Fowl2338 Posted February 11, 2012 Report Share Posted February 11, 2012 I am going to build a strat here in the next couple of months and I am trying to decide on a body wood. The guitar will be used in my cover band (REM --> Duran Duran --> INXS --> No Doubt --> Third Eye Blind --> Cake --> Led Zeppelin) Neck: -Maple shaft -Pau Ferro fretboard -25.5" Pickups: -P90's Bridge: -Top/flush mounted OFR Body: -Will have pickguard Ash, Alder, Maple? I want to finish it in a sunburst fashion like below, so that kinda throws mahogany out the window. I'm mainly looking for what tonal characteristics I should expect from P90's in each wood. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted February 12, 2012 Report Share Posted February 12, 2012 (edited) Alder is a classic for a reason. Can go with some flame maple on top of it for some good looks. edit: veneer or top would allow you to use mahogany as well obviously. Edited February 12, 2012 by bob123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted February 12, 2012 Report Share Posted February 12, 2012 I vote for a good solid piece of anything that will look the way you want. Tonally, Alder is very versatile, and it's cheap. After that, I would consider Ash, Maple, Canary, or Butternut. On the next tier I'd put Cherry, Basswood, Hickory, and Poplar. Then Oak. Then I'd look to woods like Pine and Spruce. But that's me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkAvenger Posted February 12, 2012 Report Share Posted February 12, 2012 Alder is a classic, though I think most things with a large pickguard tend to sound very similar. Personally, I'd go for a lighter wood, weight wise that is. But that's just what I like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 12, 2012 Report Share Posted February 12, 2012 why rule out mahogany? this was bleached first to get the mahogany light enough for a translucent burst slightly different to the traditional gibson way of doing these bursts on mahogany, which was most likely a solidish colour with mahogany grain filler leaching through to show the grain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted February 12, 2012 Report Share Posted February 12, 2012 I'm making one with a white limba body that will be getting a traditional sunburst. That'll give the mahogany-like tone and still get a good looking sunburst. Even though it looks like a strat, yours will have P90s in it. So the question is: do you want it to sound closer to a Gibson or not? If Gibson, I suggest limba or mahogany. If something else, you need to define what type of tone you're looking for: round bottom end, growly mids, accentuated highs, balanced as possible, some combination of two tones, etc. Once that's established, we could give you a better answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fowl2338 Posted February 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2012 Avenger: Thick, "brown", and growly when ready is what I would describe off the top of my head. Yet also able to pull off some stratty tones ala Gilmour, SRV, and McCready. WezV: How did you "bleach" the wood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 12, 2012 Report Share Posted February 12, 2012 with wood bleach http://lmgtfy.com/?q=wood+bleach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted February 12, 2012 Report Share Posted February 12, 2012 How are you going to pull strat tones out of two P90s? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 How are you going to pull strat tones out of two P90s? coil tap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 It sounds like you want to get the Gibson AND fender sounds out of the same ax. I'm sure it's not impossible, but it'd be a LOT easier to just make two different guitars and really dial in a specific sound for each one. It's not much of a hassle to switch out in-between songs. That being said, a white limba body with a maple neck would sound pretty nice. It should have all of the round bottom you want with enough definition on the highs to bring them out. Were I to make one for the strat sounds, I'd use ash for the body along with a walnut neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 Hey, I just like P90s anyway, so my suggestion to get achieve what you're trying to do is to add a third pickup in the middle, and add some switches or push/pull pots to allow for series/parallel configurations. If you go parallel in combination with the middle pickup, you'll get some strat-like sounds. If you want to get a thicker sound, go parallel. If you want to maintain that same appearance, you could stealth a really hot, overwound strat pickup, like on an Esquire. Then I bet you could wire a 5 position superswitch with the following configuration: 1.) Bridge 2.) Bridge/Middle in series 3.) Bridge/Middle in parallel 4.) Neck/Bridge (in series?) 5.) Neck Or something like that... Honestly, I think you ought to just buy a chunk of Alder and go with your plan. It's not like you'll never want another guitar again. Unfortunately, recent evidence points GAS being a chronic condition, and no amount of gear seems to cure it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 Unfortunately, recent evidence points GAS being a chronic condition, and no amount of gear seems to cure it. NO KIDDIN'!!!!!!! If a middle pup is the way to go, then why not go for 3 P90s. Use a normal blade switch and put in a jumper so you can have all 3 or just the outside 2 on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 How are you going to pull strat tones out of two P90s? coil tap? Or possibly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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