[TaronKeim]

So I used to have a solid body Alder Suhr Classic and the first guitar I ever owned was an Alder Squier Strat... I've had Mahogany/Maple Top, Swamp Ash/Maple Neck and Swamp Ash/Mahogany Top (my current guitar, Soloway Swan).

Through all that, I found that nothing else really sounded like alder, it had to me, a tight low-end, tight low-mids, some upper midrange bite and a transparent sparkle on the top end... any of you alder users find that approximation about right for your guitars?

I'm getting my first seven built, and I was thinking alder with a korina/limba top for a little more snap and grind would be perfect.

Opinions?

_TJK*

[ohio_eric]

I like alder a lot. I have a Carvin Bolt T made of it. I would say your description is as accurate as any. To me alder is full sounding but still punchy and articulate. I it.

[zimbloth]

Matched up with warm/gutsy sounding pickups, alder or poplar is AMAZING. Perfect for 7-strings too since it keeps the low end snappy and tight. My Parker Fly Deluxes had poplar bodies and basswood necks, the sound was unbelievable. As I've mentioned before, my Bernie Rico Jr Vixen customs have poplar wings as well, but I suspect the majority of the tone I'm getting is from the maple since it's a neck-thru guitar (and the ebony board). Most Seymour Duncan pickups are friendly to alder in my experiences. DiMarzios fair better in darker configurations.

[TaronKeim]

Thanks for the input fellas, that was exactly what I wanted reaffirmed.

I think I'm ready to go on through with the build now!

_TJK*

[scott from _actual time_]

Originally Posted by TaronKeim

...alder, it had to me, a tight low-end, tight low-mids, some upper midrange bite and a transparent sparkle on the top end... any of you alder users find that approximation about right for your guitars?

ask me again in a couple weeks , after i finish final assembly on this custom alder S7 i'm building:


but yeah, my previous experiences with alder were similar to yours, and i wanted to try it out in a 7. this one had very nice sparkle and snap from the Anderson neck single-coil when i did the trial assembly before finishing.

then you'll have to decide on pickups. i'm going more warm than gutsy with mine--i'm going to try a DiMarzio Tone Zone 7 mdoded w/ A5 magnet. the TZ7 sounds great in my neck-thru solid maple V7--the wood gives it more bite and sizzle that it doesn't have in rounder-sounding woods like mahogany. if it's not gutsy enough in the alder S7, i'll try an A8 magnet. but i like dark/round tones, even the *gasp* TZ7 in mahogany, so i think it'll sound good.

[TaronKeim]

Originally Posted by scott from _actual time_

ask me again in a couple weeks , after i finish final assembly on this custom alder S7 i'm building:


but yeah, my previous experiences with alder were similar to yours, and i wanted to try it out in a 7. this one had very nice sparkle and snap from the Anderson neck single-coil when i did the trial assembly before finishing.

then you've have to decide on pickups. i'm going more warm than gutsy with mine--i'm going to try a Tone Zone 7 + A5 magnet. the TZ7 sounds great in my solid maple V7--the wood gives it more bite and sizzle that it doesn't have in rounder-sounding woods like mahogany. if it's not gutsy enough, i'll try an A8 magnet.

Looks fantastic man, and I'll be sure to ask you how it goes in a couple of weeks.

For pickups, Tim at Bareknuckle suggested an Alnico Warpig for the bridge, Trilogy Suite middle and a Cold Sweat for the neck, which was more or less what I thought aside from the Cold Sweat for the neck, which after I heard, seems perfect for me.

_TJK*

[Chellee Guitars]

One of my favorite builds was an alder body with a 1/4" maple top. It had a small tone chamber that gave it an open airy tone. Gorgeous sounding guitar.





The knot-work is the chamber. It cuts through the maple top. I sure miss that guitar...

Looks like I'll have to build another one. Thanks for the reminder. I need another alder guitar.

Oh yeah, DiMarzio Air Norton in the neck, VirtuAl 2 middle, and Humbucker from Hell in the neck. Very versatile. The bridge p/u was very percussive and the neck very jazzy and warm, but all was still distinct.

[Drew]

I'm sitting here rocking out on my alder bodied Strat as I type this - bar none, it's my favorite tonewood. I think you described it perfectly.

[TaronKeim]

Chambering, that is another issue, I was going to go strictly with NO chambering what-so-ever because I don't like the blooming effect it has on low-end.

Even though this guitar will be mostly for extreme metal/grindcore, I mix a lot of clean and semi-dirty leads in with what I do, and I definately find chambering a benifit for those tones, so I'm wondering if some very minimal chambering would benifit those tones and not really hurt my brute-ish rhythm tones.

_TJK*

P/S Gorgeous guitar there Chellee, and Alder/Maple is an awesome combination, I played a couple of Suhrs with that would combo and thought they sounded amazing.

[Chellee Guitars]

I actually built two guitars back-to-back. The other was not chambered. Other than that and a piezo version of the bridge and scalloped board it was a clone. The chambered one sounded hands down better for all. I'm a bit Dream Theater nut and found that it fit the bill for rhythm, lead, and clean tones. The chamber was not big, though. It was only maybe 2.75" x 3.75" under the soundhole. It made enough of a difference though. Here's its sibling.