Sad-Peter-Pan Posted September 6, 2003 Report Posted September 6, 2003 I want to make a heavy sounding one piece (neck and body) guitar.. Do you have any suggestions of what wood i should use? I´m still new to building guitars. in fact i havent even finished my first one yet, and i have got a lot of great ideas of designs and such - so i´ll just start a new program and finish that other one later Great site and forum! - I have read a lot in here and its really usefull.. (and i really like waching pictures of your different projects .. rock on from Denmark -Thomas Quote
Sad-Peter-Pan Posted September 6, 2003 Author Report Posted September 6, 2003 it woudl be ok with wood suggestions for a neck thru altso Quote
westhemann Posted September 6, 2003 Report Posted September 6, 2003 what do you mean by heavy sounding?do you prefer extra bottom end or a crisp attack? Quote
Sad-Peter-Pan Posted September 6, 2003 Author Report Posted September 6, 2003 Well.. Attack.. i guess.. But i must confess, that i don´t know much about sounds (or the words for the different soundtypes if you know what i mean ) Quote
westhemann Posted September 6, 2003 Report Posted September 6, 2003 a one piece would be tough.i want to do that myself someday but it really limits the types of wood you can use because the neck has to be strong enough. mahogany comes to mind it has a heavy bottom end but it is also somewhat loose sounding. neck thru is easier and the heaviest sounding guitar i have is a neck thru v (maple neck with walnut and alder body)it has really great tone and the emg 81/85 combo suits it well Quote
westhemann Posted September 6, 2003 Report Posted September 6, 2003 attack is what i call the crisp,sharp bottom end like you hear on slayer or metallica,etc... if that is what you want then maple neck with alder body is going to be pretty tight. Quote
Sad-Peter-Pan Posted September 6, 2003 Author Report Posted September 6, 2003 maple neck with walnut and alder body.. walnut with an alder top or what do you mean? Quote
daveq Posted September 6, 2003 Report Posted September 6, 2003 I have built a guitar with a maple neck, brazilian rosewood fretboard, alder body, with EMG 81/85's. It blows my Ibanez away - it sounds and feels great. I'm two more - one with a mahagony body with maple top, and one with a maple body and maple neck. The all maple body will be similar to George Lynch's guitars (George's Guitars). The terms people use to describe sounds make it impossible to have an intelligent conversation about them. I wish there were some standard such as a frequency response curve similar to what is used in the audio industry - oh well. My idea of heavy is George Lynch's Dokken days. My Alder guitar does a great job and I am looking forward to seeing what the Maple/Maple combo does since this is what his guitars are made of. My experience has also shown that pickups play a large role in the sound produced. Everyone has their own preferences - I took a chance on EMG's and I am very glad I did. Good luck. Quote
krazyderek Posted September 7, 2003 Report Posted September 7, 2003 mahogany and basswood are the most common 2 heaviest sounding woods aren't they? rosewood fingerboards suit mahogany necks fairly well i think Quote
canuckguitarist Posted September 7, 2003 Report Posted September 7, 2003 mahogany and basswood are the most common 2 heaviest sounding woods aren't they? Yea, those are what come to mind when I think of "heavy" sounding woods. I would choose basswood over the mahogany, but thats just cause its cheaper Aaron Quote
westhemann Posted September 7, 2003 Report Posted September 7, 2003 depends on what kind of heavy you want.that huge chunk sound that is so popular nowadays can be reached with mahogany or basswood.mahogany has more mids though while basswood is really dry sounding,for lack of better words. i like alder because the bottom end is tight yet sufficiently chunky and the highs are super sweet when combined with a maple neck.i prefer an ebony fretboard but i am not sure how much if any that affects the tone. alder just seems to be the most balanced wood for heavy tones,which is probably why kirk hammett,jeff hanneman,and so many other metal guys prefer it. but i hear good things about korina,though i have yet to try it. all you have to do to know what an all mahogany guitar sounds like is to play a les paul or explorer. Quote
canuckguitarist Posted September 7, 2003 Report Posted September 7, 2003 Yea, Korina is pretty tempting although since I am only 14, its a little too much $ for me still.... Quote
krazyderek Posted September 7, 2003 Report Posted September 7, 2003 poplar is supposed to have similar tone to alder, and it's fairly cheap and strong Quote
krazyderek Posted September 7, 2003 Report Posted September 7, 2003 hmm.... i guess basswood isn't heavy sounding at all says rampart guitars Basswood.... It resonates (enhances) in the upper treble area; it sounds recessed in the lower and upper mids. Basswood does not sound BASSY, has no Bass in it except in its Name....! Quote
westhemann Posted September 7, 2003 Report Posted September 7, 2003 to be hnest i kind of find basswood to be dull and lifeless sounding.but i think that description rampart gives is misleading.i find it to have some bass and some treble but nothing in the mids,like a scooped sound,which sounds like it might be good for heavy stuff but the problem i have with it is that it is VERY muddy and the low end is mushy,or loose. it is okay for that steve vai sort of thing but rythm wise it has no character.i find it to be bland. how is that for indescriptive Quote
krazyderek Posted September 7, 2003 Report Posted September 7, 2003 lol, so why is bland good for lead? .. and do tell... what kind of character do you like for rythm? Quote
krazyderek Posted September 7, 2003 Report Posted September 7, 2003 but getting back to the subject... from what i've been reading on rampart guitars, purpleheart would make a great neck for a heavy sound, then use an ebony, zircote, or maple fingerboard to get your crisp bright treb?? for body.. ummm... mahogany ??? but that might have to much mids.. i'm hesitant on using it for 2 guitars i'm making for 2 metal head friends of mine... what about korina or lacewood?? they seem (from reading) to be less middy' and more bassy Quote
daveq Posted September 7, 2003 Report Posted September 7, 2003 My point in my earlier reply was that a "Heavy" sound can come from wood that is not supposed to be a "Bassy" wood. George Lynch uses maple guitars and you can't tell me he doesn't have a heavy sound (at least he did back with Dokken). If I were to ask if I should use maple for a metal guitar, most people would probably say no, but it works. My vote would still probably be Alder since I know it sounds great for that style, but don't be afraid to try something else. Quote
Scott Rosenberger Posted September 7, 2003 Report Posted September 7, 2003 Hard Ash hold up really well on the low end without being overly bright up top. Especially for lower tunings Quote
westhemann Posted September 7, 2003 Report Posted September 7, 2003 lol, so why is bland good for lead? .. and do tell... what kind of character do you like for rythm? what i said was it seems to be bland and lack character for rythm...too dry sounding,but that it seems to have more life in the upper register.but that is just my opinion.....but i do have 3 basswood guitars. the only one that has a good heavy rythm sound is the ibanez with the 5 piece maple and walnut neck,but it still is not as nice as my maple,walnut,and alder v and even though you are making fun of my descriptions i prefer rythm to have a tight bottom end with decent mids(but not too much) and clarity is a must. but like scott says ash is good too. Quote
krazyderek Posted September 7, 2003 Report Posted September 7, 2003 My point in my earlier reply was that a "Heavy" sound can come from wood that is not supposed to be a "Bassy" wood. George Lynch uses maple guitars and you can't tell me he doesn't have a heavy sound (at least he did back with Dokken). If I were to ask if I should use maple for a metal guitar, most people would probably say no, but it works. My vote would still probably be Alder since I know it sounds great for that style, but don't be afraid to try something else. most of george lynch's heavy sound comes from his custom pickups, the're said to have a great bottom end "thunk", and having personaly owned a screamin' deamon i can say it's fairly true, and he probably just turned up the bass on his amp.... but.. not to say that maple+his pickups+his recording setup.. isn't a good thing, i like his tone too. but he is primarily a lead player, hmm..... man... tooooo many combinations!!! lol Quote
westhemann Posted September 7, 2003 Report Posted September 7, 2003 keep in mind that most heavy guitar sounds are not awfully bass heavy because bass affects articulation when you play speed rythm. Quote
krazyderek Posted September 7, 2003 Report Posted September 7, 2003 the who wha? not to make fun wes, but wow... that's pretty technical... you mean for like speed palming and stuff you need alot of treb clarity? i like inflames alot and they play Esp's/Ltd's with 81's in them... and most Esp's/Ltd's guitars are mahogany with rosewood or ebony fb's... i'm so indecisive and stupid... this could go on for ever Quote
westhemann Posted September 7, 2003 Report Posted September 7, 2003 i am not familiar with that band.but an all mahogany guitar is good...just back off the bass a bit on your amp.hetfield prefers mahogany. but yes,speed palming as you put it. i have guitars made out of all kinds of wood,and for the slow paced chunk thig mahogany is great.i prefer alder and maple for speed metal.but kerry king prefers mahogany apparently(judging by his sig.bc rich series) i guess the reason i like alder so much is because it is cheap,versatile,and has good tone. but right now i am building an all mahogany neck thru beast and a mahogany rg type guitar with a bolt on maple neck. so i guess i am indecisive and stupid too. before i am through i will probably have 30 guitars and won't be able to play 5 minutes without switching to another guitar. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.