strat body question

govendl3

Hi there
What wood are strat bodies traditionally made. I have seen ash, agathis, alder while searching the net. The reason I ask is that I have finally found the exact make of my strat copy and it is made from mahogony. Is that not a norm. Is it a cheaper wood compared to those listed above?
I have mentioned that I am wanting to upgrade the electronices on this axe,I really love the neck and playability of this thing, but if the wood is sub standard and its not worth the effort I may as well count my loses now and save up for a proper strat.

opinions please

Explorerlover

Wait for Alan's comments

Bob-Dubery

govendl3 wrote Hi there
What wood are strat bodies traditionally made. I have seen ash, agathis, alder while searching the net. The reason I ask is that I have finally found the exact make of my strat copy and it is made from mahogony. Is that not a norm. Is it a cheaper wood compared to those listed above?
I have mentioned that I am wanting to upgrade the electronices on this axe,I really love the neck and playability of this thing, but if the wood is sub standard and its not worth the effort I may as well count my loses now and save up for a proper strat.

opinions please

Fender used ash and alder for their production models. Alder for solid colours, ash for sunbursts and naturals. They may have used other woods for limited edition models. They made a batch of solid rosewood telecasters in the late 60s.

I would think that mahogany would be heavier than either ash or alder and would sound different. Whether it sounds better or worse is for you to decide.

[deleted]

I wouldn't say mahogany is cheaper. wood always depends on the quality of the wood. You can get a $50 piece of ash and a $300 piece of ash...

The Mahogany body will take something off your highs if I'm not mistaken. very Midrangy too. . .

Alan has a great description and sounds that you could expect from woods on his website, check out USA custom guitars as well.

AlanRatcliffe

Traditionally Southern swamp ash for transparent finishes and alder for solid colours. IMO, ash bodies pair particularly well with maple boards for a brighter tone with a bit of a midrange scoop while alder matches nicely with rosewood fingerboards for a more balanced tone. However there is nothing wrong with the reverse either - it's down to personal taste.

Mahogany is best known as the wood Gibson uses, a bit more midrangey, a fuller but looser low end and subdued but sweeter highs (the maple cap on a Les Paul adds the bite to the high end). Mahogany may not be a traditional Fender wood, but it can be a good one. More important is how the specific guitar sounds when all the bits are together - body neck and pickups specifically.

Worth considering is that Leo Fender chose ash and alder mainly because they were cheap, fairly lightweight and were easy to cut and shape. Ash was used for transparent finishes because the grain is bolder and prettier, while alder was used for solids because it is easier to finish. Tone was not a consideration. The good sounding early Strats and Teles are partly lucky coincidence and partly because wood quality in general was much higher in the '50s and '60s. And there were also many guitars which didn't sound as good as a well made modern instrument (I've owned a few '60s Strats which were duds).

Any species of tonewood has good and bad examples, and while some (expensive) makers are good at knowing which is which before they make the guitar (Lentz, Suhr, et. al.), any production line instrument is a bit of a crap shoot - most of the assembly line will be good, one or two will be duds and one or two will be amazing. So most importantly you need to judge any guitar on how you find it - pick it up, play it and listen to it. If it makes you happy, it's a good guitar, regardless of what it is made from, who made it or where it was made.

DonovanB

Alan Ratcliffe wrote So most importantly you need to judge any guitar on how you find it - pick it up, play it and listen to it. If it makes you happy, it's a good guitar, regardless of what it is made from, who made it or where it was made.

Alan 7:25-26

govendl3

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll174/Govendl3/CimarStrat.jpg

this is why I ask

govendl3

"So most importantly you need to judge any guitar on how you find it - pick it up, play it and listen to it. If it makes you happy, it's a good guitar, regardless of what it is made from, who made it or where it was made."

i pretty much love this guitar, but i belive it could do with a new set of electronics

DonovanB

govendl3 wrote i pretty much love this guitar, but i belive it could do with a new set of electronics

then you have your answer.

I have a Squier that I love so much. It just sucks to bend notes because the curve of the neck frets it out. It could also do with new electronics but I wont upgrade that because my playing style means I'll play the Les paul more anyway. so it will be a waste for me.

deciding to upgrade is the easy part, what to put in is the big question.

govendl3

Any suggestions ??

Any 1 selling them 2nd hand ??

aubs1

govendl3 wrote ...................... I may as well count my loses now and save up for a proper strat.
opinions please

Govend, is this your "Plan B"?............go with Plan B.......

Wizard

A question that must have been answered 1000 times - I just can't find it:
If you're going to buy a blank plank (rhymes) to make a guitar body ... what must the dimensions be?

Wizard to woodshop man: "Hi - I'm going to be building a guitar body. I need a block of Mahogany with dimensions A x B x C"
What are A,B and C? ?

(Assume bigger of Les Paul or Strat)

AlanRatcliffe

Strat, 1 piece: 20” x 14” x 1 3/4”
Strat, 2 piece: 20” x 6 3/4” x 1 3/4”
LP 1, piece: 22” x 13 1/2” x 1 3/4”
LP 2, piece: 22” x 13 1/2” x 1 3/4”

If you are going to make a bookmatched body from the same plank make it 4" thick.

MikeM

You want your final piece to be a litte over 350 wide, i think 500 long (not sure of this one but you want extra to play with anyway and you generally buy full planks) and 50 tall or thick.