Which is heavier alder or ash

You mean like overdrive? Could you explain that, please? Paul Conway Member. Messages 5, I'd agree - my lightweight alder Suhr is very bright, resonant and 'alive', but has little low-end. Messages 9, I've found very light alder to lack focus, especially as lower volumes, and heavy alder to sometimes be too focused, lacking airiness. I prefer a middleweight. Vintage-tone Member. As general rules because there is always some exceptions What people refer to as "heavy ash" is usually dense and tight grain ash similar to what Fender would use in the mid 70's to 80's.

It s an awesome wood to build a nice looking table or kitchen but not quite my cup of tea for guitar building. It's heavy, fairly dead and not very resonant at all. Very Light Ash is usually "swamp ash", the same wood that was used on the early Tele and Strats until After that the Tele remained an ash body guitar when finished in blonde and sometimes sunburst while the strat was made out of alder but for Blonde see thru finish option The swamp ash is much lighter and very resonant, a very rich and responsive tonal wood.

It needs to be dried properly and is a lot rarer so therefore costs a lot more than regular "plain" ash. Some original vintage 50's Fender are extremely light and often called "Featherweight". I Hope that helps a lil. Swamp ash is also much harder to paint, BTW, at least if you want a smooth surface. That's why some companies opted to ship Ash guitars in what is essentially just a seal instead of a real painted body, e.

BTW, is very light Ash lighter than a light piece of Alder? You must log in or register to reply here. Trending Topics. Your go-to guitar…. Started by jlectka Wednesday at PM Replies: Part of the reason I'm asking is because I want the guitar to be balanced when I'm standing. I hate it when I have to support the weight of the neck with my left hand while playing. Thanks, I'm still going swamp ash because everybody raves about it and writes such beautiful things about the tones and resonance.

Your answer explains why some people say it's lighter weight than alder, and some say it's heavier. My Jp7 is basswood which is extremely light. It's awsome to stand up with, but swamp ash would, from what I read, be a more resonant wood with more frequencies. I do love the growly tone of the JP7 though, even if basswood is considered less attractive by many. I get the impression that basswood has a reputation of being alder's ugly cousin Messages: 2, Likes Received: Swamp Ash is usually light, lighter than alder.

I have 3 Swamp Ash guitars, all of which are light, resonant, killer sustain, and sound awesome. Yeah, I've actually been quite confused about that whole weight thing when it comes to swamp ash, but heavy or light, it has a reputation of sounding awsome which is the main thing right?

I think I'm sold on it. That would certainly be a special Carvin though.. Age: 75 Messages: 6, Ronkirn , Nov 13, Messages: 4, I think that it depends on the individual piece of wood, that a guitar is made from. That's why there can quite a variance in the weight of 2 guitars of the same year and model, with the same exact type of wood, hardware, everything. My 2 current American Ash Body Strats are very light, one is 7lbs. Also, some of the old 50's Ash body Teles and Strats were known to be very light.

Ash vs Alder? It's the piece of wood more than the type of wood that dictates weight. I've had as many as 6 Les Pauls at the same time, and I bet I've owned a couple dozen in my life. Of the six I had at once, one could be an absolute boat anchor, and the next one could feel very significantly lighter, even a pound or 2 difference in the guitars which feels like a lot when you're wearing a guitar. The LP's were the same all mahogany bodies with a maple cap.

Why didn't they weigh the same then? Messages: 7, Bowiefan, I would say play as many different strats as you can. When you find one that says "Take me, I'm yours", then get that one. Don't worry about solidbody woods so much. This is just my humble opinion-.

Age: 31 Messages: 2, There's quite a bit of info on tone woods out there. This one identifies tone wood with musical styles! Last edited: Nov 13,