# Alder vs Mahogany vs Mahogany+Maple Top - Custom Body



## djpharoah (Jan 1, 2008)

Looking to get a custom body made in the future but would like to know which wood will give me the best tone. 

I will most likely be using my fav dimarzio pups the evolution+blaze single+blaze neck in this guitar.

I know the Jem is made of alder and was thinking about getting it - but its just like the first time I have thought of alder.

thanks


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## Apophis (Jan 1, 2008)

all depends from your needs, "best tone" saying nothing to me at least ...
... more info please ...


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## ibznorange (Jan 1, 2008)

yeah, describe best tone lol. 
maple of course is fairly trebbly, and mahogany is loaded with lower mids. if youre going to do a shit ton of downtuning, id say go alder, it just has a tighter lowend. 
you could always get a center block of alder with mahogany wings (or vice versa) and a maple cap


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## djpharoah (Jan 1, 2008)

Sorry about the vagueness.

Im looking for the petrucci meets vai/satch kinda tone. Also able to do tight low end riffs (will tune to B or A at max) while sounding nice and smooth at the high end. Definitely dont want to sacrifice my low end - I love mahogany so far but am just curious to know whether or not its the best wood for me.


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## The Dark Wolf (Jan 1, 2008)

ibznorange said:


> you could always get a center block of alder with mahogany wings (or vice versa) and a maple cap


That's the exact idea I had for a custom body.


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## djpharoah (Jan 1, 2008)

Guess I should have specified that this is a bolt on project. The body will be separate so don't know if getting wings etc is an option.


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## ibznorange (Jan 1, 2008)

The Dark Wolf said:


> That's the exact idea I had for a custom body.


me too 
thats one of my two lams i want lol. The other is the same alder block in the middle, with rosewood wings and an ash top


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## djpharoah (Jan 1, 2008)

Back to um say my original question Max


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## ibznorange (Jan 1, 2008)

rofl sorry for ot.
yeah, you can still get wings on a bolt on


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## The Dark Wolf (Jan 1, 2008)

You could still have a bolt-on with that body design, Mesh.


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## The Dark Wolf (Jan 1, 2008)

oops.


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## djpharoah (Jan 1, 2008)

Ah - interesting... might have to check that option out then. But according to warmoths wood site aren't alder and mahogany really close tonally? So why bother with wings etc?


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## ibznorange (Jan 1, 2008)

not really, mahogany is a lot warmer, way more low mids. alder is like alot more upper middy, with super tight bass. almost a little too tight for me, but thats why i think the 2 would go well together


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## Apophis (Jan 1, 2008)

you can mix wood and use combo like in new Petrucci sig  or something simmilar


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## ibznorange (Jan 1, 2008)

there you go. the newer BFM petruccis are alder with a mahogany block in the middle arent they?


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## Apophis (Jan 1, 2008)

yes  plus maple top as I remember


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## The Dark Wolf (Jan 1, 2008)

Yep. And mahogany neck. Rosewood board.


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## noodles (Jan 1, 2008)

djpharoah said:


> I will most likely be using my fav dimarzio pups the evolution+blaze single+blaze neck in this guitar.



Now that you're starting to get an idea of what body construction you're going to use, we really need to talk about your pickup choices. The Blaze is not a pickup I'd use with any of the body wood choices that are being tossed around. Since I'm sure Bob will chime in with all the Dimazrios you should use, I'll do what he expects and mention all the Duncans. 

Alder words really well with the JB. It gives it a nice midrange growl and singing highs. The Custom works well in mahogany and maple, delivering the sonic equivalent of dropping an anvil on someone's head: massive lower midrange attack, and if you swap the ceramic magnet for an alnico 5, it warms things up considerably. The Jazz works well for the neck position with all of your wood choices. It is just the perfect blend of high end sweetness, tight lows, and singing mids.


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## Apophis (Jan 1, 2008)

.. so may be a nice combo  for your needs looking at JP sig, but as said noodles pickups are important  also.


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## El Caco (Jan 1, 2008)

What are the tonal properties of Ash?


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## ibznorange (Jan 1, 2008)

from my experience, its (hard ash) like maple but not quite so bright (still up there though), and a bit smoother on the upper mids.
thats going off a couple different strats (both hum and single coiled) though

i've only played swamp ash on single coil strats and on jbasses, but its a bit warmer yet, and smoother too, than hard ash


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## djpharoah (Jan 2, 2008)

Can alder still do Dino like chug riffs without getting muddy? Just curious as this will be my only guitar.


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## Edroz (Jan 2, 2008)

djpharoah said:


> Can alder still do Dino like chug riffs without getting muddy? Just curious as this will be my only guitar.




just about any tonewood can get you the sounds you're looking for as long as you have the right pickups for it and know how to eq your amp.


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## kmanick (Jan 2, 2008)

Ash is pretty bright. My Loomis sig is hard Ash and it's great great note definition (707's) too .


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## djpharoah (Jan 2, 2008)

Edroz said:


> just about any tonewood can get you the sounds you're looking for as long as you have the right pickups for it and know how to eq your amp.



Good to hear - cuz I have had success with basswood and now a mahogany guitar.


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## Drew (Jan 2, 2008)

djpharoah said:


> Im looking for the petrucci meets vai/satch kinda tone. Also able to do tight low end riffs (will tune to B or A at max) while sounding nice and smooth at the high end. Definitely dont want to sacrifice my low end - I love mahogany so far but am just curious to know whether or not its the best wood for me.



Um, FWIW, those three guys are known mostly for playing basswood guitars - you know, the same stuff most Ibanez guitars are made from...  

If that's the tone you're chasing and you're not happy with your sound, then I'd say it's probably your amps or your technique.


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## djpharoah (Jan 2, 2008)

Drew said:


> Um, FWIW, those three guys are known mostly for playing basswood guitars - you know, the same stuff most Ibanez guitars are made from...
> 
> If that's the tone you're chasing and you're not happy with your sound, then I'd say it's probably your amps or your technique.



You are right Drew, but I didnt include all the types of music I want to play, just a few that I like. Steve vai uses alder in his JEMs.


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## noodles (Jan 2, 2008)

I thought Satch's guitars were mahogany.


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## djpharoah (Jan 2, 2008)

noodles said:


> I thought Satch's guitars were mahogany.



Some of his customs might be - but his JS series are basswood.


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## ohio_eric (Jan 2, 2008)

Most of the JS guitars are basswood. There was one with P-90s (JS700) that was mahogany.


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## Drew (Jan 2, 2008)

His JS-7's are mahogany, but barring the old JS600/6000's, erverything else is basswood. 

It's weird, they're the best sounding basswood guitars I've ever played.


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## ibznorange (Jan 3, 2008)

they feel AWESHUM too. i know the nut is 42mm, as opposed to ibby's standard 43mm. Yeah ibby is so in freakin love with basswood cause its the preferred breakfast wood of 80s shredders everywhere, who are sort of responsible for ibanez going from known to respected amongst alot of talented musicians.
I personally like basswood, its just not my favourite. Im a big mahogany guy, (sometimes with a maple cap) and alder is growing on me too. You also heard my rosewood/alder/ash idea. 
Basswood is really middy and bassy, sort of wierd peaks in its resonant frequencies. Vai's JemVw's are alder, but all of his other jems and his Universes, and alot of his custom JemVw's are basswood. I've heard petrucci speak highly of basswood too


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## TemjinStrife (Jan 12, 2008)

EMG SA/SA/85/+Alder+Bolt-on maple neck w/rosewood fingerboard = Tonal Heaven

Mahogany+EMGs = massive yet tight "push" of sound

Alder+EMGs = precise yet searing

Just in my experience. These are two dramatically different guitars in more ways than body wood, however.


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