Wood Choice Alternatives

[theodoropoulos]

i have some blanks of chery,sycamore,walnut,greek walnut,cedar of lebanon,elm and was thinking what would be the most suitable wood

as far as tonal qualities concerns for electric guitar body.

i have the classical woods(mahogany) but i would like to experiment..

any suggestion?

[WezV]

well cherry, sycamore and walnut are pretty safe bets - not tried the others

sycamore makes quite nice bodies... still bright but not as harsh as some other maples - good for shredders

walnuts just yummy, but not always the best in a band mix

[theodoropoulos]

well cherry, sycamore and walnut are pretty safe bets - not tried the others

sycamore makes quite nice bodies... still bright but not as harsh as some other maples - good for shredders

walnuts just yummy, but not always the best in a band mix

i have heard that cherry has about the same tonal qualities with alder,as substitute.is it correct?

i also forgot...i have some indian rosewood blanks.....for body....what about that?

Edited June 16, 2010 by theodoropoulos

[supplebanana]

wow - indian r/w blanks? not cheap.... you can use them (Fender has used them for Telecasters) but they're very HEAVY!!!!!

[Akula]

I'm rather a fan of Iroko lately. It's hard on your tools, and nasty to work with, but its very bright like maple, and looks pretty cool in my opinion. I'd suggest it for chambered guitars, because of its weight. It can also be had for pretty good prices.

[avengers63]

i have heard that cherry has about the same tonal qualities with alder,as substitute.is it correct?

i also forgot...i have some indian rosewood blanks.....for body....what about that?

Cherry is SUPER bright. I have bodies of both maple & cherry, and I think the cherry is the brighter of the two.

[WezV]

I'm rather a fan of Iroko lately. It's hard on your tools, and nasty to work with, but its very bright like maple, and looks pretty cool in my opinion. I'd suggest it for chambered guitars, because of its weight. It can also be had for pretty good prices.

i really dont like it because its hard on your tools, nasty to work with, very bright and is too heavy. to put that into perspective, i really quite like guitars with a lot of bubinga or maple.

i hate it so much i have turned down a lot of amazingly figured iroko

[Akula]

To be honest, when you posted expressing your views on Iroko in my bass build thread, I was about ready to scrap it and go find some Ovangkol. But after working with it, I think its not too bad. Of course, you have a lot more experience than I do, and that bass is nowhere near finished... so we will see

[theodoropoulos]

indian rosewood /maple top combined with wenge neck and cocobolo fretboard would be very bright???

Edited June 17, 2010 by theodoropoulos

[ShadesOfGrey]

from what I've been told, cherry is a good wood. Walnut is too stiff for a tonewood, I wouldnt use it exept as a top or maybe fretboard is you feel adventurous.

Elm, I'm not sure about. But I think I have heard mention of it of instruments built out of it? Can't realy say.

A naturally finished cherry body with a mahagony neck and walnut fretboard sounds like a project I want to do though

[WezV]

Walnut is too stiff for a tonewood

makes great dulcimers (common) and acoustic guitars (less common) when its used as an actual 'tonewood'. i dont think the term doesnt really applies to electrics as easily

i would be rather happy with a 78 gibson 'the paul' - most of the ones i have played have sounded pretty damn good, if a little dark for some. the walnut guitars i have built have been tonally quite well balanced, but with different qualities in the mids to the common electric guitar woods

[ihocky2]

There are plenty of woods commonly used for electric guitars that are noticeably stiffer than walnut. Right away ash and maple come to mind. Walnut has been discussed as a fretboard and the general consensus is that it is too soft and will wear poorly.

Personally I love using walnut. It shapes very easily. It has a brighter tone, but is not a harsh bright like maple or cherry.