Members elsupermanny14 Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 What is the difference between Light Ash and the Alder of the Highway 1? Is this a USA Fender, it does have 22 frets on pearl inlays with a 2 point trem? It seems American made. If this guitar is American then wouldn't this be the best deal for an American Fender? $630 with Seymour Duncan's...sounds like a GREAT deal to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ArKay Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 The Light Ash series is made in Korea, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members elsupermanny14 Posted July 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 The Light Ash series is made in Korea, no? Did not know that...I guess that explains why it's cheaper then a Hw1. They had me fooled... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 The build quality was very good on the Lite Ash teles I played. A little heavey about 8- 8.5lbs. The teles come with SD Alnico II Pro pickups. Not sure on the strats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ArKay Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Yeah, they don't tell you that in the ads Check out the review section here at HC when in doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Unclemeat Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 All of the light ash strats I have played have been really great guitars though. I have finally stopped worrying about country of origin... Its not necessarily so telling of quality anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted July 29, 2008 Moderators Share Posted July 29, 2008 SD AII pups, two point trem, birdseye maple neck, med jumbo frets, all round good guitar, definitely as good as a Hwy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sleepeatplay Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/StratLtAshNat/Oh the GAS pains............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 The Lite Ash I had had very microphonic pickups. Useless with any kind of gain. Also the frets were pretty uneven, so it was impossible to get really good action on it without fretwork. You get what you pay for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted July 29, 2008 Moderators Share Posted July 29, 2008 The Lite Ash I had had very microphonic pickups. Useless with any kind of gain. Also the frets were pretty uneven, so it was impossible to get really good action on it without fretwork. You get what you pay for.Apart from the fact that using Al IIs with gain sounds a tad odd, those SD pups are among the sweetest Strat pups around, maybe they weren't the originals and maybe you didn't get the heights right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Apart from the fact that using Al IIs with gain sounds a tad odd, those SD pups are among the sweetest Strat pups around, maybe they weren't the originals and maybe you didn't get the heights right? I've been playing Strats since 1974. I know my way around them. They were original pickups, the guitars was setup properly and they were very microphonic.On the other hand, I had a Lite Ash Tele and the SD pickups in it were fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tkachuk07 Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Our bass player has a light ash tele. I wasn't too impressed with it when I played it at his place. To be fair though he doesn't really take care of his instruments like I do. If I actually spent some time with it & did a setup etc., it would probably feel & sound better. The input jack definitely needed some work, it kept falling out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members d_dave_c Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 The asian ash species they use on those is not very similar to the american swamp ash that makes a good tonewood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members go cat go Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 The asian ash species they use on those is not very similar to the american swamp ash that makes a good tonewood. True Dat! When they say light ash they are referring to the color (pale) not the weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ~Abstract~ Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 The asian ash species they use on those is not very similar to the american swamp ash that makes a good tonewood.I had a feeling there was more to it...I've played several......I thought I just didn't like Ash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 211dave112 Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 other guitar player in my band has a lite ash tele, it's a good guitar, not amazing but well built and sounds ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted July 29, 2008 Moderators Share Posted July 29, 2008 The asian ash species they use on those is not very similar to the american swamp ash that makes a good tonewood. American hard ssh is not very similar to swamp ash, ash species in general just makes good guitars. The Japanese have been using Sen for years, which while usually referred to as ash is a member of the ivy family. To be fair, ashes, poplars, alders are all in the same ballpark. The guitar will be coloured far more by the pickups, bridge and nut, and sustain by the quality of the neck joint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Artslinger Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/options/options_bodywoods.cfm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members d_dave_c Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 As you said before - the SD Alnico II's are 'among the sweetest Strat pups around.' Something about the Lite Ash's I've played is kinda lifeless and dull. I'm not sure if it's the wood or if the finish is thick or what, but these aren't the bargain they seem to be. Check out Frets99 for an import guitar w/ good pickups that sounds better than the Lite Ash strats I've played (which is only two, so not an overwhelmingly large sample). I've played one tele, and it was a little better than the stat, but I've played better for $630. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted July 29, 2008 Moderators Share Posted July 29, 2008 As you said before - the SD Alnico II's are 'among the sweetest Strat pups around.'Something about the Lite Ash's I've played is kinda lifeless and dull. I'm not sure if it's the wood or if the finish is thick or what, but these aren't the bargain they seem to be. Check out Frets99 for an import guitar w/ good pickups that sounds better than the Lite Ash strats I've played (which is only two, so not an overwhelmingly large sample). I've played one tele, and it was a little better than the stat, but I've played better for $630. A decent block and a new nut is all they need, and the SD Al IIs lowered right down to just above the pickguard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members d_dave_c Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 That Warmoth page ignores the big differences between Northern Hard Ash (Fraxinus americana) and Green (Swamp) Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), which are the adaptations due to growth in saturated conditions - pore spaces open up and become spongier (aerenchymous), which leads to it being lighter weight. The 'Lite Ash' guitars kind of imply this lighter weight, but Sen shares more in common with hard Ash or even Elm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bigconig Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 I ordered one last Friday and will be here tomorrow. I'm hoping I'll like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted July 29, 2008 Moderators Share Posted July 29, 2008 That Warmoth page ignores the big differences between Northern Hard Ash (Fraxinus americana) and Green (Swamp) Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), which are the adaptations due to growth in saturated conditions - pore spaces open up and become spongier (aerenchymous), which leads to it being lighter weight. Swamp ash is actually Fraxinus nigra, apart from that pretty close. Some of the nicest swamp ash comes form the bayous of Louisiana, where growth below the waterline is particularly prized Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted July 29, 2008 Moderators Share Posted July 29, 2008 I ordered one last Friday and will be here tomorrow. I'm hoping I'll like it. I think you'll be able to sort it out so you will like it.....you'll like the neck:) the back has a very thin coat of satin poly and the front is nigh on unfinished, but I think there's a light spray of poly, but it looks completely unfinished Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.