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Do any of you have a preference on what wood your guitars are made of?
Or more specificaly what would lend it self to a good retro tone. I
have never addressed this issue before, but I am going to build a
guitar this summer so now would be a good time to start.
Thanks for any input! :)
I think that alder is the traditional wood of choice,
at least for Fenders. Personally I doubt that you can
really tell a difference between body woods with your
ear alone. I'm not even sure what all of mine are
made of. The only problem I have is the basswood body
on Jagmaster tends to ding VERY easily. That doesn't
seem to happen with alder or poplar.
Richard
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-Uh huh huh huh, you said wood
Sorry I couldn't help myself, I'm a huge fan of Bevis and Butthead.
Jeff(bigtikidude)
-- In , "Ian" <Get_Hustle@h...> wrote:
> Do any of you have a preference on what wood your guitars are made
of?
> Or more specificaly what would lend it self to a good retro tone. I
> have never addressed this issue before, but I am going to build a
> guitar this summer so now would be a good time to start.
>
> Thanks for any input! :)
Now that I have an ash Stratocaster, I prefer ash for two reasons.
1. It's nice and light weight.
2. It has a beautiful grain pattern.
As for the sound, I don't have the voodoo ears to tell the audible difference of
various woods used on solid body guitars. They're all planks to me!
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: Ian
To:
Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 2:58 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Wood.
Do any of you have a preference on what wood your guitars are made of?
Or more specificaly what would lend it self to a good retro tone. I
have never addressed this issue before, but I am going to build a
guitar this summer so now would be a good time to start.
Thanks for any input! :)
.
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Ian,
It would depend on what type of finish you wanted to apply. Alder, ash, and
basswood are all good tone woods. As far as going for a retro sound or look, I'm
sure there are plenty of good resources on the Internet. There is also a great
book on guitar building called MAKE YOUR OWN ELECTRIC GUITAR/ by Melvyn Hiscock
that I found at my local public library. If this is your first attempt, you
might want to try building the body and buying a ready-made neck. Just a
suggestion. Good luck, and let me know how it turns-out.
Take care - Kosmo
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
There's a good discussion of wood on USA Guitars. I talked to one of the guys
there
extensively before ordering an alder body. Alder is good for solid finishes -
it's relatively
light-weight, has good tone, and doesn't need a great deal of wood filler to get
a good
finish. But its grain pattern is faint.
Ash is used mainly because it has nice, swirly grain. Ideal for "see-through"
finishes.
Gibson used mahogany for many of its guitars; I don't think Fender used much
Mahogany.
I don't like its darker color or grain.
As far as tone goes, Swamp Ash seems to be popular for custom and high-priced
guitars.
Basswood is used on lots of cheaper guitars - however, my custom guitar is made
of it.
But it dings really easy, as Richard said.
The guys at USA are really helpful, and I trust their advice.
Gavin
--- In , "Ian" <Get_Hustle@h...> wrote:
> Do any of you have a preference on what wood your guitars are made of?
> Or more specificaly what would lend it self to a good retro tone. I
> have never addressed this issue before, but I am going to build a
> guitar this summer so now would be a good time to start.
>
> Thanks for any input! :)
My favorite guitar bodies are either Alder or light Swamp Ash. Both are tonally
excellent, especially for Surf Rock, with light Swamp Ash being the lighter
weight of the two. The thing with Alder is that sometimes you do get a nicely
figured grain, but most often not. If you're getting a clear finish, definitely
go with the swamp ash.
Bruce D
Gavin Ehringer <> wrote:
There's a good discussion of wood on USA Guitars. I talked to one of the guys
there
extensively before ordering an alder body. Alder is good for solid finishes -
it's relatively
light-weight, has good tone, and doesn't need a great deal of wood filler to get
a good
finish. But its grain pattern is faint.
Ash is used mainly because it has nice, swirly grain. Ideal for "see-through"
finishes.
Gibson used mahogany for many of its guitars; I don't think Fender used much
Mahogany.
I don't like its darker color or grain.
As far as tone goes, Swamp Ash seems to be popular for custom and high-priced
guitars.
Basswood is used on lots of cheaper guitars - however, my custom guitar is made
of it.
But it dings really easy, as Richard said.
The guys at USA are really helpful, and I trust their advice.
Gavin
--- In , "Ian" <Get_Hustle@h...> wrote:
> Do any of you have a preference on what wood your guitars are made of?
> Or more specificaly what would lend it self to a good retro tone. I
> have never addressed this issue before, but I am going to build a
> guitar this summer so now would be a good time to start.
>
> Thanks for any input! :)
.
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
yeah...wood!...WOOD! he..hehe (in beavis voice, of course)
-dp
--- Jeff <> wrote:
> -Uh huh huh huh, you said wood
>
> Sorry I couldn't help myself, I'm a huge fan of Bevis and
> Butthead.
> Jeff(bigtikidude)
>
>
>
>
> -- In , "Ian"
> <Get_Hustle@h...> wrote:
> > Do any of you have a preference on what wood your
> guitars are made
> of?
> > Or more specificaly what would lend it self to a good
> retro tone. I
> > have never addressed this issue before, but I am going
> to build a
> > guitar this summer so now would be a good time to
> start.
> >
> > Thanks for any input! :)
>
>
>
>
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-Hey Dave,
thanks for the back up on that, you had me rolllin'.
Good to meet you at the Tiki Oasis.
Hope to see ya at the Blue Hawiians gig on Fri. @ the Lava Lounge.
OR....
The Big Surf Stomp at Suzy's this Sun from 2 to 10 pm
Jeff(bigtikidude)
-- In , DP <noetical1@y...> wrote:
> yeah...wood!...WOOD! he..hehe (in beavis voice, of course)
>
> -dp
>
>
> --- Jeff <bigtikidude@y...> wrote:
> > -Uh huh huh huh, you said wood
> >
> > Sorry I couldn't help myself, I'm a huge fan of Bevis and
> > Butthead.
> > Jeff(bigtikidude)
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -- In , "Ian"
> > <Get_Hustle@h...> wrote:
> > > Do any of you have a preference on what wood your
> > guitars are made
> > of?
> > > Or more specificaly what would lend it self to a good
> > retro tone. I
> > > have never addressed this issue before, but I am going
> > to build a
> > > guitar this summer so now would be a good time to
> > start.
> > >
> > > Thanks for any input! :)
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
> > --------------------~-->
> > In low income neighborhoods, 84% do not own computers.
> > At Network for Good, help bridge the Digital Divide!
> >
> >
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~->
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>
---Marty,
This is all just speculation on my part, Not meant to make you mad.
But maybe if you can't hear the difference of woods of guitars,
Your hearing of Modded vs. stock reissue Reverbs is outta wack too.
just razzin' ya,
Jeff(bigtikidude)
In , "Marty Tippens" <mctippens@e...>
wrote:
> Now that I have an ash Stratocaster, I prefer ash for two reasons.
>
> 1. It's nice and light weight.
> 2. It has a beautiful grain pattern.
>
> As for the sound, I don't have the voodoo ears to tell the audible
difference of various woods used on solid body guitars. They're all
planks to me!
>
> -Marty
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Ian
> To:
> Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 2:58 PM
> Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Wood.
>
>
> Do any of you have a preference on what wood your guitars are
made of?
> Or more specificaly what would lend it self to a good retro tone.
I
> have never addressed this issue before, but I am going to build a
> guitar this summer so now would be a good time to start.
>
> Thanks for any input! :)
>
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived
messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
>
>
> b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>
>
> c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
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>
>
>
> __________ NOD32 1.1107 (20050524) Information __________
>
> This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system.
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Not to worry, Jeff,
That can't make me mad 'cause it's something that I have admitted to a few times
in the past with regards to the vintage and RI reverb units. .
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: Jeff
To:
Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 8:04 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: Wood.
---Marty,
This is all just speculation on my part, Not meant to make you mad.
But maybe if you can't hear the difference of woods of guitars,
Your hearing of Modded vs. stock reissue Reverbs is outta wack too.
just razzin' ya,
Jeff(bigtikidude)
In , "Marty Tippens" <mctippens@e...>
wrote:
> Now that I have an ash Stratocaster, I prefer ash for two reasons.
>
> 1. It's nice and light weight.
> 2. It has a beautiful grain pattern.
>
> As for the sound, I don't have the voodoo ears to tell the audible
difference of various woods used on solid body guitars. They're all
planks to me!
>
> -Marty
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Ian
> To:
> Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 2:58 PM
> Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Wood.
>
>
> Do any of you have a preference on what wood your guitars are
made of?
> Or more specificaly what would lend it self to a good retro tone.
I
> have never addressed this issue before, but I am going to build a
> guitar this summer so now would be a good time to start.
>
> Thanks for any input! :)
>
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived
messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
>
>
> b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>
>
> c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
Service.
>
>
>
> __________ NOD32 1.1107 (20050524) Information __________
>
> This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system.
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
.
Visit for archived messages,
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Man, all this talk about stratocasters is giving me a woody...........
---- Marty Tippens <> wrote:
> <html><body>
>
>
> <tt>
> Not to worry, Jeff,<BR>
> That can't make me mad 'cause it's something that I have admitted to a few
times in the past with regards to the vintage and RI reverb units. . <BR>
> -Marty<BR>
> ----- Original Message ----- <BR>
> From: Jeff <BR>
> To: <BR>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 8:04 PM<BR>
> Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: Wood.<BR>
> <BR>
> <BR>
> ---Marty,<BR>
> This is all just speculation on my part, Not meant to make
you mad.<BR>
> But maybe if you can't hear the difference of woods of guitars,<BR>
> Your hearing of Modded vs. stock reissue Reverbs is outta
wack too.<BR>
> just razzin' ya,<BR>
> Jeff(bigtikidude)<BR>
> <BR>
> <BR>
> <BR>
> <BR>
> In , "Marty Tippens"
<mctippens@e...> <BR>
> wrote:<BR>
> > Now that I have an ash Stratocaster, I prefer ash for two reasons.
<BR>
> > <BR>
> > 1. It's nice and light weight. <BR>
> > 2. It has a beautiful grain pattern. <BR>
> > <BR>
> > As for the sound, I don't have the voodoo ears to tell the audible
<BR>
> difference of various woods used on solid body guitars. They're all
<BR>
> planks to me! <BR>
> > <BR>
> > -Marty<BR>
> > ----- Original Message ----- <BR>
> > From: Ian <BR>
> > To: <BR>
> > Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 2:58 PM<BR>
> > Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Wood.<BR>
> > <BR>
> > <BR>
> > Do any of you have a preference on what wood your
guitars are <BR>
> made of? <BR>
> > Or more specificaly what would lend it self to a good
retro tone. <BR>
> I <BR>
> > have never addressed this issue before, but I am going
to build a <BR>
> > guitar this summer so now would be a good time to
start.<BR>
> > <BR>
> > Thanks for any input! :)<BR>
> > <BR>
> > <BR>
> > <BR>
> > <BR>
> > .<BR>
> > Visit <a
href=""></a> for archived <BR>
> messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.<BR>
> > <BR>
> > <BR>
> > <BR>
> > <BR>
> >
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