Extra Light Mahogany?

[EddieDavis]

Thinking of getting a showcase body - choices are between a single piece Extra Light Mahogany and a standard solid body Alder.

Wondering if anyone can tell me about the Extra Light Mahogany option?  Does it still have great tone or would you say that the extra light factor compromises tone?

I'm hoping it wouldn't be a tone killer because I've found a great body and I like the idea of going with Mahogany. But I would like to be well informed about the Extra Light factor.  Thanks!

 

[Axkoa]

Don't mention tonewoods else Cagey will come along and say something about it doesn't really matter, which I believe as well.

Think more about quality of wood, weight, and longevity when looking for wood, not how it will effect your tone.

 

[Logrinn]

I once had a -61 LesPaul Jr (SG-shaped) that was really light. And it was the best sounding guitar I ever had.

Now, if the weight all had to do with the fact that it was so old and the wood was so dry, I don't know.
Or, if the choice of pickup - a Bill Lawrence (drop-in for a P90) - had anything to do with it sounding great ... who knows?
Perhaps it was the Marshall 50w head that made it sound so sweet, now that I think of it ... hmm ...

Nah, let's go with the weight of the body - that's what made it so special! :icon_thumright:

 

[Axkoa]

I once had a -61 LesPaul Jr (SG-shaped) that was really light. And it was the best sounding guitar I ever had.

Now, if the weight all had to do with the fact that it was so old and the wood was so dry, I don't know.
Or, if the choice of pickup - a Bill Lawrence (drop-in for a P90) - had anything to do with it sounding great ... who knows?
Perhaps it was the Marshall 50w head that made it sound so sweet, now that I think of it ... hmm ...

Nah, let's go with the weight of the body - that's what made it so special! :icon_thumright:

-61 as in 1961...?

 

[Logrinn]

Yup. I got it second hand sometime in the early eighties.

 

[stratamania]

I don't intend to get drawn into a tone wood debate.

But there are great sounding lightweight guitars and great sounding heavier guitars. Personally, I have and have had many guitars of different materials and construction types.  They all have sounded good, whatever it is put down to in terms of wood or pickups (Just different characters).

But really you are not going to know until you put something together ultimately how the final instrument will sound.  A different neck on the same body can also make a world of difference.

There is no reason as such that a lighter weight mahogany body cannot contribute to making a good instrument but you will have other variables such as the neck and pickups and how the guitar works together, not to mention individual playing style. One person's ears and taste may love the outcome but if it's not what you are expecting it may fall short for you.

If you can play a number of guitars and note the aspects of them that you like it makes selecting things easier.

 

[Axkoa]

Yup. I got it second hand sometime in the early eighties.

That's awesome.

 

[mayfly]

It's not such a rare thing.  I once had a '59 Korina wood Gibson.  Bought it in the late '80s.  Ended up selling it because I never played it.

and no it wasn't an explorer 

 

[Tonar8352]

I once had a '59 Korina wood Gibson

A 59 V, you sold a 59 V? Please tell me it at true.

 

[rgand]

I have an old Sen-bodied (Japanese ash) Tele that sounds great, or it did until one of the pickups failed. Beautiful highs, sweet lows, nice mids. It sucked when new but a pickup change and new pots made a world of difference. It may just be finding the combination of neck/wiring/bridge that brings the best out in any guitar (except for the rare duds that are out there).

So, if the weight is attractive, why not give it a try? If you have an old set of pickups lying around, maybe put those in first and see what you need to do to get it where you want.

 

[mayfly]

I once had a '59 Korina wood Gibson

A 59 V, you sold a 59 V? Please tell me it at true.

Nope - it was a Skylark  :headbang:

Original case, no mods, bumble bee cap, fairly beat up - you know the drill.
Sold it for about a grand.  They seem to have doubled in price since!

 

[Ace Flibble]

'Extra light' pieces of wood don't necessarily sound any different from a more average-weight piece. Wood varies so much anyway that whenever you talk about the tone of a particular species you're always talking about just an average, and there is no guarantee that any one specific cut of that wood will sound absolutely the same as the next.

Being light doesn't mean it'll sound different to other mahogany bodies you may have used; being a different body is what will make it sound different.

Not to mention all the other factors in sound. The neck, the electronics, the hardware, the set up, even the pickguard material (if it has one) will affect the sound in some way, however significant or minor.

If you want mahogany, get mahogany. If you want alder, get alder. If weight is a priority for you, get a light weight piece. Tone will always vary by some small amount no matter how similar two bodies may appear, and you can compensate for that in more ways than you can count.