Drak Posted July 17, 2004 Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 Well, nine years into this and I have NEVER used Alder. Hey, my local guy never carried it, OK? But Scott pointed me to another local guy who carries it (thanks Scott) Jeeps this wood has the -nicest- tap tone! Tap tone is kinda hard to describe, but I've tapped on wood for a long time, you just sort of develop an ear for it, and this wood has just the coolest tapper to it. Only thing weird is that I'll have to make a 2-part body out of it, and I always have had the 'heebs' about using 2-piece bodies with the glue joint going down the middle...can't explain it, but oh well, no choice now, gotta build with this stuff! I think I shall never use Poplar again with the prices of this stuff being as good as they are, so long Poplar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted July 17, 2004 Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 Way to go, Drak! I was going to use alder for my current project-to-be with maple cap, but I've decided to go with koa instead (diff sound and look) but it's good to know it's worth the effort. Since I will inevitably do another bass maybe it'll be the basis for my 3rd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted July 17, 2004 Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 Glad to hear you went up and got some I've got another local guy that gets tons of Super Nice Bigleaf Maple. $29 bdft for 8/4 and he resaws PM me for Info Drak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted July 17, 2004 Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 another thing, I know tone is a subjective/personal thing, but I feel sorry for all of your Poplar guitars because they're not gonna get played once you get an Alder one done and hear how awesome it sounds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted July 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 I never used Poplar too awfully much really anyway, I was comparing them for price, which is very close, but I hear you all the same. I can already tell this stuff is gonna rock. PM incoming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted July 17, 2004 Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 I used alder for my first scratch built guitar (not very long ago) - a Tele style. I'm not experienced enough with wood for musical instruments to comment on tap tone, but I can say the wood was a pleasure to work with. Being the first guitar (before I got hooked), I was using primarily hand tools, and the wood behaved beautifully. I also had to make a two piece body. And Alder doesn't need to be grain filled before finishing. Let us know how you liked working with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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