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Post subject: Alder vs Ash Strat Bodies
Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 12:46 pm
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Just wondering what the difference is in sound and weight between the alder and the ash wood. I`m considering a Strat in natural wood, and would like to choose a nice grain also. Thanks for any advice offered.

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Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 1:32 pm
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Ash bodies can sound very different from guitar to guitar it also depends on what kind of Ash the body is made from. Swamp Ash tends to be lighter then Northern Ash. You find Swamp Ash Bods under 5 lbs and Northern Ash much heavier but people will say because of the density of the Northern it has better sustain. Older Fendera I think were all Swamp Ash. It is also said that the Ash wood blanks that come from high up the tree are not as good because they are less porus then the wood towards the roots. :shock: Alder is more consistant sounding as a body and weighs around 4 lbs and has pores like a Basswood but the grainng of Ash the tighter the grain the harder the wood its is a very even toned wood and sounds the same from guitar to guitar.

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Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 2:03 pm
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cv...Thanks for the reply and clearing that up a bit for me.

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Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:02 pm
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Hello JPD,

For me ash is far more attractive,
remind me of a baseball bat{YEA! PHILLIES!!}
and I just like it better. Although I do
own 3 alder stratocasters and only 1 ash.

Cheers.


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Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:28 pm
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cvilleira wrote:
Ash bodies can sound very different from guitar to guitar it also depends on what kind of Ash the body is made from. Swamp Ash tends to be lighter then Northern Ash. You find Swamp Ash Bods under 5 lbs and Northern Ash much heavier but people will say because of the density of the Northern it has better sustain. Older Fendera I think were all Swamp Ash. It is also said that the Ash wood blanks that come from high up the tree are not as good because they are less porus then the wood towards the roots. :shock: Alder is more consistant sounding as a body and weighs around 4 lbs and has pores like a Basswood but the grainng of Ash the tighter the grain the harder the wood its is a very even toned wood and sounds the same from guitar to guitar.


Yes, this is what I've seen online as well. This has had me wondering for YEARS--how do you know if you've got a 'Swamp Ash' body, VS a 'Northern Ash' body, other than going by weight? I've had heavyweight AND lightweight Mahogany solid bodied guitars before, I think it is all much more 'luck of the draw' than anything. Wood suppliers will TELL you that a billet of wood is 'Swamp Ash', but how do you REALLY know? Do they tell you WHERE the wood was harvested? Was it from a swamp, or is it simply called 'Swamp Ash'? Was it low on the tree? High on the tree? Can you tell from the grain? Somehow, just going by what someone is saying and nothing else, who is TRYING to SELL us something, is just being WAY too trusting.

I remember Guitar Player Magazine did a 'ear comparision' several years ago, about which solid bodied guitars sounded best--light, medium weight, or heavy. The general consensus was that it was the 'medium weight' guitars that sounded best, the light ones sounded tinny and trebly, the heavy ones sounded dead and bassy. But everyone has their own opinion on what makes a 'perfect' guitar. Personally, I like a 'medium' weight guitar, though I always go by sound first before I go by weight.

BTW, I saw a program on PBS about two months ago, that said that some Northern Ash forests are being destroyed by a beetle that was brought in accidentally via ship. Maybe we should be thankful for what we've got NOW.


Last edited by twangee on Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:48 pm
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I prefer alder, IMO. Just feels a lot heavier, so it really adds to the sustain. :roll:


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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:51 am
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In this opinion, identical instruments made only 2 or 3 serial numbers apart can be wholly different.

Find an instrument which works for you looks, playability, sound, vibe-wise. Then honestly sing its praises.


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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 10:28 am
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Its hard to tell the difference between Swamp Ash (Green) or the Northern Ash looking at them. I beleive that Northern Ash tends to have a straighter grain to it. And interesting side note to the talk of Ash trees is that last year at the University for whom I do rigging planted 36 Ash trees in and area of the Labs property only to have to remove them 2 months latter because they were found to have come from a area that was found to have Emerald Ash Borers.

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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 12:26 pm
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I'm going to risk incurring the wrath of any "tone wood" gurus here by saying that most of your tone (once you are amplified) comes from your choice of pick ups and what amp you are using. Tone wood matters a lot in an acoustic instrument, but it is a neligible concern in a solid body electric.

Here's why I think that way:
The vibration of your strings is transmitted through the pickups to the circuitry in your amp. Throw some signal processing in there (pedals) and the vibration from the wood of your solidbody guitar becomes a mimimal concern. It may have some effect on your amplified "tone" but I don't feel that it is a prime consideration.

Now as to what looks nicer as far as grain and figuring that's a whole other ball game. Swamp Ash has a looser grain that isn't as straight. I think it wieghs a bit less too. One last thought on wieght. Heavier guitars are going to be made of denser wood which does help with sustain so don't hate the heavywieghts!

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Last edited by mthorn00 on Thu Oct 30, 2008 12:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 12:42 pm
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For sure never hate a heavyweight just think LP = 10lbs and lot of Rock Sustain :D

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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 1:40 pm
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I believe that the CS uses light swamp ash. there is a definite difference between that and alder, and I'd bet everyone here could tell.

When you strum them acoustically, the ash sounds very scooped and does not jump out with the hard upper mid punch I hear in most alders.

Swamp ash Strats have a sweet, softer tone and when you strum them it's similar to an acoustic guitar-little upper mids.

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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 9:50 am
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I'll go with what he said (mthorn00) once you plug that beeauch into all your peddles, stomp boxes, amps or what every, to me it matters not if the guitar was made from a old rail road tie, if you have a good set of pick ups you be wailen.


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Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 4:36 pm
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cvilleira wrote:
Ash bodies can sound very different from guitar to guitar it also depends on what kind of Ash the body is made from. Swamp Ash tends to be lighter then Northern Ash. You find Swamp Ash Bods under 5 lbs and Northern Ash much heavier but people will say because of the density of the Northern it has better sustain. Older Fendera I think were all Swamp Ash. It is also said that the Ash wood blanks that come from high up the tree are not as good because they are less porus then the wood towards the roots. :shock: Alder is more consistant sounding as a body and weighs around 4 lbs and has pores like a Basswood but the grainng of Ash the tighter the grain the harder the wood its is a very even toned wood and sounds the same from guitar to guitar.


I agree...

Typically the harder the wood the brighter the tone...& typically ash is harder than alder.


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