Favorite Wood for Solidbodies

[Runewalker]

I am surprised no one has taken the bait on "TonePlastics." But seriously, I do wonder what a solid wood or veneered wood laminate pickgard would do to the sound. They are out there, just a little proud on their pricing.

[Trey]

runewalker said:

I am surprised no one has taken the bait on "TonePlastics." But seriously, I do wonder what a solid wood or veneered wood laminate pickgard would do to the sound. They are out there, just a little proud on their pricing.

I doubt it would do a thing besides make the guitar look prettyier(is that a word )

[Runewalker]

I have always been struck that guitarists are drawn to flametops, burls, birdseye or quilttops for their electrics. If you look at a fine acoustic guitar that sounds good, you most probably see a fine, linier grained solid spruce resonant board with few if any imperfections.

Whereas the appearance woods like flametops are imperfections in terms of resonance characteristics. Spuce is also a soft wood. You rarely see hardwood acoustic tops. You will see them as veneers to laminates, but they are decried for their lack of or at least compromised resonance.

While most electrics are hardwoods. I used to be a finish and cabinet carpenter, and I worked on a project that used a lot of basswood. It was light and handled like a softwood, though I believe it is classified as a hardwood. So I was surprised to see it's widespread use in todays mfg. Perhaps the choice woods are getting scarce and basswood was plentiful, but it did not have the classical qualities of dense hardwoods.

I have a couple of basswood bodies. One is so light that when playing loud it starts counter resonance in reponse to the speakers. The other has a very heavy Floyd so wth that metal it is less feedback resonant.

I want to experiment with a body made of 50 year old fir I harvested from a house being torndown. That is definitly not considered a tonewood, but it seems to be heavier in its seasoned state than basswood.

[GuyaGuy]

RE: "Perhaps the choice woods are getting scarce and basswood was plentiful, but it did not have the classical qualities of dense hardwoods."

that's definitely part of the reason--cheaper, readily available, grows quickly, and isn't endangered!
of course, that's the same reason Leo Fender chose Ash and Alder over more expensive woods.

but also, if it's a good basswood it has a pretty even EQ-ing--unlike mahogany which "warms things up" or ash which scoops the mids.

having said, that. there's basswood and there's basswood. i think we've mentioned how one mahogany can feel, look, and sound completely different--whether you're comparing honduran to african, 2 african trees right next to each other, or 2 pieces from different parts of the same tree. likewise, basswood can vary greatly.

having been in carpentry, you may know more about this, but apparently there's basically 2 kinds of basswood in guitar making: asian and american, the american being harder and better-sounding one. the asian one is ultra soft and tends to warp and basically almost literally sucks tone!

RE: "But seriously, I do wonder what a solid wood or veneered wood laminate pickgard would do to the sound."
check out Paul Bigsby's guitar made for Merle Travis!

[Runewalker]

Bigsby's guit:
www.bigsbyguitars.com/products_guitars.html

Well, you have to wonder how the routing underneath that pickgard is, and of course we can/t really hear the thing, but man, look at that headstock. I want one! May have to buy a paddle head and start carving.

The carpentry thing was a long time ago, and no dististinction was made on American vs import, and I was making stair trim not guitars. So I have no opinion on the differences. I just know my indonesian basswood is just too resonant, and it detracts.

Hey, is it bass-wood like the fish or bass-wood like a bass fiddle?

Guyaguy, looks like we are having difficulty getting some participation in this emmently scientific exploration of the relationship of physics and tone. Where is Einstein when you need him?

[bam]

is the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics applicable to such an extent in guitar playing/crafting :? whoa, imagine all those NASA technologies in a guitar tech's workshop :lol: !!

[bam]

.. and oh yeah, never buy basswood from indonesia. this country's climate is not basswood-friendly. alder, mahogany, or ebony - that's indonesia's excellency !

[GuyaGuy]

yeah, there aren't even many votes on wood types! where is everyone?!

scared away by all of yr myth-busting, i guess, Runewalker! ;D

as for basswood guitars, i've picked up several--like low-end Ibanezes--which were like you describe: way too light and soft. as bam says, the climate in places like indonesia just isn't good for it. (and i believe some of those Ibanezes were made in indonesia so they likely use wood from there.)
on the other hand, my Eastwood Guyatone is basswood and it's fairly dense and solid. it's maybe slightly heavier than a tele. it's a bolt-neck w/ a bigsby and it's still got good sustain!

oh--and it's bass like the fish. i finally had to check cuz i always said it correctly but many say "base."

as for bigsby, check out this thread:
guitarnuts2.proboards45.com/index.cgi?board=repair&action=display&thread=1119814539

[GuyaGuy]

yeah, there aren't even many votes on wood types! where is everyone?!

scared away by all of yr myth-busting, i guess, Runewalker! ;D

as for basswood guitars, i've picked up several--like low-end Ibanezes--which were like you describe: way too light and soft. as bam says, the climate in places like indonesia just isn't good for it. (and i believe some of those Ibanezes were made in indonesia so they likely use wood from there.)
on the other hand, my Eastwood Guyatone is basswood and it's fairly dense and solid. it's maybe slightly heavier than a tele. it's a bolt-neck w/ a bigsby and it's still got good sustain!

oh--and it's bass like the fish. i finally had to check cuz i always said it correctly but many say "base."

as for bigsby, check out this thread:
guitarnuts2.proboards45.com/index.cgi?board=repair&action=display&thread=1119814539

[GuyaGuy]

runewalker said:

Where is Einstein when you need him?

guitarelectronics.zoovy.com/product/SHIRT1

[Runewalker]

GuyaGuy;
guitarelectronics.zoovy.com/product/SHIRT1

Exactly. You got the reference. Whoa, great minds ...

I love that pix.

On woods, I have a musican friend who had a bolt on Carvin in maple back in the seventies. LesPaul shaped, flat top, not carved top. He always complained it was too bright. He changed the oddball Carving 22 poles for Dimarzios (Super Distortions, I think) and still complained about the tone being too bright.

I am about to experiment with som maple bodies to test this theory.

In the real world, are there any guitarists out there who have experience with Maple bodies and who is willing to accurately describe the sound, along with pup configs.

[bam]

some of those Ibanezes were made in indonesia

I've never seen any MII Ibanezes, though; only Korea, China, or Japan .. any ops/infos ?

oh, and for the "too bright" issue, I honestly agree with the GN1 user x189player that an EQ will solve most of such problems..