I am not a guitar wood expert, but I was wondering whether mahogany or alder was better for eletric guitar bodies. I assume it is mahogany, but if anyone else has any information, please let me know.
guitar wood: Mahogany or Alder?
- Thread starter fallen2289
- Start date
Eternal Dragon
1337AD
I think mahogany is heavier, like ye olde gibson les paul sorta heavy.... if u know what I mean. Alder I think is lighter, but still pretty good. Depends if u want to lug around a log for a whole set or not.
As a general rule of thumb, the heavier ones are more dense which means they are better. More sustain. With modern pickups and stuff then its probably not as important, but still worth considering.
As a general rule of thumb, the heavier ones are more dense which means they are better. More sustain. With modern pickups and stuff then its probably not as important, but still worth considering.
Yngvai X
Dark Emperor
Eternal Dragon said:
This is a really common misconception, but my guitar tech explained it very well. When something is dense, it will not resonate as well as something that is less dense. For an extreme example, take a thick block of concrete and knock on it. Now take a paper cup and do the same thing. Which one is vibrating more?
That being said, I personally prefer alder to mahogany.
Yeah, I am not sure whether mahogany is lighter or heavier, but it seems that all the higher priced guitars are made of mahogany, which is much lighter, compared to something like basswood. I have never owned an alder body guitar, but I will soon buy one and see for myself. Thank you all for your help.
ABQShredHead
©1970
Ivory? Hmm, that's weird. Save an elephant and check these pages...
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/the_guide_to/ultimate_guitar_guide_tone_woods.html
http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm
Many wood choices simply come down to grain patterns for clear finishes. Basswood, alder, and mahogany have great sounds for guitars, but ugly grain. Maple doesn't have the greatest sound, but it can have a fantastic figure. Put a transparent finish on it and it looks sweet. Hence, veneers make beautiful guitars on top of great sounding woods.
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/the_guide_to/ultimate_guitar_guide_tone_woods.html
http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm
Many wood choices simply come down to grain patterns for clear finishes. Basswood, alder, and mahogany have great sounds for guitars, but ugly grain. Maple doesn't have the greatest sound, but it can have a fantastic figure. Put a transparent finish on it and it looks sweet. Hence, veneers make beautiful guitars on top of great sounding woods.
J-Dubya 777
It NEVER ends
Mahogany is heavier, as in weight. I have owned guitars of almost all kinds of woods, and I really have no preference when it comes to electrics. Too many other things come into play when it comes to tone & sustain. Wood makes a much bigger difference (soundwise) in acoustic guitars. Let youir ears lead you to what sounds best to you....
J-Dubya
J-Dubya
HackerX
Member
I can't really comment on alder vs mahogany, but my own mahogany bodied guitar (Ibanez SA160QM, mahogany capped with quilted maple) is the lightest guitar i've held without lacking any tone. Fair lighter than les paul's which feel to me more like clubs than guitars.
Still, have a look at this http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm which covers the different types and finishes.
Seems ABQShredHead beat me by a minute to the site
Still, have a look at this http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm which covers the different types and finishes.
Seems ABQShredHead beat me by a minute to the site
HackerX
Member
I can't see how they could make a guitar out of ivory... It would be like making a guitar out of a slab of concrete as per Yngvai X's example. Not to mention it doesn't come in blocks large enough to make a guitar body. Ivory parts sure(nuts, bridges etc), but not the whole thing. Perhaps you're thinking about another kind of wood like Ebony or something?
Yngvai X
Dark Emperor
I think judging by Accolade's posts in other threads you guys are taking him way too seriously 
Hacker, the reason why your Ibanez is probably lighter than a Les Paul has to also do with the size of the body. LP bodies are pretty thick and bulky, not as thin and streamlined as a strat. If you played an alder strat vs a mahogany strat you'd definitely notice the added weight in a mahogany bodied guitar.
Hacker, the reason why your Ibanez is probably lighter than a Les Paul has to also do with the size of the body. LP bodies are pretty thick and bulky, not as thin and streamlined as a strat. If you played an alder strat vs a mahogany strat you'd definitely notice the added weight in a mahogany bodied guitar.
HackerX
Member
Absolutely, my point was more towards the fact that a mahogany bodied guitar doesn't always mean a heavy guitar that feels too heavy on stage etc.
What it comes down to is just what J-Dubya said. Play a couple of models with each wood and decide on the guitar that sounds best to you & feels the most comfortable. For me that was my Ibanez, but it comes down to personal taste, there are no shortage of good guitars using either type of wood.
What it comes down to is just what J-Dubya said. Play a couple of models with each wood and decide on the guitar that sounds best to you & feels the most comfortable. For me that was my Ibanez, but it comes down to personal taste, there are no shortage of good guitars using either type of wood.
ABQShredHead
©1970
Wood species in electric guitars probably only matters to... Eric Johnson. If you are like the norm on this forum and you stick an X2N into your guitar, it will overpower the slight timbre additions from the woods (and distortion will mask much of it as well). If you roll back the gain and use a lower output pickup, I surmise you will begin hearing wood differences. Wood provides resonance to the sound, and resonance acts as a bandpass filter to the upper-octave frequencies produced by the strings' vibrations. These nuances can be caught by pickups, but I would imagine the death voltages from X2N and other high-output pickups will remove much of the timbre contributions of the wood.
Get two same-model guitars of different woods and try the same pickups in each. Then you might hear a difference.
Get two same-model guitars of different woods and try the same pickups in each. Then you might hear a difference.
J-Dubya 777
It NEVER ends
ABQShredHead said:
LOF'nL!
We saw EJ play at a small bar in Chicago on the Ah Via Musicom tour, and were lucky enough to catch the soundcheck, including pole piece adjustments while playing.....I wish I had pictures, he's a freak!
J-Dubya
Bryant
Mr. Sleepy
J-Dubya 777 said:
I agree with you mostly. In metal music, I don't think wood selection is very critical, because even with purists, going through a straight Marshall etc. the tube distortion really gives a different dynamic with harmonics and overtones. Once you take the distortion away, the wood/bodystyle comes into play. The best "sounding" clean electric guitar I have ever heard was made of Koa. It was a pretty typical strat based body style made by Peavey (offered in the mid 90's.) I should have bought that guitar !!
Bryant
Bryant
Mr. Sleepy
HackerX said:
Great advice. With the exception of the Koa wood guitar I talked about on my prior post, I can't think of a single time the wood type has played a significant role in my decision of a guitar purchase. The Koa wood guitar I was interested in had a natural finish and drew me to it, due to it's looks but it did sound great as well.
Bryant
ABQShredHead
©1970
J-Dubya 777
It NEVER ends
Tylors are great acoustics! The Martin vs Taylor wars will go on until I've turned to coal....
J-Dubya
J-Dubya
ABQShredHead
©1970
Yes, I love to hear good players in the acoustic room at Encore when they pick up one of the Taylors. If I could funnel money into my guitar collection rather than my family debt, I would have at least three.
