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Thread: Best wood for Fenders is:

  1. #1
    Forum Member Tonefiend's Avatar
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    Best wood for Fenders is:

    Swamp Ash.

    Without a doubt the superior tone wood for Fender guitars.

    Discuss...

    :ax

  2. #2
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    rotten wood

    So TF, you think rotten wood is what Fender guitars are made of, eh? I had a '56 Strat that I wish I never had sold, and a white '58. Never had an ash Strat of my very own however.

    LILY: This place looks good. Very appealing, good color choice. Must check around.

    Dan

  3. #3
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    Mahogany.
    I have a solid mahogany strat body that I love.

  4. #4
    Forum Member Bobby Lee's Avatar
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    Alder. I like the mellow tone and it can have nice grain.

  5. #5
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    My 54 and 55 are ash. Hard to argue with their tone. I like alder, too. Leo knew what he as doing.

  6. #6
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    we know . . .

    your '54 and '55 Strats are ash. Do you really have a 60burst, too? You lucky guy!

    Seems as if this new place is working just fine!

    LUCKY!

    de

  7. #7
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    Yes, Dan. I have two of them. There are a few perks to being old! I bought them both when they were cheap. I got lucky.....(smiling simile here)

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    What kind of wood? Let's see... fire wood? Ply wood? Petrified wood? ;)

  9. #9
    Forum Member 1959burst's Avatar
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    ash,alder and mahogany are my favorites haven't tried korina strat yet though.:y
    leo fender was a genius and he didn't even play the guitar, thank god for george fullerton! ADMINISTRAITOR OF THE MESA/BOOGIE FORUM

  10. #10
    I'm partial to ash meself.

  11. #11
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    I like ash for Teles, and alder for Strats.

  12. #12
    Forum Member daze's Avatar
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    Ash for Tele's & alder for Strats for me.
    "I've been standing in front of 30 million decibels for thirty five years.....for god's sake just write me a note" Ozzy Osbourne "The Osbournes"

  13. #13
    Forum Member Marcondo's Avatar
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    Ditto ASH on a Tele gives it that percussive snap poppin sound and Alder on a Strat tames down the highs a bit you can always get highs from a Strat low end is whats hard to get on a Strat.

    I also like all maple neck on a Tele with ASH body and rosewood fretboard Alder body Strats best.

  14. #14
    Forum Member Black Bear's Avatar
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    I think it depends on the particular piece, but I really dig my ash strat. It's real mellow but with an airy kind of tone if that's possible.:)
    Jason
    The Bear Guy

  15. #15
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    Ash.

  16. #16
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    Ash for teles and alder for strats is a great combo.

  17. #17
    Forum Member Heritage 80's Avatar
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    Don't really know what woods my Tele and Strat are. I know I like the wood my Tele's made of a lot better than my Strat. Anybody know what the wood was on late 60's Custom (bound) tri-burst Teles? How bout late 70's Strats?
    Last edited by Heritage 80; 07-26-2002 at 08:47 AM.

  18. #18
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    ash

  19. #19
    Forum Member Drumbeater's Avatar
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    I like ash for a Tele and alder for Strats. I have an ash Strat as well, but I don't like the tone as much as on the alder Strat. Ash is the wood for a Tele though. You can't get that twang to sound as good on anything else.

  20. #20
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    I fall into the Alder camp..........but I do like Ash

  21. #21
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    I've has ash & alder. Alder wins, IMO. Ash is a great Tele wood though!

    gregc

  22. #22
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Ash for Teles. Medium weight. It should hurt real bad if you hit someone with it.
    Ash for a Strat too, but lighter.
    I also like medium weight alder Strats.

  23. #23
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    Oldies but goodies . . .

    Originally posted by 60burst
    Yes, Dan. I have two of them. There are a few perks to being old! I bought them both when they were cheap. I got lucky.....(smiling simile here)
    60'Burst: You deserve your name then. I, too, consider myself "old" (or "young," perhaps, depending upon whether I am trying to get up from a kneeling position from down-on-the-floor or not (if you catch my drift). I will be 58 in September, and am not-ashamed. So, "old" doesn't = TWO '60s Les Pauls you LUCKY GUY!

    You kept 'em and I sold 'em. You had better vision than I did, I think!

    Don't forget the Les Paul Forum Folks!

    de

  24. #24
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    Got Wood?

    I would agree with ash for Teles. G&L makes a maple topped strat though. How does that sound?

  25. #25
    Forum Member bjm007's Avatar
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    Gotta have both...

    Ash is probably gonna get more votes, but I've had a bunch of each and I think it depends of the actual piece of wood. Ash can be a little crisper, but I've had alder strats that have cut as much as a nocaster...

    Last edited by bjm007; 07-27-2002 at 01:15 AM.

  26. #26
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    Pine!!

  27. #27
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    Overall, I like swamp ash; but I had a Nashville B-Bender Tele that is poplar and it sounds great.
    Last edited by Butch Snyder; 09-23-2002 at 12:41 PM.

  28. #28
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    It's always been my commitment. . .

    . . .to NEVER pass up a good piece of ash:drl However, when it comes to Strats, I'm an Alder Man, myownself. . .

  29. #29
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    Did Gibson ever make any les pauls or other guitars out of Swamp Ass... I mean ash ?

  30. #30
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    I prefer ash bodies. Leo and gang agreed that ash is tonally superior but much harder to find and thus they moved to alder from a production standpoint. My take is that you get clearer highs and stronger lows with Ash. Wider tonal spectrum is usually better IMO.

    That's not to say that my 58's strat with an alder body doesn't sound great too.

  31. #31
    Forum Member brianf's Avatar
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    Tone aside; the grain patterns in ash seem much nicer over all. I think that is why the clear or translucent finish Am DLX etc. are ash. IMHO.

    brianf
    Oh Man!!! I never knew Fender made amps too!!!

  32. #32

    Plywood

    Ash and Alder is what I have.

    But I'd sure like to play around with a plywood one and let the body soak in water....

    The Rockman

  33. #33
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    Ash followed by Alder...either with Maple necks;-)
    _wpod


    I'm a lucky soul, my heros have always been Rock 'N Rollers...

    current line up

  34. #34
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    I also like Teles in Ash. I've never spent much time with an Ash-bodied Strat; I'm used to Alder.

  35. #35
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    I had a Squier Hank Marvin signature strat with an ash body that really sung, although I also had a Korean Squier with a plywood body that sounded better than my basswood-bodied MIJ Fender...strange!

  36. #36
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    Plastic Wood, the stuff in the can.

  37. #37
    Forum Member rdavis81's Avatar
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    The best wood is Unobtainium...

    Unobtanium comes from the most obcure desert island of Bowango which is in the Tropic of Cancer. The wood is dense yet pithy, light yet with a good heavy feel. The wood resonance never varies and it doesn't matter what pickups you use because all of them sound great. I especially like this wood for the body but am partial to a Balsa wood neck. Couple this with well broke in 65 vintage strings off a 65 strat and it sound like... you know...

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