I came across this page and thought it had some really good information regarding the woods that guitars are made of, how they each contribute to the sound of an instrument, and even how to tell if you got a good cut. Maybe a few out there who are searching for their next guitar can gleam a bit of useful information from it.

http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm


What type of woods does everyone prefer? Any you don't particularly care for?

I'm really digging the axes I have now, which have in my opinion very nice combinations. Mahogany body/neck with a Rosewood fretboard; and Alder body, Maple neck, Ebony fretboard.

I've had Mahogany bodies with maple necks or maple tops and didn't like the sound on those guitars nearly as much. That could have been that they were made of Nato rather than proper Mahogany, the pickups, or both though. I'm not sure what it was but they seemed a bit lifeless to me.

Fender says this on there website.


What are the tonal differences on solid body guitars, between Alder, Ash, Poplar, Basswood, Mahogany and Maple?
1.Alder: full and rich, with fat low-end, nice cutting mids, and good overall warmth and sustain. Alder is generally considered to be one of the "traditional" Stratocaster body woods.
2.Ash: exhibits a "snappier" tone with a bright edge, but with a warm bass and long sustain. It is often considered as the other "traditional" Stratocaster body wood.
3.Poplar: one of the softer hardwoods, nicely resonant with a meaty tone. Many guitar manufacturers as a substitute for alder are using this wood, as it is quite similar in tone.
4.Basswood: the principal wood used on many Japanese made instruments. This is due both to its tonal response, (once again, very similar to Alder) as well as the fact that Basswood is much more readily available to the manufacturers in Asia.
5.Mahogany: deep warm mids, good sustain and nice "bite"
6.Maple: punchy, bright, and has a nice bite on the high end. Often used only as a laminated top instead of an entire body, as it tends to be a particularly heavy wood.