Guitar weight and identifying body wood

[jugglindan]

Maybe. Hopefully they will be more accurate than they were with me. When I did my a wiring mod to my ASAT bass I could not find CTS pots with the right value for the bass tone control (1meg reverse audio). I also noticed that the OEM pots were not CTS but I could not identify exactly what they were. So, I wrote and asked them. They said "CTS"...so I sent them a pic of mine, and...they weren't sure, but admitted that they had used other mfgs from time to time. They noted that they only use CTS now (this was about 10 years ago). So, I asked them to send me a new 1meg reverse audio pot--still what goes into these. What they sent me was a Mexican made pot from a company I had never heard of (it had CGE stamped on it). Maybe they keep better track of their wood.

Not casting aspersions at G&L. My ASAT is the best playing bass I have ever had, and is as indestructible as a tank. Their products are great. I am just not convinced their inventory tracking is *as* great ;-)

None of the electrics are original in mine. I replaced everything a few years back. I am curious to see what they say even if it turns out wrong. I suspect I just have some heavy alder, heavy finish, and heavy bridge.

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[fender3x]

On a solid color guitar, it could be anything that they got a good deal on that week.

[jugglindan]

On a solid color guitar, it could be anything that they got a good deal on that week.

Very true.

It does explain why I never liked playing this guitar while standing. And all that time I thought I was just soft (which I probably am, but still, heavy).

[jugglindan]

Well, G&L repairs got back to me. About all they had to say was "alder":

You are correct the body wood is alder, production date of your Climax is March 23, 1993.

Although I take the descriptions of tone woods for electric guitar with a large grain of salt, Fender have this to say about Alder:

Red alder boasts many sonic advantages. Not especially dense, it’s a lightweight, closed-pore wood that has a resonant, balanced tone brighter than other hardwoods, with a little more emphasis in the upper midrange. It imparts excellent sustain and sharp attack. It’s very easy to work with and it glues well. Notably, alder also takes finishes well — with a light brown color and a tight grain that’s only slightly visible, it’s ideal for solid colors rather than the transparent finishes that look so good on ash.

I think I just got an alder body at the upper end of the density range.

Case closed.