Guitar_dude23 Posted March 23, 2004 Report Share Posted March 23, 2004 I called a local wood supplier and he said he dosent know what swamp ash is but he has ash. Is it the same thing?? or is swamp ash special for guitar making?? And he aslo said that it was going to cost 5.99/ 1 inch thick board foot, how would I calculate how much it would cost for 2 20"/7"/2" thick peices?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Mailloux Posted March 23, 2004 Report Share Posted March 23, 2004 Nope, it ain't the same, Swamp ash is a very light wood, regular ash (at least the one you'll find in canada) Is REAL heavy. I built a strat body with ash I bought at a local lumber yard in Montreal about 8 years ago and it weights A TON! I don't play that guitar very often because of the weight, it's not very comfortable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar_dude23 Posted March 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2004 Does it sound good??? How heavy?? like try to strap it on and break your neck heavy or just guitar heavy?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 Man it's great to have a friend who lives near Louisiana and can get all the Swamp Ash we would ever need. So basically we just started trying to find tone woods that we could get around our part of the country and so far Swamp Ash is the best we found. I'm not sure about the difference in Ash, all I can say is that the trees that grow closer to a swamp or close to a water source is suppose to weigh less and be better quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyB7539 Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 I know very little about tone woods, but I do know if you can't get Swamp Ash from your supplier, then just get Alder. Just because the wood is heavier doesn't mean you will get more sustain out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 Swamp Ash is Southern Ash. The other common Ash is Northern Ash and is what baseball bats are commonly made out of, and Fender Tele's too. The southern is lighter and typically more resonant, the Northern is heavier, harder, denser, which helps Tele's get that clear high-end twang thang goin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lotass Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 yeah swamp ash is mainly "grown" ? or from mississippi...hence southern ash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 $11.65 is what it should cost for that wood. (20x7)\144x2x5.99=11.647222... Some Strats are made from ash, so I'm sure it's perfectly suitable. I think (not sure though) that swamp ash is a lighter wood, although I think there was a discussion once about how density of swamp ash can vary a lot in a very contained area depending on soil content. Devon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar_dude23 Posted March 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 Look, they got swamp ash and Northern ash. By looking at the prices, Im guessing that northern ash is just as good as swamp ash except it weighs more. Scroll to the price list at the bottom. http://www.bhefnerco.com/stratbdy.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 yeah swamp ash is mainly "grown" ? or from mississippi...hence southern ash Actually my friend got some Swamp Ash from a factory in Mississippi also, some of those where 15" wide, enough to make a one piece. We still need to kiln dry that wood first. I think (not sure though) that swamp ash is a lighter wood, although I think there was a discussion once about how density of swamp ash can vary a lot in a very contained area depending on soil content. Devon That's close to what I was told, except that the more water in the soil the better the wood. Thus trees that grew up close to swamp land or had a good source of water in the ground made the best Swamp Ash wood. At least that's what I've read somewhere before, but either way it's still hard to know unless you was there when they cut the tree down. lol But I'm sure some expert can analyse it and tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Mailloux Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 Does it sound good??? How heavy?? like try to strap it on and break your neck heavy or just guitar heavy?? It's "old Les Paul" heavy. As in, back when they didn't rout air pockets inside the Les Pauls to reduce the weight. The sound is quite good though, I didn't play many different guitars in my life, just the three i've ever owned but I really like the sound. The grain is also very beautiful, but compared to my light weight basses made out of alder and basswood this thing feels like a ton. If you can live with a heavy guitar, you'll definitely get a beautiful, nice sounding, cheap guitar by getting the wood at a local lumber yard. That stuff is a hell of a lot cheaper than if you buy it though StewMac or others and have it shipped. My next guitar will be made of alder. Maybe you can also check if your lumber yard as it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Luthier Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 $11.65 is what it should cost for that wood. (20x7)\144x2x5.99=11.647222... Nope, it's closer to $23.30...ya didn't figure in the thickness. 7Wx2Tx40L=560/144=3.89BFx5.99PBF=$23.30 ...and that's just for the 1", it may cost more for the 2", like 6.99PBF or 7.99PBF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Luthier Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 Swamp Ash is Southern Ash. The other common Ash is Northern Ash and is what baseball bats are commonly made out of, and Fender Tele's too. The southern is lighter and typically more resonant, the Northern is heavier, harder, denser, which helps Tele's get that clear high-end twang thang goin'. I always thought Tele's were made from Swamp Ash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levendis Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 from what I understand, Swamp Ash is wood from the bottom of the ash tree that has been submerged under water... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 Swamp Ash is Southern Ash. The other common Ash is Northern Ash and is what baseball bats are commonly made out of, and Fender Tele's too. The southern is lighter and typically more resonant, the Northern is heavier, harder, denser, which helps Tele's get that clear high-end twang thang goin'. I always thought Tele's were made from Swamp Ash. me too.. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 No, Swamp Ash is a term that's just become popular in the last, maybe 10 years, give or take. You never ever heard the term before that, at least I never did. You know all the jokes over the years about Tele's being used as hammers and driving nails and used as weapons and stuff like that?...you couldn't do that with Swamp Ash. I think the term Swamp Ash came around along about the time of PRS... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy610 Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 Now I am curious.... I ordered the exact same body as Here and I thought it was the same ash as used in regular American stratocasters. Is this correct??? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankenstrat Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 Swamp ash grows in the swamp, in the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsl602000 Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 Now I am curious.... I ordered the exact same body as Here and I thought it was the same ash as used in regular American stratocasters. Is this correct??? Thanks! I doubt that regular strats have nice lightweight ash, but that is a nice body. I bought some of them once and I'm really happy with the quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy610 Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 Now I am curious.... I ordered the exact same body as Here and I thought it was the same ash as used in regular American stratocasters. Is this correct??? Thanks! I doubt that regular strats have nice lightweight ash, but that is a nice body. I bought some of them once and I'm really happy with the quality. whew! i was worried for a while there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 $11.65 is what it should cost for that wood. (20x7)\144x2x5.99=11.647222... Nope, it's closer to $23.30...ya didn't figure in the thickness. 7Wx2Tx40L=560/144=3.89BFx5.99PBF=$23.30 ...and that's just for the 1", it may cost more for the 2", like 6.99PBF or 7.99PBF. added the thickness after the division...oh well, that's what smart people are here for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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