# Ash vs mahogany for 8 string guitar



## George Djentson (Jan 16, 2011)

can anyone weigh in on the effect for the low end? I was concerned ash may be a little too bright/thin, especially if paired with a maple board
if it makes a difference- I USUALLY play mahogany or mahogany/maple capped guitars with rosewood boards. Never played ash before (that I know of) and I tend to stay away from basswood guitars as we usually don't mesh well.

Thanks in advance


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## TomAwesome (Jan 16, 2011)

Ash is good enough for Meshuggah.  Ash has a pretty solid low end, really. Can you try tuning one of your existing guitars to F# to see how you like it?


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## fretninjadave (Jan 16, 2011)

mohogany and ash


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## George Djentson (Jan 16, 2011)

TomAwesome said:


> Ash is good enough for Meshuggah.  Ash has a pretty solid low end, really. Can you try tuning one of your existing guitars to F# to see how you like it?



ah I didn't realize Meshuggah was using Ash. I've been using that motto for while now: "if it works for Meshuggah..."

I have been tuning a couple of my guitars down to F and I love it. Ready to take the plunge and get the 8!


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## Alberto7 (Jan 16, 2011)

I've tried an RGT220ANTF (Ash wings and maple neck-thru) and it sounded godly. Perfect for really tight metal tones. I own a swamp ash Carvin with a koa top and koa neck-thru and it's one of the best sounding guitars I've ever heard, and it's got a VERY tight low end. But then again, there's more koa than swamp ash, so that example may not be too suitable.


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## 6Christ6Denied6 (Jan 16, 2011)

my loomis is ash body with maple neck/fretboard and its not too bright at all, that was one of my concerns before buying it and it sounds great, i think ash and maple would be awesome for an 8. id take that over mahogany and rosewood anyday


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## Demiurge (Jan 16, 2011)

Ash


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## leftyguitarjoe (Jan 16, 2011)

My Schecter is mahogany and it sounds great. I guess its a matter of preference.

It weighs a ton though haha.


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## anne (Jan 16, 2011)

Everything sounds fine if you're willing to work with it.

Edit: Throwing my hat in for whatever basswood Ibanez Japan uses.


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## 6Christ6Denied6 (Jan 16, 2011)

oh i forgot to mention, the ash doesnt take away from the bottom end at all, i just adds a little spank to the high end which is good IMO, at least from my experiences.


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## Guamskyy (Jan 17, 2011)

I thought Meshuggah had alder guitars?


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## Scarpie (Jan 17, 2011)

ACTUALLY Meshuggah has both but preffered alder for their touring guitars. and recording for that matter. As far as the wood debate, I would say Ash is very articulate in the ERG field. it sounds great for the lower strings/tunings, but I am not convinced it's the best for the higher/treble strings, there is just a gutteral resonance with mahogany that I don't hear or feel with my ash 9 string.


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## shogunate (Jan 20, 2011)

Ash is pretty solid tone wise, kind of akin to maple. Tight across the whole spectrum, but with some spank and brightness in the higher registers. Some love that, some prefer a darker top end. 

As far as mahogany, there's a bunch of different kinds (not trying to be a Voldemort drone, I swear!), but I've had 3 acoustics that were entirely mahogany with cedar tops, and all sounded different. The honduran mahogany (Gibson mahogany) had the roundest attack, compressed highs, and the high mids seemed a bit scooped. The next was a khaya mahogany which is the yellow one, used on lot of midrange bigname electrics, had a mellow attack, good bass, not as rounded highs, more even but more mellow throughout the spectrum. The last one is my favorite and is sipo mahogany. My favorite, in looks and tone. Tight as hell and the bass rings out loudly but not to overpower the other frequencies, the high end is very prominent but smooth high end and an articulate midrange. But I digress and don't mean to get overly in detail/off topic 

For my  about alder, in my experience is very even and very dry across the spectrum, leading to good note separation.


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## hanachanmaru (Jan 23, 2011)

is swamp ash or northern ash? (the harder one)


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## Haunted (Jan 24, 2011)

6Christ6Denied6 said:


> my loomis is ash body with maple neck/fretboard and its not too bright at all, that was one of my concerns before buying it and it sounds great, i think ash and maple would be awesome for an 8. id take that over mahogany and rosewood anyday



actually that's why I changed my order from the red quilt spetor 828 to the natural ash one
changed that based on the loomis I tried and like it a lot

I'm satisfied, first time I made a choice only because of tone (red one looks a lot better hehe)


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## Humanoid (Jan 25, 2011)

Ash. It's clearly the best wood option I've tried for down tuned stuff.


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