what makes ash so special?? by the end of the summer i'll have enough money saved for american deluxe strat, and i want to get the best i can, so any and all suggestions help. thanks

-Jake

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"I don't care how good you are, how fast you are. You ain't good enough no lessin' you got the soul." -Hubert Sumlin

This is a good question. I've owned Strats made of both Alder and Ash.

This is what I have found:
1. Ash has a better grain when it comes to Sunburst guitars. If you look at Strats made in '54 the bodies were ash. These a have beautiful wood grained 2 color sunbursts. If you look at 2-color sunbursts after '56 or '57 Fender started using alder and used an opaque yellow color.

2. Ash is a little brighter to me. I feel that Alder has a warmer sound.

I hope this helps. Here is a link to a Fender vintage guitar info.

http://home.provide.net/~cfh/fenderc.html

Also look up "Philtone Guitars" Pil Jacoby is the guy who works on my guitars. He's probibly the most knowledgable person I know when it comes to stringed instruments.

alright that's everything i needed to know thanks a lot!

-Jake

_________________
"I don't care how good you are, how fast you are. You ain't good enough no lessin' you got the soul." -Hubert Sumlin

Mike Eldred answered a similar question on wood types a couple weeks back...

Basically that there are 2 different types of Ash woods used on Fenders.

Southern Ash - ( Swamp Ash) which is lighter and therefore more 'sparkling' in sound

Northern Ash - Which is heavier and so has a 'warmer sound' and a bit more sustain.

I'm paraphrasing what he said.
Which type is used on which model? Both! So it comes down to playing them until you find the right one.

-T

Correct on both counts, sir.

While most of my Strats (a total of eight) are alder and perfectly fine instruments, I've got a custom-built Mary Kay ash hardtail that positively sings. It's a very resonant guitar even un-plugged and at a skosh under seven pounds total, the lightest of all in my stable.

Arjay