How does ash compare to mahogany??

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mightyjoeyoungxnj

mightyjoeyoungxnj

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I've never owned an ash guitar before and was curious how they compare to mahogany. Mahogany w/ maple top is my current favorite guitar wood combination.

-Joe
 
Mahogany is darker, more round-sounding. There's several different types of ash. Hard ash and swamp ash. Hard ash is supposedly very bright and heavy as hell. I never played a guitar made of that. Swamp ash, is very light, extremely resonant and has a terrific 'spank' to the sound. It's warm with a pop to it. It's a pretty delicate wood. If you bump it against something it WILL dent. Mahogany on the other hand is alot harder. If you're going to go with Mahogany, I'd suggest a maple top to offset some of the darkness.
 
Thanks guys!

Hmmm, I'm not so sure I'd be a fan of mahogany from how you dudes describe it. I like a warm and "big" tone with less top end bite.

Hmmm.

-Joe
 
Ash is bright, it's not my favorite but if you need a bright sounding guitar it can be what you need.

Mahoganey is the standard on most every Gibson. It's got the balls and mids to be the best wood for heavy sounds.

I also like Basswood with a maple top. And i mean real Basswood not the cheap mystery wood that some guitars labeled as Basswood were sold as which gave Basswood a bad name.
 
mightyjoeyoungxnj":44xws63d said:
I like a warm and "big" tone with less top end bite.

Hmmm.

-Joe
From what you describe here, I would think you would be quite pleased with mahogany. It's my personal favorite. I don't like really bright guitars. I prefer the warmth you get from mahogany. I can dial in all the highs I need on my amp.
 
chunktone":3nk6k5tl said:
mightyjoeyoungxnj":3nk6k5tl said:
I like a warm and "big" tone with less top end bite.

Hmmm.

-Joe
From what you describe here, I would think you would be quite pleased with mahogany. It's my personal favorite. I don't like really bright guitars. I prefer the warmth you get from mahogany. I can dial in all the highs I need on my amp.

Yeah, I do already love mahogany. My Les Paul is the most massive sounding guitar I've owned. I'm trying to achieve the same thing in a 25.5 scaled "shred" type axe.

I'm thinking of putting one together from USA Customs.

-Joe
 
mightyjoeyoungxnj":17vq6v5s said:
chunktone":17vq6v5s said:
mightyjoeyoungxnj":17vq6v5s said:
I like a warm and "big" tone with less top end bite.

Hmmm.

-Joe
From what you describe here, I would think you would be quite pleased with mahogany. It's my personal favorite. I don't like really bright guitars. I prefer the warmth you get from mahogany. I can dial in all the highs I need on my amp.

Yeah, I do already love mahogany. My Les Paul is the most massive sounding guitar I've owned. I'm trying to achieve the same thing in a 25.5 scaled "shred" type axe.

I'm thinking of putting one together from USA Customs.

-Joe
I would avoid a tremolo of any kind. Imho they suck too much tone out of the guitar. I've had many shred style guitars with trems. but none sound as good as my guitars without them. My current fave being my Hamer.
 
No trem for me...

I'm looking for strictly hardtail! I've had a ton of Floyd guitars and never got along with any of em. I have a strat, but that's a different story.

-Joe
 
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