# Why these days swamp ash is sooo popular over alder & mahogany ?



## jrui (Sep 13, 2016)

Hi everyone .
Have you noticed this ? so many down tuned players choose swamp ash ,
keith merrow , jeff loomis , misha , ibanez , mayones ...... countless .
even fredrik thordendal 's new 8 string chose swamp ash too .

anybody could tell me why ? 
simply just swamp ash sounds more suitable when tuned low ?????


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## jrui (Sep 13, 2016)

and also , prs' new 8 string uses swamp ash. 
I remembered a couple of years ago ibanez J-custom line has made some 8 string gutiars ,and the body wood usually is mahogany , and 8's changed to swamp ash.

abandon mahogany is easy to understand, but why alder is not popular either ?


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## Wildebeest (Sep 13, 2016)

It djents and makes you sweep faster


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## AkiraSpectrum (Sep 14, 2016)

Misha's Jackson sigs are either Basswood or Alder/Maple bodies. I'm sure he probably has other guitars that are swamp ash but I can't confirm this.

I think the 'recent' interest in swamp ash is because it's usually fairly light and is on the bright side without being too bright. I don't think swamp ash is a 'new' thing, it's been used for a long time but I agree it does seem to have surged in popularity recently. I think Warmoth's description answers your question perfectly:

"Swamp Ash is a prized wood for many reasons. It is a fairly light weight wood which makes it easily distinguishable from Hard Ash. A Strat® body will normally weigh under 5 lbs. Many of the 50's Fenders were made of Swamp Ash. The grain is open and the color is creamy. This wood is a very nice choice for clear finishes. Swamp Ash is our second most popular wood. It is a very musical wood offering a very nice balance of brightness and warmth with a lot of "pop"."

In other words, it looks great for non-opaque finishes (seen a lot recently from various manufacturers) and it provides tonal qualities that help notes 'pop' (increased note clarity- a huge conversation piece among contemporary prog/djent/metal players).


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## laxu (Sep 14, 2016)

Swamp ash isn't light really. Pretty much all guitars I've played that were either Northern Ash or Swamp Ash were always slightly heavier than their alder brethren.

The only reason I can think of is because it is a good looking but inexpensive wood. I don't like it much tonally because I find it has scooped mids. I believe that is actually why it's a popular wood on basses.


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## jrui (Sep 14, 2016)

thank you for your sharing .


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## jrui (Sep 14, 2016)

laxu said:


> Swamp ash isn't light really. Pretty much all guitars I've played that were either Northern Ash or Swamp Ash were always slightly heavier than their alder brethren.
> 
> The only reason I can think of is because it is a good looking but inexpensive wood. I don't like it much tonally because I find it has scooped mids. I believe that is actually why it's a popular wood on basses.



hey buddy , I want a maple neck thru guitar with maple fretboard for that fierce cutting sound . And I also want a little bit heavier bass reponse , do you think mahogany wings is a good option ? or korina ?


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## xwmucradiox (Sep 14, 2016)

laxu said:


> Swamp ash isn't light really. Pretty much all guitars I've played that were either Northern Ash or Swamp Ash were always slightly heavier than their alder brethren.
> 
> The only reason I can think of is because it is a good looking but inexpensive wood. I don't like it much tonally because I find it has scooped mids. I believe that is actually why it's a popular wood on basses.



Alder is extremely consistent body to body. Any body you make out of Alder will weigh about the same amount. Swamp Ash is wildly inconsistent. You can get Swamp Ash that will make a 2 pound body and Swamp Ash that will make a 7 pound body. Most falls somewhere in the middle.


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## Bearitone (Sep 14, 2016)

Wildebeest said:


> It djents and makes you sweep faster



 "like"


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## Bearitone (Sep 14, 2016)

I don't think there's an actual difference tonally between woods used in an _electric_ guitar. 

That said, swamp ash is usually a very light wood.
Everyone loves a light weight guitar


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## Lorcan Ward (Sep 14, 2016)

I don't like the tone of swamp ash, it's too bright and gritty sounding. I've had 3 guitars with and never liked the tone I could get even with pickup changes. A lot of people use it because it takes a stain exceptionally well.


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## beavis2306 (Sep 14, 2016)

I'm going to look into it if i ever get rich enough to get another custom. I have an ash body, maple neck and ebony topped 8 string mayones. It's really bright so i'd be interested to hear a sevenstring with another wood for the neck. I think it'd be great for a seven


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Sep 14, 2016)

It's lightweight, and its brighter so you get more clarity when you use ERGs.


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## chopeth (Sep 15, 2016)

Swamp ash ERGs with Juggernauts, awesome combination, especially if you have back problems.


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## AxelKay (Sep 15, 2016)

Pretty much what everyone said. Mahogany is a heavy body choice, adds unwanted (?) bassiness to ergs, is favored for solid finishes. Alder is amazing; shows more resilience to wear and tear,; also for solid finishes and very lightweight. For my money, ash is the perfect choice for ergs because it's balanced for such use and also you can achieve very interesting finishes.


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## jrui (Sep 15, 2016)

thanks to every poster !


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## trem licking (Sep 15, 2016)

another point, ash is WAY harder/more durable than mahogany and especially basswood. that being said, guitar using ash would be more durable overall and would have no worry of ovaled out trem stud holes on floyded guitars.


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## metalstrike (Sep 15, 2016)

Lorcan Ward said:


> I don't like the tone of swamp ash, it's too bright and gritty sounding. I've had 3 guitars with and never liked the tone I could get even with pickup changes. A lot of people use it because it takes a stain exceptionally well.



Agree with this

I've returned or sold every swamp or northern ash guitar I've ever had. Why is it so popular? Different strokes I guess. I think the wood grain on ash can be beautiful. Much more than my favorite body wood, basswood, which all of my guitars have


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## feraledge (Sep 15, 2016)

Every ash (swamp or not) guitar I have played has been extremely resonant. "Musical" is really a key term even though it can also sound like a useless description. But acoustically speaking, you can really hear the guitar sing in a distinct way. 
My go to is alder, I have a fondness for basswood bodies with a maple top. Currently I have an V6 that is swamp ash (no chambering) and it sounds crushing. Aside from my Custom Shop Horizon (alder body), the 96 Horizon I had with an ash body was the best sounding guitar I've ever played. 
To my knowledge, I've never tried a swamp ash body with maple top, like Schecter is currently fond of, but I'd certainly like to hear it. I trust it would be a bit brighter and snappier than a straight ash body, but there's a bit more depth to ash than alder. 
I know everyone might have their own take on it, but I would definitely say that alder is brighter than ash, though both can certainly be articulate. On a scale of alder to mahogany, I would put ash a couple ticks away from alder towards the depth of mahogany (though individual guitars clearly can range vastly). 
So, yeah, from my experience, it sounds killer. 
In terms of ERG, I'm a bit more conservative: going lower than A and I would personally only ever use alder with maple. That said, the lowest I go is Drop A on a 7 that is alder/maple cap and maple neck through.


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## KnightBrolaire (Sep 16, 2016)

ash is one of my favorite woods just for the grain. Definitely doesn't hurt that all of my swamp ash guitars sound snappy/poppy which I love.


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## jrui (Sep 17, 2016)

thank you guys for your reply , thank you ~


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