an ebony board I doubt it will make any real difference to the sound.

WezV

The hardtail/trem decision will have more impact at this point

i assume the maple top will be thin and have little bearing on weight or tone... less than 15% of the total body mass, a little additional stiffness

4xv

Yes the maple is just for aesthetics and very pretty as for the walnut I just like the feel of it on a neck.

4xv

So to sum up the concensus being "Tonewoods" make little or no discernable difference in a build its more about aesthetics?

ICBM

4xv said:

So to sum up the concensus being "Tonewoods" make little or no discernable difference in a build its more about aesthetics?

No. The consensus is that wood has a definite effect on the tone - although not the most important factor, and not necessarily correlated to the tree species.

But there are a few people who deny it makes any difference at all .

4xv

And that's why I posed the question in the first place as it stands to reason that woods have different characteristics and bringing the right ones together could produce a particular sound. I know this is sort of the holy grail that everyone is looking for the perfect combination but I was hoping to glean knowledge from the people that may have tried a similar combination.

ICBM

4xv said:

And that's why I posed the question in the first place as it stands to reason that woods have different characteristics and bringing the right ones together could produce a particular sound. I know this is sort of the holy grail that everyone is looking for the perfect combination but I was hoping to glean knowledge from the people that may have tried a similar combination.

I think we're all trying to be careful about being specific as to what woods will produce what sound. There's someone here who will usually start several pages on nonsense on the subject whenever the 'T word' is used .

My opinion is that the density and hardness of the wood is more important than the species, and that the resonance (or otherwise) of the individual piece and the way it matches (or doesn't) the resonance of the neck is also at least as important.

Unless the maple cap is really very thin - under about 1/4", more what I would call a 'facing' than a 'cap' - then I would expect it to make a noticeable difference as well.

4xv

ICBM said:

4xv said:

And that's why I posed the question in the first place as it stands to reason that woods have different characteristics and bringing the right ones together could produce a particular sound. I know this is sort of the holy grail that everyone is looking for the perfect combination but I was hoping to glean knowledge from the people that may have tried a similar combination.

I think we're all trying to be careful about being specific as to what woods will produce what sound. There's someone here who will usually start several pages on nonsense on the subject whenever the 'T word' is used .

My opinion is that the density and hardness of the wood is more important than the species, and that the resonance (or otherwise) of the individual piece and the way it matches (or doesn't) the resonance of the neck is also at least as important.

Unless the maple cap is really very thin - under about 1/4", more what I would call a 'facing' than a 'cap' - then I would expect it to make a noticeable difference as well.

Read you loud and clear, and all this from asking a little advice!

WezV

If you get chance, its worth going shopping for the wood in person.   You need to get some experience picking wood and comparing blanks.   It might not make much sense the first time but its worth going through the process to understand what you are after

I went on my first wood shopping experience with plans to buy a solid zebrano body blank.   This was led by aesthetics and cost.   Picking up various blanks quickly convinced me to go with something much lighter.   Tapping lots of blocks led me to a nice light piece of Cuban mahogany that just seemed to ring nicely.  

the classic choices are classic for a reason, so there is no shame in being led by them to some degree.

I still think korina would work well with your choices so far

Danielsguitars

i love limba/korina as a body wood, sounds great to me, some of it is really heavy though,  black limba I've had was really heavy so would need chambering 

My main concern is weight of the body first and what I'd like a fully routed body to weigh, the neck and hardware will add another 3lbs roughly, lighter weights usually ring out better imo