Ultimate Strat Body

[NicosRebel]

Hello All

I planning my third Warmoth project...

Stratocaster body of course, but I'm searching a wood, THE wood... for maximum versatility for playing 70 and 80s Rock, Hard Rock and Heavy Metal  :headbang:

The neck will be for sure a Canary/Ebony combo or a full Pao Ferro combo ; 11/16 standard thin 6105 SS frets and no finish

I hesitate between 1 piece Alder or 1 piece Swamp Ash.

I like very much flame maple top but I'm afraid of the fabrication mode with the layer glued on the core body can absorb the goods vibrations of the wood... maybe I'm wrong...

So... is a one piece flame maple body is a stupid possibility ?

To resume the choice are :
- 1 piece alder
- 1 piece swamp ash
- 1 piece alder with flame maple top
- 1 piece swamp ash with flame maple top
- 1 piece flame maple

Any advises ?!

 

[harry]

What about black korina for a more 'full body' sound?

 

[SkuttleFunk]

never found anybody who could actually hear the difference between a 1-piece body and a 2-piece body in a truly blind type taste test. lots of players claim they can hear it, but fail to pass the test when sound clips are randomly played for them to choose from.

unless you're going for a clear/tinted finish that highlights the 1-piece grain figure, your ears will tell you that there's better places to spend your $

if you want to build it like Leo did in the pre-CBS days of glory, use an offset seam on a 2-piece or run the main plank down the center on a 3-piece body.

 

[bagman67]

The body lumber will have a comparatively negligible effect on your tone - there were dudes playing les pauls (mahogany with maple cap) and all manner of strat copies in the eras you describe (ash, alder, and whatever else slipped in) - the real deal is what kind of pickups and wiring you'll use, and to an extent what neck meat you'll deploy.  So do what feels good and looks good to you. 


Know that glue joint failure in bodies is virtually un-heard-off.  There's just no stress on the joint, unless your name is Pete Townshend and you're reliving your glory days of guitar-smashing.  So if you want a laminate top, you are perfectly safe. 


You'll get no "better" sound out of a one-piece body than a multi-piece body, but the joint line can be a distraction if you have a transparent finish of some kind.  Otherwise, the extra money is not necessarily well spent.


A solid flame maple body will be hard to come by.  If Warmoth has such lumber in stock,  they may build you one - but I wouldn't hold my breath.  The better return on the money invested in a chunk of figured maple big enough to build a whole body of is to resaw it into lam tops.  Get $75-100 bucks 10 times instead of a couple hundred once.

 

[swarfrat]

Listen to Larry Carlton "Last Night"for a good example of how eliminated a laminated top or two piece body can ruin your tone. I'm kidding. Seriously have you ever listened to album and thought oh Oh wow. that two peace buddy  body just ruins it. Or even tried pick out the guitar body construction just from listening.

Okay I'm done using voice recognition the first to post

 

[ragamuffin]

Like has been said, the body wood won't make a huge difference. However for a "jack of all trades" strat I would go for one of the warmer woods; alder, mahogany, or korina to balance out the brighter neck woods.

A laminate top shouldn't have any noticeable effect on the tone. A solid figured maple body would be quite expensive, and also quite heavy.

 

[NicosRebel]

Thanks for your answers...

I have since 2010 a black korina strat with HH config with black korina/ebony neck that I love... It has a bright attack with strong fundamental (thanks to ebony fretboard) but very quickly has a warm decay and low and high seem to disappeared and the mid stay... forever It's work great with low output P.A.F.

but I want something different... less mellow, little less pronounced low mid and with more sparkling harmonics...

(I make my sound testing unplugged first)

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

The ebony board will bring plenty of snap to the attack, but if you want an even brighter tone and want to stay with an unfinished neck, a Canary neck shaft would be a good call, but then again so would a Pau Ferro.

This in conjunction with use a brighter Tone Cap and brighter pickups may get you want you want.

 

[NicosRebel]

Ok I've just finished my order...

My third Warmoth project will be a 1 piece extra light Swamp Ash body (3lbs 8 oz) in transparent blue no lam top...
White pearl pickguard, my previous (preeecious...) canary/ebony neck standard thin 11/16 nut and SS6105 frets...
Schaller chrome tremolo, locking tuners and as usual for me : a good DiMarzio pickup set  :headbang:

...We will see...