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Strat with mahogany body. What difference do you think it makes?


billybilly

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I just built a super-strat and it is not quite warm enough. Currently, it has an alder body and maple neck. Do you think a mahogany body would make a big difference or not? I am searching for a fuller, warmer sound

 

Current pickup combination is prails-vintagerails-prails by duncan.

 

PS I am in the camp that wood does make a difference.

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I have one and it does make a difference. The mahogany givies it that darker crunch tone, while it still retains clarity with the bolt on maple neck. It has a very aggressive and cutting tone while being dense sounding.

 

 

Thanks, I was wondering about that.

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There will be doubters and this will turn into a bazillion page wood war. I'm in the wood makes a difference camp myself. Mahogany may be just the ticket. Have you given any thought to a thinline strat?

 

 

If I could find a deal on one I would. Hard to find and pricey. I checked out warmoths chambered and semi-hollows, they are nice. I will have the money to spend that I make selling my MIA strat body.

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The most incredible sounding Strat I have is an Aerodyne, made in Japan. I don't know why it sounds so great, but it's Basswood with the pickups mounted directly to the body; no pickguard or rings. It's just very warm and smooth 180 degrees different from my Highway one.

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I've owned several mahogany strats. They do sound warmer, not much to argue about on that one. Basswood sounds warmer too. If youre going to use a solid finish you can save some bucks and go basswood.

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I've had a mahogany Strat and a Tele. Warmer, more midrange, more sustain. The way mahogany responds to attack and decay is totally different from the traditional Fender woods. You get that sort of bloomy quality Gibsons have, but you lose a lot of that SNAP. The Strat didn't really do much for me, but the Tele is awesome in it's own unique non-Tele way.

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I've had a mahogany Strat and a Tele. Warmer, more midrange, more sustain. The way mahogany responds to attack and decay is totally different from the traditional Fender woods. You get that sort of bloomy quality Gibsons have, but you lose a lot of that SNAP. The Strat didn't really do much for me, but the Tele is awesome in it's own unique non-Tele way.

 

 

I'm glad someone mentioned the note bloom and snap cause that's really the tradeoff. I had a basswood Strat and that may be the closest thing to middle ground between the two.

 

I'm a sucker for Alder and Swamp Ash myself when it comes to Fender style guitars, and I prefer the vintage frets found on MIMs, but after owning a more recent edition for awhile, will never buy another with a scrapwood body (for tonal reasons).

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My PRS SE EG is mahog body & neck. Not a true strat, of course (eg, 25" scale), but a close cousin. Super warm, and yes, more bloom and less snap. I wouldn't want it as my only strat-like guitar, but it's a valued member of my herd. Just got done playing it, in fact. Nice and mellow clean, but even nicer with dirt - no danger of ice picks, yet very articulate. Mahog body + maple neck sounds like a good compromise, I'd give it a shot.

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I think Ill chime in here...

 

I own 2 mahogany "strats": a Jim Root Strat and a Jackson COW

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My Jim Root is the most resonant guitar Ive played- It sounds very loud and woody unplugged, and plugged in it sounds a lot like my white explorer, but just a little tighter.

 

The Jackson sounds very different from the JR, which is strange considering they both have EMG 81s in the bridge and mahogany bodies... brighter and more snappy :idk:

 

I also have a Billy Corgan strat, and while its pikcups couldnt be more different from the JR strat, it is still a hardtail and has an alder body. No where near as loud unplugged and is quite a bit brighter...

 

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All this said however, I have played another Identical Jim Root strat which was quite heavy and sounded dead unplugged, and also a hardtail jackson dinky which made a duncan JB in the bridge sound very ballsy and not brittle like my other experiences with JBs (altough I suspect that it may have had a low value pot in it to get this sound)...

 

So pretty much- theoretically a mahogany strat will sound warmer than alder, but with wood you can never truely predict how these things will turn out...

 

I saw a white Jim Root tele body on sale on ebay last night btw, shippable to Oz :thu: Although its onyl HH routed...

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I had a PRS CE Bolt-On. Mahogany body / maple neck (and maple top!). For humbucker tones this combo was awesome. As the previous poster said - very dense. With the maple neck you keep the tighter mid-range and clarity too. The only thing I don't know about is how a traditional single-coil would sound in this type of guitar. Obviously, the PRS had coil tapping - but, it's not the same, IMO.

 

Some peeps believe that a mahogany body/maple neck combo sounds even meatier than a mahogany neck/mahogany body guitar. Has something to do with the maple neck, with it's tighter grain, redirecting the mahogany's resonance rather than absorbing it like a mahogany neck would tend to do. Beats me!

 

All I know is it sounds good. Been thinking about putting together a Carvin Bolt (did I mention you can get those with Floyds now?) with a mahogany body, maple neck, and rosewood 'board.

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Wood makes a difference. This is fact. The degree of difference? This is debatable, and very inconsistent.

 

Bottom line is that electronics make more difference than wood. I'd swap pickups before wood any day. I'd also play with pickup and pole piece height before getting a new pickup.

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Wood makes a difference. This is fact. The degree of difference? This is debatable, and very inconsistent.


Bottom line is that electronics make more difference than wood. I'd swap pickups before wood any day. I'd also play with pickup and pole piece height before getting a new pickup.

 

 

This is what I think. Wood makes a difference, how much is debateable. If wood didn't than 2 guitars set up the same in terms of electronics would sound exact through the same amp. Not the case, usually.

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Wood makes a difference. This is fact. The degree of difference? This is debatable, and very inconsistent.


Bottom line is that electronics make more difference than wood. I'd swap pickups before wood any day. I'd also play with pickup and pole piece height before getting a new pickup.

 

 

I would have to agree with all of this. I think the type and girth of a neck make a pretty big impact though.

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...you didn't mention what fretboard wood you have. This makes a big difference.

 

If you have a maple neck & fretboard on an Alder body, you should expect a "brighter" sound to begin with -- switch with maple neck & rosewood fretboard will be darker.

 

Aside from that, look at your pickups.

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