Hello dear fender addicts,

I have a 2009 MIM Standard Strat with Dimarzio pups (67/67/54pro). Love this guitar but im thinking about buying a new one , a american deluxe one.

The question is this :

¿ Whats the diference between ASH and ALDER ? (sound, etc).

Please if you have a american deluxe tell me what are the PROS and CONS, what you like and what you dont like about it.

Thkz.

Ash may be brighter in sound while alder could be deeper but good luck hearing the difference through an amp. Swamp ash will definitely be lighter in weight, regular ash should also be slightly lighter than alder. I wouldnt worry about the sound difference but the look and feel.

Ash is more fun to say then alder. That and they ash is more porous and require a pore filler before finishing, plus it's more expensive due to good examples of ash are rarer than alder. As for the tone, an excellent piece of ash will generally have a nice bright and resonant tone, while an excellent piece of alder will have a fuller sound, not quite as bright but still very musical. Of course, each guitar is unique, I've played ash strats that were dark sounding and alders that were exceedingly bright. As for the pros and cons of an American Deluxe, I don't know, haven't played the new ones yet ^^

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I traded my car in for a microphone.

Some ash guitars can impart a full deep resonant tone with a huge amount of sustain and can be quite heavy such as black ash.Swamp ash won't give you as deep a tone or as much sustain but I'd prefer it to alder as it brings out the mids better usually.

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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.

Thats great, i have a MIM 2009 strat with dimarzio pups and its great becouse it has that classic/vintage strat soung, very bluesy and quacky. Love it, but im looking for a second guitar one to play with more quality on the sounds, a dinamic quality guitar , and also with a nice finish and feeling.

Im really thinking about getting the American Deluxe Ash !!!

I say ash. Mainly for aesthetic purposes. The grain sure is pretty, and the colours available for the ash body are better in my opinion.

Can some one give a more technical point of view or TECH vs FEEL review ?

As far as sound goes, I don't really notice a whole load of difference between the two when plugged in. If your playing clean with no effects I think I can hear something, but anything else and the difference is minuscule. As far as feel goes it really is a personal preference. I prefer ash personally, but to be honest I think I enjoy the feel of it only because i like the look. Weightwise, the two ash ones I've played have felt pretty light compared to some other fenders I've played, which I like.

Good thing you didn't ask it on the tdpri forum...

If you buy a guitar without playing it first then the type of wood might give you hints about what you should expect... theoretically, ash should have a more attack and less mids when compared to alder... at least that's what custom suppliers would tell you to expect.

If you can play the guitar before you buy - wood, or other technical specs matter a whole lot less.

Both are considered middle of the range between dark and bright. This means that both woods are neither screechy or thunderous. If you play the same strat model with the same pickups, fingerboard wood, tone cicuits, etc... you will probably not be able to detect a difference in the sound between the two guitars. You would notice that the ash strat feels a good bit lighter than the alder one. If you are into coffee table guitars* (ie: pretty wood grain), you will also be attracted to the grain of the ash guitar much more so than the alder one. If you are more into flashy colors, or something besides a burst, or transparent finish, you would do well to save the hundy you'd spend on the ash strat and go with alder.

* Old guys like me generally like the nice wood grain better. That's not a hard, fast rule, but I definitely appreciate the beauty more than I did as a younger man. That's not to say I don't like the flourescent guitars of the "old days" any less!

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60th Anniversary AD Strat, Deluxe Nashville Tele, Player's P Bass. Mesa/Boogie Mk IV combo, Marshall JCM800, 1960A cab, Genz Benz El Diablo 60, Genz 2x12" cab, too many neat little practice amps and kit projects!

YMMV... the heaviest Fender I have ever played was an early 70's Telecaster - made of ash. Also owned an ash Strat replica that was pretty heavy. If you look at bodies that online sellers like the Stratosphere and Warmoth offer ash or swamp ash can reach pretty heavy weights...

Im waiting for the Stratocaster AM DLX ash to hit my local shop so i can try it, but i've tried a tele AM DLX ash and it seems to me more heavy than the alder one. Good sound.

I need some one that ownes a Strat AMERICAN DELUXE ASH today !! some one with real expierience.

i bought a brand new ash body am dx stratocaster 6 months ago (aged cherry sunburst.i think is name of the color) rosewood fretboard. i rarley use the s-1 switch but the guitar has a bright/twangy fender tone to it. especially the upper strings (g,b,e) sounds excellent especially if im mixing the bridge/ mid or neck/mid pup. i love the sound of this guitar so much that i refuse to run it thru any pedals or heavy distortion at same time i bought the guitar i bought a fender 65 deluxe reverb reissue amp. i bought several other guitars too within the past few months but when i play my strat, its direct thru the amp. no effects except reverb i.m.h.o. the sound is awsome especially for blues.

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2009 american deluxe ash stratocaster

2009 epiphone es-335 dot.
2009 65 drri amp
2009 fender vibro champ-xD amp.
2009 takamine g-4400 acoustic/electric guitar

1980 fender harvard reverb 1 amp

This is exactly what i was looking for DAVEDEDUDE.
I already have modded strat to play progresive rock , heavy and some music with some effects so what im looking for in a guitar is QUALITY natural sound. I love fender sound but a little change is what a need. I want to have a AXE with a great look ( CHECKED ), well made ( CHECKED ) to play blues, rock, soft music and to change from my other guitar that sound like a FENDER STRAT but with a tweak.

What do you think ?

A good Guitar Wood Types & Tones FAQ here:

http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm

Cheers

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E.J. Strat 2006
American special tele (2011) with custom shop nocaster pu
Mexican Jazz bass fretless
Gibson Howard Roberts
Ibanez Roadstar II
MESA Express 5:25