My ash strat is the brightest sounding - however, it is SSS with Fender noiseless pick ups.
The mahogany and the alder I own both have scns in hss config., so it is a bit more fair to compare them - and the mahogany is brighter.
As far as tone IMO -
With the S1 switch, the mahogany is the most versatile, best sounding Strat I own.
I will run it up against my 2011 Strat when I get it with N3s. though, it will be SSS.

I love my Am. Dlx. Ash . . . I think it boils down to what finish you really want. My tobacco sunburst is absolutely gorgeous!

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Support your local guitar shop.

Go on line and type in "The Stratocaster a True Thoroughbred of Electric Guitars".Read,Freddie Tavares comments on how the ash bodies sounded better but alder was mandated to be used by corporate(probably Don Randall as,he ruined Fender with alder bodies covered with Fullerplast).Ash bodies are labor intensive to finish as a grain filler is required and edges are difficult to smooth.Go ahead,don't be afraid,type it in and read it.Just do it!!You kids may know more about tone than Freddie Tavares(he's a geezer and maybe not to be trusted)but I doubt it.Your juvenile opinions don't change facts.Ash "all of it" is much more resonant than alder,is much more attractive and usually lighter.Might as well throw those 6K Custom Shop alder body strats(an oxymoron as original strats had pine and ash bodies ONLY!)away unless,of course you know tone better than Freddie(He's deceased and he probably has a better ear for tone than you do)!I should begin to hear the sound of strats being tossed anytime now.Alder doesn't even sound good when hitting the dumpster(just a thud with no ring at all).Save the pups and tuners(if they are vintage replicas),throw away the wimpy non- quarter sawn C necks(not original Fender shape anyway),throw away the inferior,lead and copper infused,non-magnetic trem unit.Not much left and you could even trade in the Fender pups and spot cash for some real Duncans.Did you read the article yet?Didn't think so as "You,can't handle the truth".

Ouch

There's a big debate about whether or not the species of wood the body is made of has an effect on tone for a solid body instrument, and if it does, how much of an effect. Some believe it has a major effect, some say it has NO effect. I personally think it's somewhere in the middle to where wood type has an effect, but it is only one factor out of many combined (electronics,strings,technique) that results in an overall tone. Another thing to consider exactly what effects on tone a particular species of wood will have can vary in different pieces of wood from even the same board, variances in density and moisture content can have an effect, so there is no really definitive way you can predict with any certainty exactly how a particular piece of wood will affect the sound. At this point, I've decided personally about the only thing that concerns me about what wood an instrument is made of is how it affects the appearance.

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'08 Fender Am. Std. Jazz bass, maple fretboard, charcoal frost metallic finish
'10 Squier VM Jazz bass, maple fretboard, natural finish
Ampeg BA115
'09 MIM standard Strat, maple fretboard, sunburst finish
Fender Super Champ XD

Baloney. Whether alder sounds "better'" than ash, or vice versa, is purely a matter of opinion, not a fact. Does it sound different? Yes. to an extent. Does it sound "better"? Depends on who you ask. Opinion, nothing more.
For further debate on this issue, check this thread on TalkBass:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=738745

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'08 Fender Am. Std. Jazz bass, maple fretboard, charcoal frost metallic finish
'10 Squier VM Jazz bass, maple fretboard, natural finish
Ampeg BA115
'09 MIM standard Strat, maple fretboard, sunburst finish
Fender Super Champ XD

Damn man. Tell us what you really think. I have one ash and one alder bodied Strat and cannot discern tonal differences between the two, at least not as far as one being better than the other. They both play and sound great. And they are the exact same configuration. I guess that just makes me ignorant.

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American Standard Strat, Sienna Sunburst
Gibson Les Paul, Desert Burst
Gibson SG '61 Reissue, Heritage Cherry