Got a quick question for you guy. In in 79 were all strats made of strickly Alder or Ash? If yes should I assume that my sun(tobacco)burst is made of Ash and my old black 79 was made of Alder? I always thought that the burst one sounded much better than the black one which is why I sold her (even though both had maple necks and the same bridge pups).

I have recently had back surgery and the old 79 is just way to heavy for me. I can't play her so I need to buy a new (light) guitar and I am trying to figure out what my old girl is made of. Thanks

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Otto

As I remember it during that period, any guitar with a finish that you could easily see the grain of the wood through was Ash, any solid or opaque color was Alder.

I do remember the majority of the Ash ones being quite heavy. I had one particular Ash Strat back then that actually weighed two pounds more than a Les Paul Standard I also had at the time.

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You dig?

Hi Martian,I had a 78 Sunburst Strat and although I never weighed it,it was considerably heavier than a bandmates Les Paul.I traded it for an 83 JCM 800 2204 in 95 as I had back surgery and it was literally too heavy to play,but the thing sustained like a Steinway Concert Grand.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Greetings.

Ash is an amazing wood if you think about it. Some Ash bodies are light as a feather and others (like the three of ours' from that period) would make good row boat anchors. Either way, it is undeniable that notes and chords just jump off of them where the sustain is clean, crisp and really sings. My #1 Strat now is Ash bodied. LUCKILY it is one of the lighter specimens as my back is also a mess. Don't get me wrong, I do like the attributes of Alder too but Ash is something really special.

Besides, who among us all wouldn't like a nice piece of 'Ash'?

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You dig?

Around '79 there's a strong possibility that both were made of ash, as there was a surplus of bodies from all those "natural" finish Strats that were popular throughout the seventies. Generally ash was only used where you'd actually be able to see it (in clear/translucent/sunburst finishes as noted) as apart from having an attractive grain it's more porous than alder, absorbing more finish and requiring more coats of expensive paint to cover. By '81 CBS/Fender had a mountain of ash bodies to shift before they wound up, and they used them in lines like the International Colour Series (originally some sort of dealer promotion, I think)... some of this late CBS ash was very heavy. But yeah, generally visible grain = ash and painted = alder.

I thought my 1975 was heavy, but it doesn't compare to the ones you guys are talking about. It weighs 9.05 lbs, about a half-pound less than the typical '70s Les Paul, at least the ones I was familiar with back then.

My '74 Gold Top acually seems pretty light ... and I don't think they were using "Swiss Cheese" for bodies back then.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

70 era strats = boat anchors......

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The Vintage Guitar News and Views my monthly blog articles.

There are some light weight ash bodies out there. I'd take your time to shop around. good luck, also with your back.

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2012 American Vintage Telecaster 1958
09 Fender american deluxe strat.
97 Gibson les paul special P90's double-cut
65 Princeton reverb re-issue
2010 Guild Gad-F40e

Got one you want to throw overboard?

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

My '73 was made with northern ash and quite heavy, compared to some made with lighter swamp ash.

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

I don't own a Fender near as old as a '70s one, but for what it's worth (not much) my ash Strat is about 7.5 lb. And my Lite Ash Tele really is just that - light! That's a big relief - because I'm yet another with back/disc problems.

What I want to know: when is medical science going to be able to grow us new spinal parts? In situ, please? Perhaps Gibson (as makers of quite heavy guitars) could finance the research?

I took that scene in Star Wars where Luke grows a new arm very seriously...

Cheers - C

Yeah - there is a team in my country that grew and implanted the world's first replacement oesophagus quite recently. Unfortunately, my understanding is that they started there because it is a comparatively simple structure in biological terms (they said - what do we know?).

Heart valves are soon to arrive too, from something I heard in just the last couple of days, so that's nice. And knee joints, curiously.

Unfortunately, spines are a shedload more difficult, it seems. Everyone here who has done that depressing round of osteopaths, chiropractors and spine surgeons knows what mumbo-jumbo black magic waffle those people talk - which is a sure sign of a discipline in its early days.

In short, these people often do not know enough about backs yet to fix them successfully - as it seems many of us here can testify!!!

A way to go, I fear. Pass the ibuprofen, please...

Cheers - C

Still, on the bright side, a spin-off technology should be that we can soon grow new Stratocasters in the laboratory, instead of manufacturing them. Genetic engineering in its purest form.

"Light ash Strat, sir? I'll just fetch the right Petri dish..."

Cheers - C

PS: 50 - 75 years, you think? Oh heck...