Members sincitycycler Posted October 3, 2007 Members Share Posted October 3, 2007 ESP uses it in it's lower-end guitars. I think it is a kind of pine. Does it have decent tone/durability? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metalheadUK Posted October 3, 2007 Members Share Posted October 3, 2007 No problems here with my Affinity Tele.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JesperT Posted October 3, 2007 Members Share Posted October 3, 2007 Well, I see that agathis is used a lot in all the dirt-cheap low-end guitars and in none of the expensive ones, so I guess you kinda have your answer right there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jhall Posted October 3, 2007 Members Share Posted October 3, 2007 Yes.. Yes it is. I have two Agathis guitars. One is a Squire Fat Strat with stock mid and neck singles with a Duncan Distortion Humbucker in the bridge (great sounding guitar under the right circumstances). The other is a Squire Tele Custom with Gibson 490r-489t pickups in it. TONE MONSTER!!! THough I'm partial to Strats over Teles this one is special to me and sounds astounding. The Agathis seems to be bright so really helps humbuckers live up to their potential. In the future when other more well known woods are hard to get, I think Agathis will be a good alternative. Don't know if it's attractive or not as I've only seen guitars in solid colors made from it. I'm not opposed to Photo Flame though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members keNz Posted October 3, 2007 Members Share Posted October 3, 2007 I've heard both sides of the argument. Some say that Agathis is a good substitute for Mahogany, while others have said that it's just cheap crapwood. I've had a cheap agathis guitar, and it sounded fine (somewhere between Alder and Mahogany in terms of brightness, warmth, etc.). But it sure is ugly and easily dented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burningleaves Posted October 3, 2007 Members Share Posted October 3, 2007 ESP uses it in it's lower-end guitars. I think it is a kind of pine.Does it have decent tone/durability? Agathis is also called "commercial grade mahogany". Pretty good name because companies can say the guitar is made from mahogany but it really is not. Lots of "mahogany" MIK guitars are really agathis. I am more of a "traditional" tone wood kind of guy for guitars but I have had a few agathis guitars that rocked hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bennintexas Posted October 3, 2007 Members Share Posted October 3, 2007 Agathis is also called "commercial grade mahogany". Pretty good name because companies can say the guitar is made from mahogany but it really is not. Lots of "mahogany" MIK guitars are really agathis.I am more of a "traditional" tone wood kind of guy for guitars but I have had a few agathis guitars that rocked hard. yeah my mik dearmond is agathis.....i know alot of people have already said it sucks....but my m75 is incredible, sustains forever and is MUCH lighter than most les pauls. whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bsman Posted October 3, 2007 Members Share Posted October 3, 2007 I know this is going to sound like heresy to a lot of folks here, but a lot of 'traditional tonewoods' are traditional tonewoods simply because that was what was available when and where the guitars were made. For example, there was no particularly exhaustive testing that Leo Fender did when he selected ash and alder for the tele and strat - they were simply the lumber he could find cheap in the appropriate sizes and quality. I'm not saying that agathis = ash, but I will say that ash (or any other wood) is not necessarily > than another, lesser-known choice simply because it's been used by a specific 'big-name' manufacturer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DracoAran Posted October 3, 2007 Members Share Posted October 3, 2007 True, to an extent. Before there was solid body electric guitars, there were a lot of string and percussion instruments made out of different woods, so the industry already had an idea of what woods were gonna work out well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members numbthumb Posted October 3, 2007 Members Share Posted October 3, 2007 yeah my mik dearmond is agathis.....i know alot of people have already said it sucks....but my m75 is incredible, sustains forever and is MUCH lighter than most les pauls. whatever. So, you got the light one. Mine weighs a ton. Great tone though. These guitars have maple caps, so I don't think we can really hear the agathis at work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted October 3, 2007 Members Share Posted October 3, 2007 ^^^ Mine's kinda heavy too, but not bad. And the heaviness might just be the build design, i.e. thick and not much chambering - I'm talking about my Squier Telecaster Custom II. And yeah, I've also seen it described as a less expensive mahogany substitute and being similar in tone. My Squier TCII has pretty good tone so I'm not afraid of it. Next thread has to be "Nato" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members batotman Posted October 3, 2007 Members Share Posted October 3, 2007 Agathis is supposed to have mahogany like tonal qualities. It's a dirt cheap wood and I'd really rather have mahogany. It is softer and probably dings a bit easier. And it has a bad stigma as its associated with cheap guitars but I wouldn't consider it a bad wood per se. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mkoris Posted October 3, 2007 Members Share Posted October 3, 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agathis The wood is commonly used in the manufacture of budget-priced guitars. It is also used for some Go boards (goban). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members voneville Posted October 3, 2007 Members Share Posted October 3, 2007 It's plentiful in Asia, therefore used on a lot of inexpensive Asian made instruments. By default everyone is going to say it sounds like crap due to percieved quality of said instruments. I like the sound of my Agathis bodied guitars (I have 2, they both rock). It sounds great with P-90's. I wouldn't spend 500 dollars on an Agathis bodied guitar, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker on an inexpensive guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members batotman Posted October 3, 2007 Members Share Posted October 3, 2007 Look at basswood. Some regard it as crap as its used for dirt cheap guitars. But its also used in high end ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted October 3, 2007 Moderators Share Posted October 3, 2007 No problems here with my Affinity Tele.... Your Affinity Tele should be Alder Marc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BluesBall Posted October 4, 2007 Members Share Posted October 4, 2007 Belongs to a group of plants known as the conifers, which also includes the pine family (pines, spruces, larches, firs, cedars), the podocarp family (podocarps, kahikatea, totara, etc.) and the cypress family (swamp-cypresses, giant sequoias, junipers & cypresses). http://www.agathis.info/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members voneville Posted October 4, 2007 Members Share Posted October 4, 2007 Your Affinity Tele should be Alder Marc Older affinity's were agathis, but yea, the last few years they've been advertised as being alder with the Squier Standards and Customs being Agathis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Electric Blues Posted October 4, 2007 Members Share Posted October 4, 2007 Well, I see that agathis is used a lot in all the dirt-cheap low-end guitars and in none of the expensive ones, so I guess you kinda have your answer right there? Gee you're right Jesper! Just like good guitars aren't made from plywood... No wait... that can't be right! What are those damn 335s made from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted October 4, 2007 Moderators Share Posted October 4, 2007 Belongs to a group of plants known as the conifers, which also includes the pine family (pines, spruces, larches, firs, cedars), the podocarp family (podocarps, kahikatea, totara, etc.) and the cypress family (swamp-cypresses, giant sequoias, junipers & cypresses). http://www.agathis.info/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted October 4, 2007 Members Share Posted October 4, 2007 Like I keep saying, the differnce that the type of wood makes to the sound of an electric guitar is minimal - spend you money on good PU's and amps, guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted October 4, 2007 Moderators Share Posted October 4, 2007 Like I keep saying, the differnce that the type of wood makes to the sound of an electric guitar is minimal Saying it all the time don't make it right:thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gourd of Ashes Posted October 4, 2007 Members Share Posted October 4, 2007 Look at basswood. Some regard it as crap as its used for dirt cheap guitars. But its also used in high end ones. I agree, that's good advice. I've played several inexpensive basswood guitars that sounded great. Unfortunately, Agathis is pure {censored} for tonewood. It's OK for a beginner to pick up their first guitar made of agathis...but other than that...it should only be used for firewood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted October 4, 2007 Moderators Share Posted October 4, 2007 .it should only be used for firewood. It's actually pretty {censored} at firewood too:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted October 4, 2007 Members Share Posted October 4, 2007 Saying it all the time don't make it right:thu: Well perhaps, but I'm still waiting for some-one to proove that I'm wrong. I've heard all sorts of reasons why wood makes a big difference, some quite well reasoned (albeit incorrect) and some downright crazy . . . but still no proof. I came to the conclusion several months ago that there are a lot of people out there who genuinely do believe that wood does make a difference and obviously worry about it a great deal. That's fine. Personally I believe (based on scientific principles) that it does not and that the PU's and amps have far, far, far . . etc x n . . more effect on the sound of an electric guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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