what woods should I use for my neck and body?

[mooshmoosh]

I want a guitar that will be bright yet warm, that will cut but be clear, and will have good sustain.  I play through both a mesa boogie dual rectifier and a fender dual reverb.  I play both grindcore and easy listening music as well.  I know I'm probally not going to find a guitar that will do well for both but if anyone has any suggestions let me know.

 

[m4rk0]

do you need 3 posts for this??

anyway, Alder is the chicken of Tonewoods! you can use that for just about any style. If you go for a solid color finish, you may consider Basswood. cheap and also suits different styles. Some on this board may say that body wood does not have that much of an effect on tone, but I say draw your own conclusion.
For a bit of added warmth, add a solid rosewood neck. Make sure to pick the right verstile (splittable) pickups.

 

[rahimiiii]

Body wood doesn't matter much... I played an Alder and Ash guitar and they both sound the same to me, but some people might have different opinion. Pickups and amp will make more difference to sound than body wood ever will. If you are going with solid color, go with alder, if you like the way ash looks, go with that, but be prepared to grainfill. I don't like basswood because it looks cheap and it's soft so will be dinged easily.

 

[Tonar8352]

Swamp Ash with as big a single piece maple neck as your hand can take.

You described the tone of this guitar exactly.

 

[DiMitriR33]

i thought i replied to this already. but i dont see my post. :icon_scratch:
anyway, i don't think the diference of body wood is significant. go with what looks good. you may hear a diference unplugged but i don't think you'll hear it through the p/u's
as for necks, i only have maple/maple necks now so it's hard to say. i had one that i scalopped, it seemed to make it much more resonant. sounded and played very good but not for everyone.
i think the answer to the versitility you want is in the electronics.
i'd say to go to a local music store and try guitars with diferent p/u's and find something you like.
there are all kinds of active stuff out there that allow you to shape your tone in many ways.

 

[-CB-]

Look for something with an alder or ash body... thicker neck profile, maybe non-maple neck.  Maple is very bright.  Something in the middle of the Warmoth tone scale would be just where ya wanna go.