European Beech Wood

[Hydrogeoman]

I am planning on building a Fender Jaguar type guitar and wanted to get your input on using Beech for the body. It will be stock in most electronic aspects (1962 Jaguar style single coil PUPs) and the neck will consist of maple/purpleheart/maple. I was going to use alder for the body originally, but saw the Beech wood at my supply house and became intrigued with the idea. I am looking to get a twangy sound.

The Beech wood is much denser and harder than the alder, so I am concerned that it may be too bright sounding in conjunction with the neck I am building. I also have no idea of its stability.

Thanks for any input or experiences you could share.

Cheers,

[topper]

Hi Hydrogeoman, thats a good question. Ive offten thought about building a guitar from European beech, only because there's plenty near where i live. Many have gone over in the last few years its sad to see them just rotting away. The beech i have around sounds dead when i tap it, ive also some ash and that seems to give a ring to the tap.

You have got me thinking now gunna google a bit and see if i can find anything.

[1576]

Im afraid its a pretty poor choice for body wood. Even in 1.75" thicknesses, beech has a tendency to cup and it's end-grain splits very easily. I use beech everyday in the footwear industry for shoe lasts so have considerable experience with it.

Its also damned heavy and bright sounding but I wouldnt say that it sounds good. At all.

I would suggest that its only use in a guitar project is as a carve template for a dupe.

[SwedishLuthier]

I really have to disagree. I have built a bass from beech and it sounds very nice. It is entered into the GOTM this month. The beech wood I used had a nice ring when knocking on it, but I have had pieces of that wood in my hands that didn’t sound as good as the pieces I used for my bass. I had no problem with end grain split or cupping. The sound of the bas is similar to ash-bodied basses (standard ash, not swamp) and it has a long sustain. The only withdrawal of using beech is the weight. And that is a BIG withdrawal. Beech is really heavy. I did this bass in a clam shell style, two halves hollowed out and glued together, but the body is still really heavy. I cannot give you any number (the bass is with the customer) but it is the heaviest bas I have ever built. OK, it was a 5-string which adds some weight and a really big body, but nevertheless.

For a small solid body guitar I think that it will work fine, but jags have big bodies. I dunno…

[Hydrogeoman]

Thanks for the input. I think I will play it safe and go with alder for my current project. Maybe my Beech billet will find its home in a future "experiment."

[1576]

At the end of the day any material can be used for solid body guitar building. Ive made prototypes from MDF to prove concepts, etc, but wouldnt dream of using the material for the real thing.

Look at the timbers which have traditionally been used in guitar manufacture. Theres a reason for it, and its not always because of sustainable local supply. To my knowledge, beechwood hasnt been used in guitar production by anyone whose income depends on it.

[SwedishLuthier]

To my knowledge, beechwood hasnt been used in guitar production by anyone whose income depends on it.

If I’m not making a mistake Burns used Beech. It might have been birch also. But then again they went out of business.

The most common reason that we use traditional material is...tradition. We miss out on a lot of new sounds by taking the beaten path. I'm not saying that the new sounds would be good, but why not try it. It MIGHT be the next big thing. Or in the case with beech, the next heavy thing...

[fryovanni]

At the end of the day any material can be used for solid body guitar building. Ive made prototypes from MDF to prove concepts, etc, but wouldnt dream of using the material for the real thing.

Look at the timbers which have traditionally been used in guitar manufacture. Theres a reason for it, and its not always because of sustainable local supply. To my knowledge, beechwood hasnt been used in guitar production by anyone whose income depends on it.

Your point is sensable to a point, and I agree the larger manufacturers use common sense to try to choose the best wood for there purposes. I however do not believe I would rule out any wood based on that logic. There are a lot of woods that had not come into favor with major manufacturers for whatever reason(availability, flavor of the day or what have you). Swamp Ash was not common and was quite cheap for many years(and not used by many). It came into favor as it's reputation spread(as well as its price went up). Beech is a viable option. It has its own qualities, and that may serve the build perfectly. Look at the properties of the wood, and listen to it. That is what counts. Remember our big advantage is that we are not bound by large manufacters supply limitations. Thus we can use any materials we choose to best suite our need.

Peace,Rich