# Whats your favorite body wood and why?



## Tyler (Jul 3, 2013)

After playing mahogany for a long time I've started to ponder the thought of picking up something ash in the future. I've never been an absolute huge fan of basswood but mahogany just seems to be getting old for me and I feel like trying other woods to see how they would be subtle for my appropriate style.


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## Rev2010 (Jul 3, 2013)

Mahogany lol 


I just like the weight, tone, strength, and look of it. I dislike basswood but just because it's light and dings way too easily.

That said, I've never had any issues with poplar or alder either. Now I'm eyeing the idea of a Carvin 8-string with a Koa neck & body and figured claro top.


Rev.


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## cwhitey2 (Jul 3, 2013)

Ash and alder are nice.

IMO those woods add snappiness to the tone if that makes sense


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## Necromagnon (Jul 3, 2013)

This thread promises to be wonderful.


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## Lillub85 (Jul 3, 2013)

Black Korina/Limba and Koa

They look and sound great, nuff said


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## muffinbutton (Jul 3, 2013)

Ash because of the awesome finishes you can do with it. .... tonewoods.


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## HighPotency (Jul 3, 2013)

Alder is nice because it's native to where I live so I can get pieces big enough for one piece bodies and they're relatively inexpensive.

I also like swamp ash because I buy into hype.


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## Daf57 (Jul 3, 2013)

As far as tone goes Mahogany has treated me well lately so I'll go with that. 

As far as looks well that's a hard call because there are *so many* beautiful woods to choose from. Everyday I see a post on here with the most gorgeous tops out of woods I may have never even heard of! 

So yeah ... tough call on that one.


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## Halowords (Jul 3, 2013)

Just thinking solid or semi-hollow-bodied guitars.

I like Mahogany and Swamp Ash because I believe in the hype too.  I've had guitars with them that sounded good, and they look nice with transparent/translucent finishes. Natural Mahogany w/ a blackburst is pretty sweet looking! Swamp Ash supposedly has good top-end and low-end; it's also usually pretty light (not all wood is) & resonant (some wood is some is not) which feels good on the back and on your body when you can feel the notes. I also like Koa (had a Carvin DC that looked and sounded great), and think Black Korina can be gorgeous and it's sound contribution is supposedly close to Mahogany.

I also think Walnut (Claro, Bastogne, or burled) looks fantastic, and it's alleged tone profile is supposed to be like a mellower Maple (or brighter/more-articulate Mahogany), which sounds like a profile I'd write for my dream wood.

Obviously Maple can be discussed. However, it's not usually (that I know of) used for solid bodies and a lot of semi-hollows that have Maple are laminate a/o have Mahogany blocks, so I'm not sure if that counts or not.

All that said, I do not have a "favorite." I guy into the tonewood "hype." However, I also believe with so many different factors it probably gets over-emphasized. I don't think tonewoods are BS or the end-all/be-all in the discussion, but I think they matter to whatever extent the laws of physics and the abilities of the human ears (after they've gone through your whole signal chain and come out the speaker) dictate.

-Cheers


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## mniel8195 (Jul 3, 2013)

I like Swamp ash and basswood. They both are light weight, resonant, and are great platforms for different tops as well as necks. weather you go rosewood, ebony, maple, koa, walnut etc... I think the basswood is a better all around sound but really needs a poly finish on it. The swamp ash sounds really metal and has a unique clean sound as well. I love all the different types of mohagany or limbas but sometimes i think they sound better with a medium range gain tone. Thats just me!


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## Tyler (Jul 3, 2013)

I tried poplar once with my old Strictly7 when they first came out and it wasnt bad. It was really light and had a nice punch to it. I would love to try ash out, but I feel like I would have to get a custom since Im not too into the Schecter Loomis sig


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## Konfyouzd (Jul 3, 2013)

Looks: Swamp ash or Black limba
Tone: Who gives a ....?


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## steffgang (Jul 4, 2013)

Ash because it has the twang!


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## icos211 (Jul 4, 2013)

Mahogany. Check that tone, son.

Although I have heard Limba called the "super mahogany", and have always been anxious to try it out.

For the people who vote, or are going to vote for alder: that's what railroad ties are made of. That's where it needs to stay.


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## Polythoral (Jul 4, 2013)

Walnut is my favorite that I've owned/tried. It looks absolutely phenomenal as a core wood, and (though I don't believe much in wood effecting plugged in tone) typically seems to result in a real strong and pleasant unplugged tone, which is nice for me as someone who like to randomly jam for small periods of time without plugging in.


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## Navid (Jul 4, 2013)

qsawn sapele. good looking.


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## asfeir (Jul 4, 2013)

It's not a favorite because I never tried it, but i'm very interested in playing or owning a guitar with a lacewood body. Myka guitars build a lot with it.


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## Carver (Jul 4, 2013)

purple heart X 1890887897 million

or ziricote - i have guitars with both and they sound amazing and look killer.


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## Curt (Jul 4, 2013)

Electrics: Mahogany lately, looks great in natural or with any stain thrown over it. Ash is up there, but I play my guitars unplugged a lot, and the mahogany ones I have owned resonate really well. 

Acoustics: Rosewood, ermahgerd, Rosewood. Love how nice it looks, especially the more highly figured stuff.


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## Navid (Jul 4, 2013)

All wood looks awesome! I love wood!


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## capoeiraesp (Jul 4, 2013)

This thread needs more pics.

My favourites so far are swamp ash and black limba. I'll get to know another unique body wood soon.


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## markoramius (Jul 4, 2013)

I have a vintage BC Rich Warlock that is all maple (neck-through + body wings). In my opinion, wood does have some effect on tone. This guitar has always been very bright compared to my other guitars. I haven't tried many different pup's but the ones I've tried haven't been able to take away all the brightness. In contrast, my mahogany-bodied guitars just seem more resonant with a nicer midrange.

So, IMO - don't do solid maple!


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## Curt (Jul 4, 2013)

markoramius said:


> I have a vintage BC Rich Warlock that is all maple (neck-through + body wings). In my opinion, wood does have some effect on tone. This guitar has always been very bright compared to my other guitars. I haven't tried many different pup's but the ones I've tried haven't been able to take away all the brightness. In contrast, my mahogany-bodied guitars just seem more resonant with a nicer midrange.
> 
> So, IMO - don't do solid maple!



I wouldn't do solid maple because that would be one heavy(weight) .............


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## Serratus (Jul 4, 2013)

I've built using Ash, Alder, Mahogany, Maple, Zebrano, Korina, Basswood. Imho each piece of wood is unique which is why some guitars seem to be completely different to their stereotypical sound (ie, a mahogany guitar that sounds bright when 'most' are darker sounding).
Having said that, I think that Korina body with a maple front has a magical quality to the sound. I've built a couple with that combination and they both have a really sweet quality to the mids that is lovely, especially for recording. So that's my favourite


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## nicomortem (Jul 4, 2013)

For me, it depends on the music being played in a major way. For clean tones, my favorite woods are your standard Les Paul combination of mahogany body with a thin layer of maple on top. I feel that it is warm, full, and tame from the mahogany, and the maple top adds just the right amount of high end, brightness, and snap to the tone. I think it is a wonderful tone and the 2 woods compliment eachother quite well. I don't like mahogany and maple as much for distortion tones, especially metal tones. Although plenty of people with mahogany guitars can get great distortion tones, I find that such a warm wood can make a distorted tone sound somewhat muddy or dirty. For distorted tones, I honestly like basswood the best. It doesn't really color your tone too much, you basically are hearing your pickup, strings, and amp. And I think that basswood sounds kinda flat and dead with clean tones haha! Well, there's my 2 cents, thanks for giving me a place to put it...I was also interested in reading what other members have posted here, and what woods they like and why. Good Thread


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## Danukenator (Jul 4, 2013)

icos211 said:


> For the people who vote, or are going to vote for alder: that's what railroad ties are made of. That's where it needs to stay.



Mahogany was better suited for Chris Crafts then the guitar's I've owned. 

EDIT: I say this because I love my alder guitars. I am however getting a custom LP with a mahogany body so we'll see if my opinion changes. For the sake of the discussion, I personally believe tonewood makes a very minor difference. Probably nothing hugely noticeable with high output pickups or with a lot of distortion.


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## AlexRuger (Jul 4, 2013)

I love mahogany and ash. They're sort of two sides of the same coin to me. Mahogany for warm/mid-rangey, ash for bright/scooped, but both blend well with other woods and generally have a nice, solid feel to them.

Alder's great but is too uncharacteristic for me. Except for Strats, of course.

Black Limba is AWESOME. It's quickly becoming another favorite of mine.

Things like Koa, Lacewood, etc...those are all too pretty for me. I need some dirt


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## Halowords (Jul 4, 2013)

nicomortem said:


> For me, it depends on the music being played in a major way. For clean tones, my favorite woods are your standard Les Paul combination of mahogany body with a thin layer of maple on top. I feel that it is warm, full, and tame from the mahogany, and the maple top adds just the right amount of high end, brightness, and snap to the tone. I think it is a wonderful tone and the 2 woods compliment eachother quite well. I don't like mahogany and maple as much for distortion tones, especially metal tones. *Although plenty of people with mahogany guitars can get great distortion tones, I find that such a warm wood can make a distorted tone sound somewhat muddy or dirty.*



Just to play devil's advocate for a minute... What Mahogany guitars are you playing through that you are noticing it? If I had to hazard a guess, it would be 24.75-ish" scale guitars with set-neck. Now, what Basswood/Alder/Maple/etc. guitars are you noticing are cleaner or more articulate distorted? Are they longer scale (25.5" or longer), maybe with neck-through or bolt-neck? Are the pickups brighter?

Even as somebody who buys into the tonewood hype (or "hype"), it's still pretty hard to find say a Maple-topped Mahogany neck/body 25.5", 27", or 30" scale guitar/baritone with the same construction and electronics as say a Les Paul. A Hamer (R.I.P.) Talladega or Hagstrom Super Swede are probably the closest standard model that readily comes to mind. I currently own one of the second. It's very Les Paul-ish, but a bit brighter and more articulate. However, how much of any of that is the wood vs. the construction/shape/set-neck/PAF-ish-pickups/electronics/fretboard/playing-style/etc.? Hard to say. It does sort of ride that line between say a Les Paul and a Telecaster, I would say favoring the LP quite a bit more (which makes sense since it's pretty much a Les Paul with a longer neck) but still being a bet brighter/clearer.

So I still think it matters. However, I also think the extent is limited by all the other factors.

-Cheers


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## will_shred (Jul 4, 2013)

Mahogany because I like the feel of it and the way a good cut resonates (well I guess that goes for any wood, but mahogany in particular for me)

I don't want to tread into this minefield to much but i'm pretty convinced that woods in an electric guitar make jack shit in terms of tonal qualities unless your talking about getting a really resonant cut of wood (which could be of any species) that gives the guitar more sustain or volume. I think that people really want to believe that there is a difference tonally between different species of woods in an electric guitar so they have a huge conformation bias.


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## patata (Jul 4, 2013)

Northern Afroamerican Horizontal grained 400+ y/old pearloid Ash.

Only a few luthiers use it.You've probably never heard of it.It has a unique tone that I nedd when I djent.

Serisouly now,swamp ash is unbeatable.Especially when it's satin....Only when it's satin.
Black limba is cool too.


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## muffinbutton (Jul 4, 2013)

markoramius said:


> I have a vintage BC Rich Warlock that is all maple (neck-through + body wings). In my opinion, wood does have some effect on tone. This guitar has always been very bright compared to my other guitars. I haven't tried many different pup's but the ones I've tried haven't been able to take away all the brightness. In contrast, my mahogany-bodied guitars just seem more resonant with a nicer midrange.
> 
> So, IMO - don't do solid maple!



The 8 string I'm building is pretty much that BC rich. Maple and mahogany neck through and maple body. But I don't think it will be a problem because I don't believe in tonewood.


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## Navid (Jul 4, 2013)

I will never understand people who choose good pieces of rare wood and then coat it with paint.
Mahogany for example. Even if that piece of wood doesn't look awesome, it's still rare ....ing mahogany.
I wish all these people a strong diarrhea.


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## lookslikemeband (Jul 4, 2013)




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## Navid (Jul 4, 2013)

lookslikemeband said:


>



There is no flamed brazilian MDF on that graphic.


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## Necromagnon (Jul 4, 2013)

Shhhhhhhht guys! Don't ruin everything before we had enough fun!


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## CaptainLuckeyBeard (Jul 4, 2013)

I love my maple bass w/ spalted maple top. The cleans are wicked clear and I have sustain for daaayyyss on that motherf...er. I'm gonna be getting my Etherial with a bluegum body, so I'm excited to hear how that sounds  But swamp ash is always great, especially because you can pull off the coolest finishes with it!


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## Yo_Wattup (Jul 4, 2013)

Ash for sure. I've got an ash bass with EMGs and its got a certain 'quack' to it that don't come from the pickups.


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## AwDeOh (Jul 4, 2013)

Navid said:


> There is no flamed brazilian MDF on that graphic.



Brazilian MDF doesn't come flamed, it only comes spalted.

I should know, I invented it.


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## Navid (Jul 5, 2013)

AwDeOh said:


> Brazilian MDF doesn't come flamed, it only comes spalted.
> 
> I should know, I invented it.



I'm sorry, I meant flamed Argentinian MDF
It's actually softer and cheaper than brazilian but it resonates like crazy
Much better than swamp ash for a body imho, it's just hard to be found.


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## ihunda (Jul 5, 2013)

Halowords said:


> Just to play devil's advocate for a minute... What Mahogany guitars are you playing through that you are noticing it? If I had to hazard a guess, it would be 24.75-ish" scale guitars with set-neck. Now, what Basswood/Alder/Maple/etc. guitars are you noticing are cleaner or more articulate distorted? Are they longer scale (25.5" or longer), maybe with neck-through or bolt-neck? Are the pickups brighter?
> 
> Even as somebody who buys into the tonewood hype (or "hype"), it's still pretty hard to find say a Maple-topped Mahogany neck/body 25.5", 27", or 30" scale guitar/baritone with the same construction and electronics as say a Les Paul. A Hamer (R.I.P.) Talladega or Hagstrom Super Swede are probably the closest standard model that readily comes to mind. I currently own one of the second. It's very Les Paul-ish, but a bit brighter and more articulate. However, how much of any of that is the wood vs. the construction/shape/set-neck/PAF-ish-pickups/electronics/fretboard/playing-style/etc.? Hard to say. It does sort of ride that line between say a Les Paul and a Telecaster, I would say favoring the LP quite a bit more (which makes sense since it's pretty much a Les Paul with a longer neck) but still being a bet brighter/clearer.
> 
> ...



To your point, I have a bolt on 25.5 Setius with Mahogany body, Maple top, Mahogany neck, tune o matic but not tailpiece and Paf humbuckers inside.

It doesn't sound like a LP at all, much brighter and snappier. Gotta be the bolt on.


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## Given To Fly (Jul 5, 2013)

I know this topic is mainly for solid body electrics but I wanted to share a tone wood experience. I had the opportunity to play an 20th century Spanish built classical guitar with a solid spruce top and I think Brazilian Rosewood back and sides. The guitar weight about as much as a Kleenex because all wood was extremely thin. I'm a modernist for the most part when it comes to classical guitars because they are basically better in almost every way. So I start to play this 3 oz Spruce Top guitar and it was absolutely incredible. It was really loud, had great projection, "punch", and all these things were so easy to control. The neck was awful and looked like it was whittled with a pocket knife but the tone was second to done. 

The problem with 100 year old classical guitars is they aren't built like violins or cellos. Guitars are much more fragile and the more you play them the shorter their life span. So its amazing this one was in the condition is was in. It also cost $20,000+. 

So for classical guitars I'll go with spruce tops and Indian or Brazilian Rosewood for the back and sides. For electric guitars I don't have a favorite but I know I don't like Ash. Granted the guitar I have that has an Ash body was $299 so I may not own the best example.


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## Walterson (Jul 5, 2013)

AwDeOh said:


> Brazilian MDF doesn't come flamed, it only comes spalted.
> 
> I should know, I invented it.



Sorry, but you took it from one of my post, I can proove it...


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## Danukenator (Jul 5, 2013)

Navid said:


> There is no flamed brazilian MDF on that graphic.



Old joke has gotten really old. I find it's a snarky comment to shut down a discussion people want to have.


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## Halowords (Jul 5, 2013)

ihunda said:


> To your point, I have a bolt on 25.5 Setius with Mahogany body, Maple top, Mahogany neck, tune o matic but not tailpiece and Paf humbuckers inside.
> 
> It doesn't sound like a LP at all, much brighter and snappier. Gotta be the bolt on.



Could be a combination of the bolt-on and the scale. Could also just be a brighter piece of Mahogany or bright PAF's. Apparently real PAF's and some of the reproductions (or underwound models) are pretty bright and warmer sounds from those are dialed in that way. Others are warmer more modern interpretations. They can kind of be all over the spectrum from what I understand.

Plus, those are double-cuts, right? Apparently DC's are brighter/snappier because you lose the neck on the bass side of the upper bout. That (again, coming from people other than me, but ones who work with this stuff [guitars a/o instrument wood in general] for a living) transmits more bass frequencies the higher up (or lower if you think the tone of the notes) your guitar body meets up the neck closer to the headstock area. I should note, some buy into that sort of theory more than others. You could also argue it's the extra volume vibrating mass making things seem fuller/bassier, it just happens to be on that side, or maybe it's some other scientifically-explainable phenomenon. I doubt a whole lot of serious and conclusive lab tests with technical recording data & analysis exist on this topic.

-Cheers


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## Cabinet (Jul 5, 2013)

For acoustic steel string I see no reason to use anything other than a spruce top, and I like to pair that with mahogany sides and back.
For classical, Brazilian rosewood if I can get it 
And for arch tops I like building with spruce tops, maple back and sides. I hear cedar works as a nice top as well.

For electric guitars, doesn't matter because I fit em all with high output pickups anyways


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## Navid (Jul 5, 2013)

Danukenator said:


> Old joke has gotten really old. I find it's a snarky comment to shut down a discussion people want to have.



Captain Obvious?


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Jul 6, 2013)

For building purposes: Poplar. Its cheap, abundant, easy to work, glue, sand etc. Its not a particularly interesting or "good looking" wood so its best done with an opaque finish. 

For playing: Just about anything, one wood may sound different acoustically than another but played through an amp you can get just about any sound out of any body wood when used with the right amp settings. The biggest thing I'd consider in a guitar I plan to play regularly is weight and balance. Again this can be achieved with many different woods depending on the guitars thickness and use of weight reduction cut outs internally. 

For looks: Walnut, Wenge, Ash, Maple... those are all good.


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## Seanthesheep (Jul 6, 2013)

in terms of tone, mahogany seems to be pretty consistent for me. But the one poplar/maple guitar I own sounds as agressive as all hell and is easily my best sounding metal guitar 

but in terms of grain and appearance, Swamp Ash and Black Limba are my favourites. My custom (god knows when that will happen) will most likely have a black limba body, but no matter what my next guitar will have a swamp ash body


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## Yimmj (Jul 6, 2013)

Mahogany! with a dense (maple, Ebony, etc) fretboard and top to bring out the high end


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## Senaeth (Jul 8, 2013)

Depends on the guitar. For a bass I prefer heavier and more dense woods like Wenge Bubinga and Walnut.
While for guitars it depends on what sound I want to create. But for your normal guitar I prefer Pine love the tone and weight of it. Only it needs 20 layers of clear coat for a bit of protection.


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## wat (Jul 8, 2013)

Whatever wood my guitars are made of


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## Curt (Jul 8, 2013)

AwDeOh said:


> Brazilian MDF doesn't come flamed, it only comes spalted.
> 
> I should know, I invented it.


 
I prefer my Madagascar straight grain wall panel veneer on a thick African MDF body, one piece Kansan Sycamore neck with spalted brazilian MDF fretboard and tin frets. 

Superior tone, with a natural mid boost, no need for a shitty OD pedal.
It is capable of djent without the need for compressors or gates thanks to my custom wound Moose Knuckle Pickups. They are underwound high output wound with bulb's nut hair, and epoxied pixie dust bobbins with an AlNiCo 6 magnet for perfect clarity in drop J flat.


Jealous?


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## ThatCanadianGuy (Jul 12, 2013)

Curt said:


> It is capable of djent without the need for compressors or gates thanks to my custom wound Moose Knuckle Pickups. They are underwound high output wound with bulb's nut hair, and epoxied pixie dust bobbins with an AlNiCo 6 magnet for perfect clarity in drop J flat.
> 
> 
> Jealous?



I hand wound those pickups myself. Yeah, that's right, I touched Misha's nut hair. Fourteen year old boys, eat your heart out!


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## will_shred (Jul 13, 2013)

I'm also really digging black Limba, it seems extremely resonant and obviously looks amazing. Also the weight is Juuuusstttt right


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