Tell me more ×
Musical Practice & Performance Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for musicians, students, and enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 5 down vote favorite

I know that each piece of wood is different and two similar pieces of a same essence will have different weight.

But in general, for the same body shape and size which wood essence will tend to give a lighter body ? Mahogany or alder ?

share|improve this question

2 Answers

up vote 6 down vote

Mahogany guitars are generally heavier, with alder being quite light. Because of this, alder gives a light bright sound, and Mahogany gives a deeper Les-Paulier sound.

Of course it depends what sort of guitar the wood is used in. Semi-hollowbodies and semi-acoustics are generally a bit lighter than solid-body guitars.

share|improve this answer
1  
I have an Ibanez SAS36FM, which is a Strat style guitar on a mahogany body. The combo is really nice because the wood gives it a very solid low end and the single-coils keep the fidelity and harmonics very alive. – Anonymous Jan 21 '11 at 22:35
I love mahogany strats! They take the boring out of them :D. – Jduv Jan 21 '11 at 23:45
That it does. Mine has a low-end similar to John Entwistle's bass sound - it rings like tapping on a low-E piano string. – Anonymous Jan 22 '11 at 22:01
up vote 4 down vote

Warmoth has pretty great description of different woods' characteristics.

Go to: http://www.warmoth.com:80/Guitar/Bodies/BodyBlank.aspx and click on "body woods" on the left. There's a ton of info about tone, weight and color.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.