I apologize, I know this is a strat forum. I currently own 3 guitars, each for their specific purpose. By far my favarite is the SRV signature Stratocaster. My 1959-VOS Gibson Les Paul Gold-Top is very nice too, but doesn't give me the love my SRV battle-axe gives.

I had a 1976 Guild D-25CH acoustic guitar, an absolutely gorgeous axe. It got stolen in 1993. I was fortunate enough to find a replacement 1983 Guild D-25BLK. Same exact guitar but painted black. Not nearly as pretty as the cherry finish. Guild has since discontinued this model. That's a crying shame.

I have a nylon with cherry back and sides, spruce top and mahogony neck. It has a satin, French polish type finish.

Godin uses cherry in a number of models, nylons and steel strings, but I'm not aware of any solid body cherry models.

+2
Thanks , Ceri !

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A-man

Take a look at this chart.

http://www.csudh.edu/oliver/chemdata/woods.htm

You will likely be surprised to see the weight and densities of some woods.

Some pines and firs denser and heavier than alder. Basswood is very similar to alder. Cherry is lighter than green ash (swamp ash).

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...I for one, sure would appreciate the return of intelligent conversation, spirit of assistance and the simple yet effective ignoring of those who can't seem to hang with that...
Best regards,
rob

Thanks for posting - interesting

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A-man

to quote Artie Johnson- "verrry interesting."

I haven't worked with it myself, but I often hear this discussion, someone finds an example where it was used, and the results are kinda lack luster. There is usually a lot of hype then someone ultimately tries and just says "meh".

One can't understate the importance of the expectations of players and listeners when evaluating materials and design. Yes, alder was in terms of musicality pretty much a random choice, but it has become an established sound because of the role it has played over the years in music, starting with Fender and moving beyond. Designs were basically made around the properties of this wood, and as such it has been properly explored/exploited. Substituting different woods without considering design usually doesn't offer much in terms of "aha moments" of finding some new magical tones, because if we make a cherry strat, it won't be more "straty" than an alder or ash strat.

I think this is why we see alternate tone woods on basses more than guitars. Bass players tend to be a bit more open minded and discover lots of things in the process.

I think what needs to happen is for a cherry strat body to be made to specs and then an A/B test needs to be done (where neck and electronics get switched from one body to the other) to come to any kind of conclusion, otherwise all we can do is speculate. My cherry wood table at home is not hard and dents easily so this cherry body would need a good protective finish on it at the very least. I hope the OP is able to make a project of it and let us know the outcome.

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...I for one, sure would appreciate the return of intelligent conversation, spirit of assistance and the simple yet effective ignoring of those who can't seem to hang with that...
Best regards,
rob

Hm: that might be fun.

Should we do a cherry neck as well as a body, just to be thorough?

Cheers - C

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Amazing what one can glean from that man. If you haven't seen him rescue and rebuild a guitar, we've got a link around here somewhere which will knock you out. Lot's more sophisticated than pulling teeth:

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"Another day in paradise!"