Chambered mahogany Tele w/ ash top?

jim232777

Junior Member
Messages
38
Hi all,
Another first-timer here, looking for an opinion on wood combination.  I'm thinking about a chambered mahogany body to get some warmth but reduce weight, which I'm sure has been done before.  My uncertainty is in the wood for the top.  Swamp ash has that gorgeous grain I'd like to take advantage of, and the roasted version looks beautiful in the pictures/videos Warmouth provides.  So I'm wondering--has anyone shared pictures of this combination before, either roasted or plain?  I'm worried the roasted swamp ash will be too dark next to the mahogany.  The only 2 search results I could find with mahogany/ash were old and didn't have images.

Other details:  planning on a roasted maple neck (no finish or a touch of an oil finish) with rosewood fretboard.  Either one of the oils (e.g., Tru Oil) on the whole body, or a fairly natural looking Wudtone finish such as amber.

Slightly off topic, but for this body... How do chambered/f-hole bodies look with the tummy & forearm contours?  Does the f-hole just open up noticeably to the back of the route?

Thanks,
 
jim232777 said:
Slightly off topic, but for this body... How do chambered/f-hole bodies look with the tummy & forearm contours?  Does the f-hole just open up noticeably to the back of the route?

It doesn't look too shallow even with the tummy cut. I found this one on Reverb to for reference (not my guitar, good luck with the sale if it belongs to anyone here).

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But, on the chambered bodies, the hole is just a ƒ shaped route through the top and down. It looks a little odd (IMO) upclose since you can tell it's not a full thinline route.

tele_hollow_top3.jpg


In this picture, you can see how the sides of the route just follow the ƒ.
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It's much more convincing on the hollowbody/thinline bodies that have a full sound chamber.

images
MooncasterHollow.jpg


 
DuckBaloo said:
It doesn't look too shallow even with the tummy cut. I found this one on Reverb to for reference (not my guitar, good luck with the sale if it belongs to anyone here).

...

But, on the chambered bodies, the hole is just a ƒ shaped route through the top and down. It looks a little odd (IMO) upclose since you can tell it's not a full thinline route.
...

In this picture, you can see how the sides of the route just follow the ƒ.
...

It's much more convincing on the hollowbody/thinline bodies that have a full sound chamber.
...

Thanks for the Reverb idea.  My Google image search was just too much garbage to wade through and find the good ones.  That Reverb link was interesting.  You're right that it doesn't look too bad.  I tried a search there for "chambered" and mostly found Duesenbergs and solid-tops--no other Fender-styles that also have f-holes.  A Strat would have both the forearm and tummy cut, so that look is promising.

You're right that a thinline would look better, and I would go that way but I give up the comfort contours.  A quick run through the builder gives me $327 for a thinline, $307 for a standard chamber w/ an f-hole but no contours, and $337 for chambered, f-hole + contours.  Leaves me deciding between the contours and the better hollow cavity.

So I wonder...has anyone (Warmoth?) compared sound of chambered vs. "hollow"?
 
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