Most Versatile Wood for Chambered Strat

[TV Robot]

I'm really considering getting one, but can't decide what kind of wood to get it made out of. I tend to lean towards mahogany body guitars as far as sound is concerned usually, but I have little-no experience with chambered bodies. Neck/fretboard wood suggestions are also welcome. BTW I like to play most everything except for extreme metal, and jazz if that helps any.

 

[Hbom]

1st let me warn you that you need to remove all reference to the F- word from your post immediatly!
Other wise you will undoubtledly suffer the wrath of the F haters that lurk in this arena.

That being said, in my limited experience, my guitar is ash/ash body w/maple neck I really love the way it sounds. & feels. What they say about resonance of chambered bodies is true.It is hard to explain but I FEEL this guitar more than any other I've played including Thinlines & several hollow & semi-hollows.
Anyway I like the ash. I hope to have a mahogany tele body soon. Maybe I'll know more then.
Doug
http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=14496.0

 

[JaySwear]

I had a swamp ash strat with an f-hole and the resonance was ridiculous! Never had another electric guitar resonate like that thing did.

 

[Hbom]

I had a swamp ash strat with an f-hole and the resonance was ridiculous! Never had another electric guitar resonate like that thing did.

I'm glad to hear that. The strat is my 1st build & I sometimes wonder if I don't have the neck on tight or something.

 

[TV Robot]

So woods I'm considering now:

-Swamp Ash/Swamp Ash Body + Maple/Maple Neck
-Alder/Alder Body + Maple/Maple Neck
-Mahogany/Mahogany Body + Mahogany or Koa/Ebony or Pau Ferro Neck

Curious About:

-All mahogany body + maple/maple or maple/ebony

I've heard that that ^ doesn't turn out to well, any thoughts?

 

[Kostas]

If you read the Warmoth site they mention the thin top does not affect sound. I think everything affects sound but can we hear the small details  :dontknow:

My suggestions:

Alder body + Ash top with all maple neck
Mahogany body + Maple top with Mahogany neck + whatever you want.
Korina body + Maple top with Korina or Mahogany neck + whatever you want.

My choice would be a Vintage Modern neck and the fattest back shape you can handle...

If you go for a strat with pickguard order the body with H-S-H so you can change pickguards with different pickups. Really versatile without having to buy another guitar.

 

[TV Robot]

I actually was pretty set on getting the Universal (pool) routing done on it. Most people who go down that path seem pretty content with their guitars. One question about the mahogany neck though: they mention something about putting on a finish at the same time they're making the body so it will match. Can they put an alpine white finish on the neck if I order it at the same time as the body? What's the deal with that? I found that little bit of info when clicking the "Help" question mark next to the finish dropdown box option thing on the neck builder in case I sound crazy. Also any particular reason for mahogany and maple top?

 

[Firebird211]

I could offer a little insight as I was very curious about the same thing when building my first guitar.  I originally thought the wood type for the body would make the most difference in sound, but it turns out it really doesn't.  Maybe I am wrong, but from two entirely different guitars that I own, it seems like the neck and fretboard wood make the most dominant contribution to tone, and the body just backs it up and adds it's resonant color after the strings have been picked.  I have a Schecter C-1 custom with a mahogany body/maple top, maple neck, and ebony fretboard.  Other than experimenting with different pickups and a bridge the guitar turns out to be very rich in high end, midrange, and moderate low end (high attack).  I have a Warmoth strat with chambered ash body/maple top, goncallo neck, pau ferro fretboard and the guitar has moderate high end, major midrange, and slight low end( softer attack). A better explanation would be that it's response spreads from high to low without too much of either extreme.  I thought the ash body would make the guitar really bright, but the neck seems to dominate the midrange.  The chambering with the raw neck does make the guitar resonate like crazy, I have never felt a chord like that before.  Both of my guitars sound great and are well balanced, and they are like two different sides of the same coin.  I'm not possitive, but it seems that the chambering adds a warming effect.  I researched the ash types quite a bit after the fact of the strat being built, and it seemed contrary to warmoth's impression of swamp ash being bright.  It looked as if the northern ash was the bright type, and the swamp ash had a warmer quality. :dontknow:  Either way I am very happy with these wood combinations.

 

[Kostas]

... I originally thought the wood type for the body would make the most difference in sound, but it turns out it really doesn't...

I disagree. Not always but most times I play a guitar I can guess the type of body wood. Korina/Mahogany has a signature sound, hard to miss it.

I actually was pretty set on getting the Universal (pool) routing done on it. Most people who go down that path seem pretty content with their guitars. One question about the mahogany neck though: they mention something about putting on a finish at the same time they're making the body so it will match. Can they put an alpine white finish on the neck if I order it at the same time as the body? What's the deal with that? I found that little bit of info when clicking the "Help" question mark next to the finish dropdown box option thing on the neck builder in case I sound crazy. Also any particular reason for mahogany and maple top?

Universal is fine, even takes weight off the guitar.
When it comes to matching colors they do that so the color of the body looks 100% like the neck color. To match... :icon_smile:
Mahogany and maple top is a classic proven combination in guitar world. Check how many companies do it.

 

[Firebird211]

... I originally thought the wood type for the body would make the most difference in sound, but it turns out it really doesn't...

I disagree. Not always but most times I play a guitar I can guess the type of body wood. Korina/Mahogany has a signature sound, hard to miss it.

I actually was pretty set on getting the Universal (pool) routing done on it. Most people who go down that path seem pretty content with their guitars. One question about the mahogany neck though: they mention something about putting on a finish at the same time they're making the body so it will match. Can they put an alpine white finish on the neck if I order it at the same time as the body? What's the deal with that? I found that little bit of info when clicking the "Help" question mark next to the finish dropdown box option thing on the neck builder in case I sound crazy. Also any particular reason for mahogany and maple top?

I am admittantly wrong about saying the body doesn't make a big difference compared to the neck, but this is what I was thinking about:  Fretted notes depend on the neck a ton, and the open strings, chords, and post string pluck seem to push the body's resonance into the picture more.  The body does make up the overal theme of the sound, but the neck could make it or break it.  If you started swapping necks on the Korina/Mahogany you could get something bright, well-balanced, or dull turd. I see it like the neck is the head of the tone, and the body follows.  You will definately notice the body, but I hear the neck cutting through the tone first.  I need about 12 guitars and 12 necks and run some experiments. :evil4:  It is good that we have so many members with different guitars to throw their experience and knowledge in the ring.  I don't have nearly enough guitars to make this assumption.

 

[lafromla1]

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=13458.0

Chambered Swamp Ash, 3.10lbs, Black Transparent finish, Gloss Black back
DiMarzio Area '58, Virtual Vintage '54 Pro, and PAF Joe pickups
Wilkie trem with Raw Vintage trem springs
Schaller Mini-lockers
Master Tone, Master Volume, 3-way toggle to split the Joe.

Quartersawn Rosewood Neck with Tung Oil
SS6105 Stainless Steel frets

Sounds warm and juicy.  Doesnt really hit those super high chime-like notes, but thats not what I wanted it to do anyway.  I'm sure that if you wanted it to hit those notes, you can go with a maple or ebony neck.

 

[TV Robot]

... I originally thought the wood type for the body would make the most difference in sound, but it turns out it really doesn't...

I disagree. Not always but most times I play a guitar I can guess the type of body wood. Korina/Mahogany has a signature sound, hard to miss it.

I actually was pretty set on getting the Universal (pool) routing done on it. Most people who go down that path seem pretty content with their guitars. One question about the mahogany neck though: they mention something about putting on a finish at the same time they're making the body so it will match. Can they put an alpine white finish on the neck if I order it at the same time as the body? What's the deal with that? I found that little bit of info when clicking the "Help" question mark next to the finish dropdown box option thing on the neck builder in case I sound crazy. Also any particular reason for mahogany and maple top?

Universal is fine, even takes weight off the guitar.
When it comes to matching colors they do that so the color of the body looks 100% like the neck color. To match... :icon_smile:
Mahogany and maple top is a classic proven combination in guitar world. Check how many companies do it.

How exactly do I go about ordering a neck in alpine white then?

P.S. Please forgive my ignorance.

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=13458.0

Chambered Swamp Ash, 3.10lbs, Black Transparent finish, Gloss Black back
DiMarzio Area '58, Virtual Vintage '54 Pro, and PAF Joe pickups
Wilkie trem with Raw Vintage trem springs
Schaller Mini-lockers
Master Tone, Master Volume, 3-way toggle to split the Joe.

Quartersawn Rosewood Neck with Tung Oil
SS6105 Stainless Steel frets

Sounds warm and juicy.  Doesnt really hit those super high chime-like notes, but thats not what I wanted it to do anyway.  I'm sure that if you wanted it to hit those notes, you can go with a maple or ebony neck.

Very sexy  :icon_thumright:. BTW how are the stainless steel frets? I hear some people criticize them (something about lack of tone) and other people say they love them (something about lasting a long time).

Not a response to anyone in particular: How does swamp ash/swamp ash body with maple/ebony neck sound?

 

[AutoBat]

Very sexy  :icon_thumright:. BTW how are the stainless steel frets? I hear some people criticize them (something about lack of tone) and other people say they love them (something about lasting a long time).

Not a response to anyone in particular: How does swamp ash/swamp ash body with maple/ebony neck sound?

I don't think you'll find anyone on this forum that doesn't like stainless steel frets.  They are a joy to use.
swamp ash with a maple/ebony neck should sound darn near the same as ash with maple/maple.  ebony & maple are about the brightest tonewoods you can grab.
Cagey & I happen to have a great appreciation for ebony 'boards.

 

[Firebird211]

I was curious about the tone effects of stainless steel frets as well.  I went for the traditional frets on my last build because I didn't want to go too far out of the "what typically works" box.  It seems like they would have a brighter response like strings when comparing stainless steel to nickel.

 

[back2thefutre]

well, I get sick of stainless frets sometimes so I keep a couple of guitars around that have nickel ones. SS are cool but nothing like the old fashioned stuff too. As far as versitile chambered bodies I think most folks will say Ash is the ticket.

 

[jackthehack]

It doesn't really make that much difference tonally; that's more dependent upon neck wood/pickups/electronics. Get something with a pretty/exotic top.

 

[Kostas]

How exactly do I go about ordering a neck in alpine white then?

I think you'll have to order body + neck together and ask for the same color on both of them.

 

[TV Robot]

I suppose I should just order by phone then?

 

[Cagey]

I suppose I should just order by phone then?

There isn't really a reliable way to do that online, so yeah. Call.

 

[TV Robot]

Alright then, thanks a bootyload.