Starting My First Project, Need A Bit Of Wood Advice

[bscur]

I'm heading to the store tomorrow to buy wood for my first project. It'll be a semi-hollow tele with a humbucker in the neck. I have a great quilted maple cap. Would you suggest a main body of ash, alder, or mahogany? What should I be looking at for the cost of each? I'm headed to McBeath hardwood in Berkeley, Calif. I know it isn't the same, but I am seeking a tone in the neighborhood of BB King.

Thanks

[coolio49085]

I'm heading to the store tomorrow to buy wood for my first project. It'll be a semi-hollow tele with a humbucker in the neck. I have a great quilted maple cap. Would you suggest a main body of ash, alder, or mahogany? What should I be looking at for the cost of each? I'm headed to McBeath hardwood in Berkeley, Calif. I know it isn't the same, but I am seeking a tone in the neighborhood of BB King.

Thanks

I dunno what kinda wood BB Kings guitar is made of but im thinkin it might be a maple top, but i like ash and mahogany.

[fryovanni]

Those woods are all very good. I suppose if you wanted to try to define the difference (mind you this is going to be a very very slight difference in the percieved tone). Ash (tad brighter), Alder (neutral), Mahogany(tad warmer). Difference will most likely not be something you could identify in a blindfolded test. You will effect tone more by how you route the hollow sections (again, subtle change). Your pickup choice will be pretty important. On a side note the top will carry more weight in this kind of project being it becomes a more significant mass compaired to the hollowed body. All of the woods you mention should work well with Big leaf(soft) Maple, which tends to be a neutral to slightly bright wood.

Peace,Rich

[Firefox2551]

http://www.gibsoncustom.com/flash/products...le/lucille.html

Specs on the Lucille.

It'll be interesting trying to get ES-335 tone from a tele body... I suppose the hollowing will help a bit though, you may want to look into that Gibson Varitone control.

I've never actually used one but I hear it has something to do with cutting certain frequencies and so on. Supposedly is a big part of B.B. King's signature sound.

Also look into the 490R and 490T humbuckers.

(just for fun, 80th aniversary lucille...)

http://www.gibsoncustom.com/flash/products...nniversary.html

Your basic Alder/maple strats and tele's have been proven pretty well in the blues field so almost any wood you use should work, different woods will give you slightly different tones, but fryovanni already outlayed that for you.

[Drak]

Personally, I think you're asking too much, and should re-assess your desired final tone.

The typical BB King tone comes from using 2 HB's out of phase w/ each other thru a big 24 3/4" scale semi-hollow body guitar.

Your coming from a -completely- different base of origin. I mean, that's like trying to make tuna salad with mayonnaise and hamburger meat.

I would just try to make a nice semi-hollow Tele and be happy with whatever tone comes out of it, or change your plans if a BB King sound is that important to you.

If you REALLY want to make a BB King sounding Telecaster (if that's even possible), here are a few ideas:

1. Use a 24 3/4" scale Mahogony/Ebony neck.

2. Use Mahogony for your body wood.

3. Get a Tele bridge with a HB cutout

4. Use the same HB's for neck and bridge, or use what comes in his guitar

5. Have an out-of-phase switch installed, that is the key ingredient to a BB King sound is the out-of-phase tone,

and you need both HB's on to get that sound, thus you need a 2-HB guitar, thus no standard Tele bridge will

work.

6. Hollow out your Tele as much as you can to get a -real- hollowbody sound.

Just routing out a few areas here and there isn't going to make it sound like a hollowbody at all, you need

to remove a LOT of wood to get 'there'.