alder vs ash vs swamp ash strat

LastMantra

Imo cost, availability, looks even workability as in how easy it is to work with, take a finish etc and probably some other factors are what's important. These woods are probably used because they are very similar. 
How the body of a solid electric guitar effects the tone of the instrument is a bit of a nonsense. IMO obviously. 

Leiversalone

I never agree that the body of guitar doesn't effect the tone. I used to have a large N4 collection, all were the same spec and electronics, there was alder, paduak, ash, swamp ash, alder w/maple top, sapele, mahogany. They ALL sounded different, some more so than others. The unfinished alder sounded 'best' to me, and I believe Nuno agrees! I also really dig the Rory and SRV tones, also alder with not much finish. 

crunchman

LastMantra said:

Imo cost, availability, looks even workability as in how easy it is to work with, take a finish etc and probably some other factors are what's important. These woods are probably used because they are very similar. 
How the body of a solid electric guitar effects the tone of the instrument is a bit of a nonsense. IMO obviously. 

Why does a Les Paul sound different than an SG then?

Same scale length.  You can find models with exactly the same pickups in.  They will not sound the same.  Some of that is other construction details like where the neck joint is, but the wood and the construction do make a significant difference.

LastMantra

crunchman said:

LastMantra said:

Imo cost, availability, looks even workability as in how easy it is to work with, take a finish etc and probably some other factors are what's important. These woods are probably used because they are very similar. 
How the body of a solid electric guitar effects the tone of the instrument is a bit of a nonsense. IMO obviously. 

Why does a Les Paul sound different than an SG then?

There's lots of reasons why two guitars will sound slightly different (I think there's plenty people would say an sg and an lp both sound exactly like an electric guitar  ). I don't know if it's even possible to do a proper scientific test? A small difference in pickup output/height will make a difference, for example. 
I'm not saying that all guitars sound the same and I'm sure there will be differences in volume, sustain etc, I just don't think it's worth worrying about. 
Just look at the replies here, people can't even agree what the differences are. There's no consistency or facts.
People thought a tele was an lp when they listened to led zep. 
IMO you could play any music on any guitar. It just wouldn't look right and I think people often equate that to not sounding right.

If you get a kick out of these things then fill yer boots though. It's all good and I'm sure I'll be in the minority here

LastMantra

You get strat (for example) bodies made out of all sorts of things. Pencils and resin? Do they sound radically different? Not imo. So how much difference is there going to be in very similar woods?

bananaman

Jesus this topic is older than the ark. The answer is obvious: Different pieces of wood have different densities and will therefore absorb/reflect the multiple overlaid sine waves that you get when you strike a string in different - and non-linear- ways, leading to different tones. Obviously there is variance between different piece of wood of the same type - some species more than others - so you might get some alder(particularly if it's light) that sounds more like ash, and some that doesn't etc. This individual variance is what leads to confusion, as Bob's ash strat might well sound like his alder strat, but John's ash strat definitely doesn't sound like his alder strat. However as a (very) general rule I would say ash is more open sounding with more treble and bass and more hollow mids, and alder is more mid focussed. Mahogany sounds like it's got a layer of cardboard over it ;-)

als427

slapped a maple neck on , definitlry more what Im after. A bit fuller on the mods / upper mids. Maybe its just a chunkier neck. Anyone interested in a very little played rosewood all parts neck.12 rad / 22 fret , aged lacquer finish