Dennis Leahy

So are you telling me that maple or alder would both work well with a clear finish?

An Alder body will be a lot lighter in weight than Hard (Rock, Sugar) Maple, but just a little lighter than most Soft Maples. Hard maple is a lot harder to sand than Alder. Hard Maple has a higher surface sheen than Alder. That is, if you take a piece of each and sand them to 600, the Hard Maple will look like gloss, and the Alder will look more satin. That will also be true if you apply a gloss finish - the Maple (especially Hard Maple) will glow more.

I've never built an electric, but I did a little work for a luthier that included refinishing bodies. Alder bodies were common - I never saw one that was solid Hard Maple.

HTH,

Dennis

p.s. Here's some info if you want to compare properties: Tech Sheets North American Hardwoods

I'd say it's Red Oak, that happens to have some really intense fiddleback. I think it was Alan Carruth who says Oak is a wonderful tonewood, but probably hard to sell 'cause it looks too much like furniture.

Dennis

Alder can look like Maple, but that photo sure looks like Maple to me.

Dennis