Suggestions: Which top wood for my alder H-H tele build?

Chocklit_Thunda

Here's the story: Bought a squier H-H body a while back. It's alder and thinner than a regular tele body (affinity series, hence my wanting to cap it).
Since then I've had zero time to do anything build related... But now I'm on holiday! ? ? ?

Here's the plan for it:
I want to get it done without breaking the bank
Les Paul style wiring
GFS Retrotrons (probably the Liverpools)
Roller bridge and GFS X-trem
Maple neck (Possibly a bubinga fingerboard)
Cream or white binding
Clear Poly finish

I want suggestions from you guys as to which wood I should use to cap the alder body with... From what I've listed the guitar is probably gonna be bright/middy. So far I'm thinking either Walnut or Bubinga. Walnut is bright but just looks so good! Bubinga is middy but looks great too! I don't want maple... It's been done to death.... Any other suggestions?

Thanks ?

AlanRatcliffe

Well, my first thought when I saw the topic title was claro walnut. ?

Chocklit_Thunda

I was also thinking that ? first problem though, I have a piece of claro walnut but it's not big enough for a 2 piece cap... I'd have to use 3 pieces or put in a middle stripe which I don't really want... I do have it's less good looking cousin, American walnut on hand though? Would that work tonally as well as aesthetically? It's not as figured and pretty but it is the right size and has the nice deep coloration.

AlanRatcliffe

AFAIK, Claro is the American walnut. Varies quite a bit grain and figure-wise though. Not as pretty as English, but actually better suited to guitars.

Chocklit_Thunda wrote: I was also thinking that ? first problem though, I have a piece of claro walnut but it's not big enough for a 2 piece cap... I'd have to use 3 pieces or put in a middle stripe which I don't really want... I do have it's less good looking cousin, American walnut on hand though? Would that work tonally as well as aesthetically? It's not as figured and pretty but it is the right size and has the nice deep coloration.

Chocklit_Thunda

Ah my bad, the small piece is American which is Juglans nigra from country woods
claro is Juglans hindsii

I'm not sure what the large piece is then (it's from maple street timbers). The american which is highly figured is too small while the other rather plain walnut is large enough. But you say the plain walnut is fine as a top wood? ?

AlanRatcliffe

Nigra is black walnut, which I've never used or seen on a guitar.

What's the tap tone of the plain walnut like? Hard to say if it's suitable or not without knowing what species it is - the different species vary a lot in weight and oiliness.

Chocklit_Thunda

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: What's the tap tone of the plain walnut like?

Very similar to my Birdseye maple. It's like 2 sounds at the same time. A deep tone and an airy/echoey higher pitched tone. It's quite a brisk tone, it doesn't ring out as long as my mahogany body blanks.

AlanRatcliffe

Sounds like it should work. ?

Psean

I've been following this and wondering: why are the woods used in guitars so rarely referred to by their Latin names? And the species, not just the family or genus? Surely that would make things far less confusing. One of those damn tradition things?

...Hard to say if it's suitable or not without knowing what species it is - the different species vary a lot...

I mean, guitarists can be plenty picky about things, tonewoods are one of them and you hear plenty of guys going on about their preferences, but if walnut isn't walnut, isn't walnut etc...

I suppose the marketing guys at the big manufacturers have an easier job if we all think basswood is basswood...

Chocklit_Thunda

Psean wrote: I've been following this and wondering: why are the woods used in guitars so rarely referred to by their Latin names? And the species, not just the family or genus? Surely that would make things far less confusing. One of those damn tradition things?

...Hard to say if it's suitable or not without knowing what species it is - the different species vary a lot...
I mean, guitarists can be plenty picky about things, tonewoods are one of them and you hear plenty of guys going on about their preferences, but if walnut isn't walnut, isn't walnut etc...

I suppose the marketing guys at the big manufacturers have an easier job if we all think basswood is basswood...

I would think it's all just about money making? The big guys know chick woods they can cash it on. That's why there's the whole Honduran vs African mahogany debate (when little do they know, the first les Paul's were probably made of African 'hog)
It allows them to sell stuff at a higher price by using buzzwords....

I think they also lump woods like basswood and paulownia together with the cheap woods (even though good pieces are superb tone woods) because they're 1) Asian (and everyone knows that anything Asian is not as good as it's USA equivalent :? ) and 2) it's widely available and doesn't command a high price.

Also the fancy names like Brazilian rosewood and Honduran mahogany localise it and makes tem seem rarer for the general population. If they were to tell you the Latin name you'd find that BR grew throughout vast regions of South America while HM was found as far as Cuba and Southern Amazonia in Brazil.

Also if they used Latin names, we'd find that woods like African hog aren't true hogs and Spanish cedar isn't a true cedar.... Then the grumpy guitar players of the world would have more to complain about...

What gets me more is the way guitarists complain about things like engelmann spruce being worlds apart from Sitka and how Indian rosewood is not the same as Braz rosewood but when it comes to one of the most common woods used, that has many different species, we get, "Maple is bright"

Disregard the fact that we have big leaf maple, hard rock maple, Eastern Asian maple etc etc etc all with their own variations and nuances but no.... Maple is bright. :?

It's too much effort to waste your time trying to understand this nonsense.... ? just do what I do... Wood is wood. It may have different overall tonal characteristics but it's still living and prone to discrepancies. For all we know, the knottiest of floorboard pine may sound better than the Brazilian rosewood on a Martin D28

Psean

Chocklit_Thunda wrote:
Psean wrote: I've been following this and wondering: why are the woods used in guitars so rarely referred to by their Latin names? And the species, not just the family or genus? Surely that would make things far less confusing. One of those damn tradition things?

...Hard to say if it's suitable or not without knowing what species it is - the different species vary a lot...
I mean, guitarists can be plenty picky about things, tonewoods are one of them and you hear plenty of guys going on about their preferences, but if walnut isn't walnut, isn't walnut etc...

I suppose the marketing guys at the big manufacturers have an easier job if we all think basswood is basswood...
I would think it's all just about money making? The big guys know chick woods they can cash it on. That's why there's the whole Honduran vs African mahogany debate (when little do they know, the first les Paul's were probably made of African 'hog)
It allows them to sell stuff at a higher price by using buzzwords....

Yeah, probably...

What gets me more is the way guitarists complain about things like engelmann spruce being worlds apart from Sitka and how Indian rosewood is not the same as Braz rosewood but when it comes to one of the most common woods used, that has many different species, we get, "Maple is bright"

Disregard the fact that we have big leaf maple, hard rock maple, Eastern Asian maple etc etc etc all with their own variations and nuances but no.... Maple is bright. :?

Yup ?

Chris-Mason

Paduak looks good and is considered a good tone wood similar to American Black Walnut
Saddle and Nut

Chocklit_Thunda

Saddle and Nut wrote: Paduak looks good and is considered a good tone wood similar to American Black Walnut
Saddle and Nut

Ah yes, if I'm not mistaken, it was you who told me about that paduak tele you found? How is it to play?
At this stage I already have the Walnut and I also got some nice american ash blanks. I do want to try Paduak in the future though! Thanks for the reminder ?