Guitar body wood recommendations??

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MrDan666

MrDan666

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One of my main guitars is a Superstrat. It's a mutt, and it's got a GMW neck (Maple w/Ebony board) on a Fender body (Alder). 2 Humbuckers, Fender USA 2 point trem etc.

Here's a pic of it back when it was setup for Hum/Single. It's now got a 2 humbucker setup instead.
gmw010.jpg


The guitar is very clear and percussive, but a bit too much for what i like. I wish it had more warmth, sounded fatter/thicker and was less bright/snappy. I have already played around a bunch with different pickups, different string gauges, different setup. Still ends up with the same tone.

I was wondering whether it's worth trying a different body to get the tone more to my liking? Perhaps one that is made of Mahogany or Basswood?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!
 
Basswood is not what you want IMO. Try a hard Alder with a string through design. Harder woods resonate more and that'll give you the body you seek. You can try and find a pickguard with the bridge pickup placed a little further away from the bridge and that'll fill out the low end (even an 1/8" is quite a large difference) and that'll run you about $20.
 
Koa? very mid rangey wood with thick tight bass from what i hear
 
i would go mahogany. get the lp custom thing going. if you ever get the chance to play a 70's les paul custom with a maple neck, you will understand. just has a snarl through an overdriven amp. whether it would translate to a strat, i don't know. also, guitarfetish was selling mahogany strat bodies for less than 60bux.
 
JackBootedThug":1neklrni said:
i would go mahogany. get the lp custom thing going. if you ever get the chance to play a 70's les paul custom with a maple neck, you will understand. just has a snarl through an overdriven amp. whether it would translate to a strat, i don't know. also, guitarfetish was selling mahogany strat bodies for less than 60bux.
Click to expand...

Actually i used to own a 1978 LP Custom and that guitar had a really good tone. It was a bit more percussive than the normal mahogany neck LP tone but still very big sounding overall.

I might have to check out a mahogany body for this guitar..
 
I read your post and still want to say alder. A mahogany super strat makes for a tough to control sound in my experience. Others may love it but i have not had good luck with that combo even though I've tried it a few times. I keep thinking I should try it again because so many people like it and then I try it and smack myself in the head. Alder has great lows, great mids and great highs to my ear.
 
Ok so I'm gonna take a different angle on this. I would look at your bridge. Try swapping out the saddles for something else. Try either graphite or black chrome saddles.

The other thing I would try is a new neck. Ebony is very percussive and fast-sounding. A neck with a rosewood would be warmer.

Thing is, alder is pretty warm-sounding so I think your issue is elsewhere. Just mt 2 cents.
 
when i think warm, fat, and thick, i think mahogany. however - you mentioned clear and percussive which is not what mahogany is at all - that is more alder, ash, maple, and somewhat basswood characters.

so i would recommend mahogany with a normal maple top to even it out. ebony has a simillar effect like maple in being bright, but it is a mellow brightness and a smoother top end from my experience. it would match well with mahogany, but solid mahogany would be overkill IMHO - that wood can make a guitar sound dark in a heartbeat even with a maple neck.

i have an all mahogany body ibanez and i can tell you its warm and sustains as all get out - with a maple top, and the smooth top end of ebony, i believe it would be right up your alley. warm, percussive, fat, and thick.
 
I know it's a completely different company with their own views and so forth, but a lot of this information is applicable to any guitar. Check it out - I've done a lot of research on woods over the years, and this site by Suhr sums up a lot of stuff about the different woods.

Check it out:
http://www.suhrguitars.com/wood.aspx

Secondly, I saw "Koa" mentioned - be careful. Koa's a boutique wood that's primarily used for its beauty, not so much its tone. Another way of saying this is, it's got to be the really expensive stuff for it to work sonically (as well as visiually).

2 cents,
V.
 
That guitar is setup as such to be very snappy, bright and percussive. Alder, Maple and Ebony all exhibit those characteristics typically. Obviously, the safest bet is Mahogany, if you're looking for full, and thick. With the maple/ebony neck it should balance well and be quite clear.
However, if you were up for something a little different, i'd recommend Walnut or Limba( Korina). Walnut is sort of like a tighter Mahogany soundwise, with some other differences. But, I kind of feel like what you're describing, is Limba. Its big, full, and thick like mahogany, but more highs and high mids. It keeps from getting muddy so easily. But, isn't snappy, its got a mellow character like Mahogany. Like a more present, mahogany with more clarity.
 
Keep in mind that some guitar builders (Suhr, for example) dislike a mahogany body with a maple neck. They feel the woods "fight" each other.
 
Chubtone":zuxrja2p said:
I read your post and still want to say alder. A mahogany super strat makes for a tough to control sound in my experience. Others may love it but i have not had good luck with that combo even though I've tried it a few times. I keep thinking I should try it again because so many people like it and then I try it and smack myself in the head. Alder has great lows, great mids and great highs to my ear.
Click to expand...

Hey Curt,

I know exactly what you're saying, and the thing is that the more i read about wood descriptions, i'm thinking that the body is probably not the problem here... As Alder is meant to have great mids, highs and lows.

I really didn't want to have to try new necks, because the feel of this neck is absolutely insane. It's a GMW Charvel profile neck, unfinished maple and it's been worn in big time, so much so that the maple has gone all funky looking. Just like those old well used Charvel necks. I have put in countless hours on this neck since i have owned the guitar!
 
Basswood body + maple top would probably be your best bet, IMO.
 
Vrad":1d3l4jj7 said:
Ok so I'm gonna take a different angle on this. I would look at your bridge. Try swapping out the saddles for something else. Try either graphite or black chrome saddles.

The other thing I would try is a new neck. Ebony is very percussive and fast-sounding. A neck with a rosewood would be warmer.

Thing is, alder is pretty warm-sounding so I think your issue is elsewhere. Just mt 2 cents.
Click to expand...

Vlad, i'm thinking that maybe the neck could be the culprit too. I really hope it isn't but i guess i would find out if i tried another neck on the guitar!
 
glpg80":3ok2gzrs said:
when i think warm, fat, and thick, i think mahogany. however - you mentioned clear and percussive which is not what mahogany is at all - that is more alder, ash, maple, and somewhat basswood characters.

so i would recommend mahogany with a normal maple top to even it out. ebony has a simillar effect like maple in being bright, but it is a mellow brightness and a smoother top end from my experience. it would match well with mahogany, but solid mahogany would be overkill IMHO - that wood can make a guitar sound dark in a heartbeat even with a maple neck.

i have an all mahogany body ibanez and i can tell you its warm and sustains as all get out - with a maple top, and the smooth top end of ebony, i believe it would be right up your alley. warm, percussive, fat, and thick.
Click to expand...

That Ibanez sounds wicked, seems like some of those Ibanez's are tone monsters and some are dreadful sounding. Then again that goes for most guitars, woods seem to be very inconsistent!

BTW i wasn't very clear in my original post, i was saying that it's already very clear and percussive sounding, and that isn't what i want it to be like. I think you're right though about Mahogany, it can definitely work with ebony boards to balance things out! :yes:
 
Ventura":kxohex0o said:
I know it's a completely different company with their own views and so forth, but a lot of this information is applicable to any guitar. Check it out - I've done a lot of research on woods over the years, and this site by Suhr sums up a lot of stuff about the different woods.

Check it out:
http://www.suhrguitars.com/wood.aspx

Secondly, I saw "Koa" mentioned - be careful. Koa's a boutique wood that's primarily used for its beauty, not so much its tone. Another way of saying this is, it's got to be the really expensive stuff for it to work sonically (as well as visiually).

2 cents,
V.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link, that looks like some great info and i'll get reading! :rock:
 
In the first post I mentioned pickup location. I just did a mod on my guitar which moved the pickup 1/8" closer to the hardtail and I lost a LOT of low end and mud and gained a lot of high mids. It's a new guitar now, though neither was inherently 'better' just different. You can do the opposite if you can find a pickguard with the pickup further away from the hardtail. Just a hint, my guitar wood did not change.
 
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