determining wood

[sleepingazure]

so this is my first post on this website which i found only recently. in a closet in my parent's home there sits a disassembled fender stratocaster. says made in mexico. i dont know what fender makes their mex-strats out of. well ok i know what woods they use but i dont know in particular this specific guitar. the pessimist in me says poplar. anyone got a hint or magic trick to determine what kind of wood it is? i'm sure it's a stupid question. but i'm stupid people. so yeah. any help would be heavenly. thanks.

[krazyderek]

lol i've been trying to figure the same thing out... weight, smell, appearance and tone, smell only applies if you've done some big modding to the guitar like routing for a battery in the rear or routing for a HB in the neck. this also allows you do see the wood. tone & weight are kinda self explanitory..... i'll hazard a guess and say it's either alder or poplar, i think is the cheaper of the 2, and also in a little less demand so that's probably what it is. Hope that helps.

[DividedByJames]

My best recommendation is to 1) determine what year it was made 2) find a Fender catalog of that year and 3) see what they used to make their MIM Strats. I think now they switch between alder (sunbursts) and poplar (solid colors).

[Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars]

To see what wood it is, take a pocket knife, or similar boject, and cut a sliver off inside the control cavity. alder is a little darker than poplar, which appears almost white. This I did on a Gibson ripper to determine if it was the original color or not, so I assure you it works. Also, I have not dealt with poplar, but I know alder is quite soft, an I believe poplar is harder...not sure though.