Different wood options

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Quote from dmac on December 12, 2012, 14:28

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Quote from Gavin1393 on December 11, 2012, 21:16
The more pieces of wood the less enjoyable the tone....

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I'd rather pay for a 1- or maybe 2-piece body. And then there is fretboard wood.

As for the idea that the trem could be mounted in a soft body on an insert of harder wood- nah, for the very reason I quoted above.

"Ash" needs to be clarified. Swamp Ash is preferred in the top secret bunker, light and musical, and used in the 50s F-brands. Ash is heavier with more sustain. Afraid you can't have both, it seems.

Poplar is an option that shouldn't be dismissed, and it finishes well.

Adam- go to warmoth.com to see what sells and their reasonably honest appraisal of tone woods. (http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Bodies...odOptions.aspx)

In the end, it comes down purely to $$. And I am going to get ripped apart for this one- since it seems some kits are have so many coats of finish, tone doesn't count because the body has been strangled. So go with the options that finish the best- that will keep the punters happy.

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No arguments about strangling timbers here either, dMac.

Plastic and timber should never meet!

I have an Epi Thunderbird that has about 50 coats of paint and poly, Very tempted to sand it off but I am a bit concerned as to what I may find under all that paint and poly....

With finishes, less is best.

Also, Swamp Ash is one of my preferred timbers, along side good ole African Mahogany...

(Saying that I have been experimenting with Jarrah, built a few neck through Basses with it and although you may need to be built like the Incredible Hulk to survive a gig with one of these beasts hanging off you, the sound is amazing!) :D

So, to cap all that off, I agree with the choices and the idea of a seperate options section. That way all bases are covered.

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Agreed, so let's look at what people expect, because 9/10 that's what they buy. A ST or TL normally leaves the factory in alder or swamp. An LP, SG, XP or Jnr leaves the factory in mahogany. If I was a punter educated by ads and guitar heroes, I wouldn't look at a mahogany TL, or an alder LP.

OTOH, if I knew my stuff, I would also know things like Satrianis are basswood, Vais are either basswood or alder, and some other top-shelf I-brand models like the Paul Gilbert and Iceman are mahogany.

So if I was listing new models, the wood upgrades would be
[*]F-brand model options as swamp ash or alder and [*]G-brands as mahogany

because no matter how good the alternatives are, people expect those woods in these models.

Assuming the only I-brand model I offer is a JEM, I would stick with basswood only and watch and wait. If I expanded the I-brand range, I'd go the Iceman/Paul Gilbert (which is an inverted iceman) in mahogany, and a JS in basswood.

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Second this motion!

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Quote from dingobass on December 12, 2012, 17:24
No arguments about strangling timbers here either, dMac.

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The day I win Guitar Of The Month- shoot me! :P

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Quote from dingobass on December 12, 2012, 17:24

(Saying that I have been experimenting with Jarrah, built a few neck through Basses with it and although you may need to be built like the Incredible Hulk to survive a gig with one of these beasts hanging off you, the sound is amazing!) :D

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I agree that we should try local timbers, but that's probably a moot point when we're talking of kits. Although that would be an interesting experiment... Hmmm....

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Quote from Gavin1393 on December 12, 2012, 20:05

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Agreed, so let's look at what people expect, because 9/10 that's what they buy. A ST or TL normally leaves the factory in alder or swamp. An LP, SG, XP or Jnr leaves the factory in mahogany. If I was a punter educated by ads and guitar heroes, I wouldn't look at a mahogany TL, or an alder LP.

OTOH, if I knew my stuff, I would also know things like Satrianis are basswood, Vais are either basswood or alder, and some other top-shelf I-brand models like the Paul Gilbert and Iceman are mahogany.

So if I was listing new models, the wood upgrades would be
[*]F-brand model options as swamp ash or alder and [*]G-brands as mahogany

because no matter how good the alternatives are, people expect those woods in these models.

Assuming the only I-brand model I offer is a JEM, I would stick with basswood only and watch and wait. If I expanded the I-brand range, I'd go the Iceman/Paul Gilbert (which is an inverted iceman) in mahogany, and a JS in basswood.

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Second this motion!

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Motion carried! :D

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Quote from adam on December 11, 2012, 16:28
I'm looking for some feedback from the Luthiers (pros or novices) among our group on the different types of woods available for our Pit Bull Guitars.

At the moment, the majority of kits come with a "Basswood" body and Maple neck.

The factory offers a few options for the wood for the body. Following is a list of the available wood options and my rough estimation of the price difference it would make to the retail price.

Mahogany - add $10-15 per kit
Ash - add $12-17 per kit
Alder - add $20-30 per kit

I know the Mahogany looks great but is very light, but I'm not really familiar with the pros and cons of the other woods.

Any thoughts?

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i would pick mahogany any day as it looks *censored* amazing when finished, and is amazingly light! so light that my Clevan Strat is heavier than my Epi LP Jr!!!
So based on experience, i'd think mahogany would suit its price

I'd give my right leg to get Wenge or Tasmanian Blackwood as a neck option, but other than that I am happy with all Maple neck+FB.

Swamp Ash is great, but the option to specifically buy the heaviest piece you have available would be nice.