What kind of ash does fender use?

There are two types used to make guitar bodies—northern ash, and southern or “swamp” ash. The latter is more commonly used, and was chosen by Leo Fender for his first Esquire, Broadcaster and Telecaster guitars. Found mainly in the wetter environs of the U.S.

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Also, which is better alder or ash?

Alder is almost always a light tan color, and has a very subtle grain figure. In contrast, Ash is a light cream color, with much darker and more pronounced grain figuring. Because Alder's appearance is more plain, it is the better candidate for solid color finishes. It also looks great with sunbursts.

Subsequently, question is, is Ash a good wood for guitars? Ash. The other main wood favored by Fender. Guitars with an ash body will have less bite in the midrange, but will have a nice twang and good sustain. Early Fenders used swamp ash, a softer wood, that produced a much warmer tone, but northern ash is also used and has a bright, singing, high sound.

Similarly one may ask, what is the difference between ash and swamp ash?

Concerning stiffness and stability, swamp ash is less stable and stiff than hard ash and for this reason is not used for neck construction, while it's most used for guitar and bass bodies where its warm and resonant tone helps improve the instrument's overall tone.

What is an ash body guitar?

Like ash, alder is most often used on its own as a body wood. Ash. Best known as the wood of classic '50s Fender guitars, ash is most desirable in the form of swamp ash—wood taken from the lower portions of southern-grown wetland trees that have root systems growing below water level.

Related Question Answers

How can you tell ash from Alder?

find some raw wood. if it has a very pronounced grain, like Oak, it's Ash.. if it's subtly pink and a very subtle grain, it's Alder.

Why is oak not used for guitars?

He does not use it a lot because its very heavy and apparently it is also harder to work with than other tonewoods used primarily in guitars.

How does swamp ash sound?

The northern ash is bright, heavy, loud and agressive like maple. Swamp ash is mellow, lightweight, and a bit darker sounding than alder. It has a wide midrange sound with round punchy bass and attenuated treble frequencies.

Does guitar body wood affect tone?

The short answer is yes, different wood species have distinguishable sound characteristics, influencing the tone of an electric guitar. Individual vibro-acoustic characteristics are mainly due to different densities of wood types. Moisture content also determines the tone colour changes.

What is the best wood for a guitar body?

Body, Neck and Fingerboard.

• Body Woods. Alder.
• Basswood. Inexpensive tone wood, which is easy to work with in the factory, easy to cut, sand and finish.
• Mahogany. Mahogany, mainly used in the acoustic world, for back and sides.
• Swamp Ash.
• Walnut.
• Koa.
• Maple.
• Rosewood.

Is swamp ash good for guitars?

Swamp Ash. Swamp Ash is a great sounding tone wood that takes a finish beautifully and is light enough to resonate well but strong enough to be stable. Some of the best sounding Fender Guitars were made from Swamp Ash.

What wood is a Squier Strat made of?

Squires came in basswood, agathis, poplar, alder, mahogany, cedar and pine. Yes, pine. Some of the newer ones are pine bodies.

Is Ash a heavy wood?

It absorbs stain well and is straight-grained. Ash is a relatively porous wood. While ash is tough, heavy and hard, it is usually easy to work. The wood is soft, lightweight and often inexpensive.

What kind of wood is a Fender Telecaster made of?

Fender Telecaster
Scale	25.5 in (650 mm)
Woods
Body	Alder Ash Poplar Pine Basswood
Neck	Maple

Where does swamp ash grow?

Swamp ash is a common name for several North American trees in the genus Fraxinus which may grow in swamps and other wetlands.

What wood is used for Telecaster bodies?

From doing a little reading it appears that the main body woods for a Tele would be either Ash, Alder, Poplar or Basswood.

Are Ash guitars heavy?

Swamp ash was used on Fender guitars until the mid-50s when alder was chosen as its successor. As you might expect, hard ash tonewood is relatively hard, dense and heavy compared to swamp ash. Although it looks very similar, it's greater density makes it brighter sounding with a little extra sustain.

Are solid wood guitars better?

As the price gets higher, many companies will also make the back and sides solid wood, and now the entire body is considered solid. You will never find a guitar with a solid back and sides and laminate top. There is really only one advantage to solid wood guitar bodies – they are better and louder in acoustic tone.

Which is better rosewood or mahogany?

Rosewood is much denser/harder and stronger than mahogany. Rosewood also has strong mids like Mahogany but it expands its tonal range in both directions – it produces pronounced lows and crisp highs. So it's not as mid dominant. It has a very full, resonant sound with a large dynamic range.

Is Pau Ferro better than Rosewood?

A great wood for instrument fingerboards, pau ferro is a South American tonewood with a smooth feel and sonic characteristics similar to rosewood, but lighter in color and harder.

Does guitar neck wood affect tone?

A completely stiff neck will, in that case have no effect on the tone. However, having no effect on tone actually IS an effect on the tone. Because we are used to mahogany necked guitars, which soak up energy from the strings, a maple neck will sound different because it has less effect.

What does a mahogany guitar sound like?

As a guitar top, dense mahogany has a solid, punchy tone with low overtone content and good high-end response. Mahogany back and sides often emphasize bass and treble, with more overtone coloration and a “woody” sound (as opposed to the more metallic sound of, say, rosewood back and sides).

What is a swamp ash body?

Swamp Ash electric guitar body blank. From the swamps of Louisiana, Swamp Ash is light and attractive and is a popular choice for natural finish instruments. The swamp-ash sound is twangy, airy, and sweet. It gives firm lows, pleasant highs, and a snarly midrange, and good sustain.