Semi-hollow In Alder?

[sullus]

I'm planning a semi-hollow project, roughly rickenbacker sized. I already have the neck: Maple/rosewood, 25.5 scale.

What I'm looking for is a wide frequency response, without being too harsh or too muddy. Balanced and sort of a blank canvas for the pickups.

The most versatile solidbody guitars I've played have been alder, but you almost never see a larger semi-hollow guitar made from it. The most common seems to be maple, a brighter wood, but those guitars tend to have a shorter scale, or humbuckers, or mahogany necks to tame the highs a bit.

What if I combine alder with a brighter top to balance the inherent semi-hollow mellowness? Maple? Swamp ash? I've heard good things about spruce as a full spectrum wood. Any thoughts on those, or any other suggestions?

[SwedishLuthier]

I have made a maple topped alder Thinline Tele with an all maple neck. The sound is balanced with an emphasis on a clear and solid bass and a nice present mid. What it lack is treble twang, but hey, it’s not a swap ash solid Tele so it is something I expected. Alder is nice and easy work with so I’d say give it a go.