How do you choose your woods?

[Konfyouzd]

I'm just curious how some people choose the woods for their axes. I feel this may be useful to some. I see a lot of talk from time to time about all the tonal characteristics of particular woods leading a guitarist to prefer certain combinations over others.

I personally choose woods on a purely aesthetic basis. My thoughts are that as long as I'm not using stock Ibanez pups and they at least semi balance with each other, I can make that shit work.

How about you?

 

[MaxOfMetal]

I don't put too much stock in it to be honest, especially for a custom build. There are almost as many pickup, amp, and pedal options as starts in the sky, so coaxing tones out of any combination is little more than trial and error, and not a gravely difficult one at that.

I think folks stress out on woods way too much. Wood is simply far too inconsistent, especially on a large scale basis to really nail down exactly what it'll impart tonally on a completed electric instrument through a rig.

All evidence regarding "tone woods" is anecdotal at best and plain old guess work at worst. The fact is, wood doesn't play as big a part in electric instruments as many builders and companies want you to think. It does play a role, but it's none more special than the overall mass of the instrument, the hardware in play, and the electronics at work.

 

[sk3ks1s]

Aesthetics. That is all.

 

[TJV]

Aesthetics, availability and workability.

 

[Konfyouzd]

I'm fairly surprised by the responses so far... Pleasantly so, but surprised nonetheless.

 

[broj15]

mainly asthetics but also things like wood density/ wheight. Although every piece of wood is different typically some woods tend to be denser than others. I like to try and find wood that resonates well but doesn't completely kill my shoulders when i play. That's part of the reason why i decided to ditch my c-7 hellraiser. It was really resonant but it with it being a mahogany body/ neck guitar it just killed me when i played for extended periods of time. My new RGD2127z is a basswood body and is atleast 1.5 pounds lighter and it is just as resonant if not more.

Me and my dad were talking the other night and we both agree, if you turn your back and listen to an electric guitar through an amp with a maple neck and then swap the neck for a mahogany neck but leave all the pickups and amp settings the same most people will be unable to tell you which is which. Then when you get into a studio setting where everything will eventually become so processed the difference is practically non existent.

 

[ras1988]

I would say the woods are a means to an end in my case with my recent custom order. I wanted a bolt on guitar with a baritone length an ultra rigid neck and a lightweight resonant body for a more defined attack. I had been using set neck short scale mahogany guitars prior to this build and wanted a change so the timbers were chosen to reflect that but I do think the contstruction concept and design are going to play a bigger role in what this build sounds like than the actual woods used. That being said I did throw in a Spalted maple cap because I think it is beautiful.

 

[Jessy]

I don't like the look of wood, so arguments about aesthetics are lost on me. Thin, dense pieces of wood would be my choice, but nobody makes that for some reason. Man-made materials FTW.

http://rainsong.com/models/

 

[djpharoah]

I mount an expedition into the most remote reaches of the Amazon to harness the wood for my customs. The rosewood so pure that it can sustain an E chord for 20minutes becomes my neck blank. The mahogany so dense yet bright but warm yet smooth on the high end with aggressive mids becomes the guitars body and is harvested from trees over 500yrs old. A single tree yields only one wing for this guitar thus the sacrifice must be made to fell two trees.

 

[Konfyouzd]

Reminds me of the Petrucci Psycho Exercises... "This guitar is made of Chinese Ancient Oak...."

 

[Levi79]

Looks
Workability (after I cut my Ziricote board on my first build, this might become first )
Sound (I like bright and clear, and while there is alot of inconsistency, the same species hold alot of the same characteristics)
Balance (neck dive etc)
Finishing (how it takes a stain, paint, oils etc)
Feel (Like Ebony boards feeling super slick)
Durability
Weight (not a huge deal to me unless it's crazy heavy like an all maple body)

 

[eddiewarlock]

Availability.

Here in Venezuela it is forbidden to chop down mahogany, apamate, spanish cedar, pardillo, and many other timbers.

I use purpleheart for necks although i believe it is forbidden to cut those trees down as well...

I use lignum vitae for fretboards, harder and denser than ebony.

And have been using as of late, caribbean pine for bodies and Abiu, a wood that resembles mahogany in looks, but twice as hard...

But what i have used the most is mahogany and spanish cedar. We don´t grow here maple, ash, or alder, and they are seldom imported.

But i think i located a place in Caracas that sells maple and ash...

 

[espman]

Looks
Weight
Workablilty
Feel

Almost everything else can be solved through other means.

 

[amarshism]

There is an overtone in basswood that I hear regardless of pups that I've heard from ibanez to suhr. I was playing a suhr in my local shop and remarked how it had an annoying freq that I hear in my ibbys. Low and behold under the quilt top it was a basswood guitar. It's hardly noticeable but once you hone in on it it's there. I'm a big believer that construction, mass and neck joint have far more to do with it. A good right hand however will always make the sound yours.

 

[Konfyouzd]

Hmm... Interesting thought on basswood. I think that overtone may be why I and perhaps others actually love basswood. I can't imagine I'd play such a figureless wood otherwise.

Damn that sounds "shallow"

 

[Navid]

How come nobody mentions the price tag?
Am I the only poor person in here?

 

[Indigenous]

I feel like the wood makes a much larger difference if the guitar is going to be played cleaned, or if it's a semi-hollow/jazzbox. That's where I think tonal quality of wood shines. If it's going to be distorted, or through a bunch of effects, then I really don't think it matters too much.

 

[JStraitiff]

I use EMGs so.. Theres not much tone from the wood in there

Part of it is aesthetics but the wood used does change the "feel" of the guitar for me. A mahogany body will resonate pretty heavily so its easier to feel the notes if you know what i mean. Its the vibrations under the fingers. I also like my guitars on the heavy side and mahogany tends to do just that.

I chose walnut as the center strips in my neck simply because they were a darker wood. I wanted something dark to contrast the maple. I chose a quilted maple top but i dont think i need to justify that decision

 

[Alberto7]

I'm with Max here. Woods are just far too inconsistent, even within a single species, and a lot of companies don't even tell you the exact species they're offering (saying "mahogany body" can mean anything, really).

I do have a guitar with fancy woods, and, to be perfectly honest, I have no idea which part of the tone is coming from the wood. Much less what each wood (swamp ash, koa, ebony, and maple) is doing, realistically, to the actual tone of the guitar. I chose the woods based primarily on aesthetics. I did read on their tonal characteristics, but, ultimately, looks were much more important. Once the final product arrived, I just didn't know what portion of the tone was coming from which component. That's when I learned that having fancy and/or a particular species of wood isn't THAT important (in my opinion, at least).

Assuming that woods even play a role as big as SO many people claim, I think you're good as long as you have a high quality, well-dried piece, regardless of species. That, and I'm pretty sure woods will have a greater effect on a clean tone than on a distorted tone. So, if high-gain music is your focus, I don't think you should worry too much about it.

I'm getting a bit tired of seeing guitars with fancy woods left and right... My tastes are becoming simpler by the day. Nowadays, whenever I look at highly figured tops I just feel like I've seen them before. I don't feel that impressed anymore. Sure, they're pretty and look great and whatnot, but it doesn't evoke that feeling of awe anymore. The next guitar I get will have, at most, a flamed maple top, and that's it. Perhaps I'll just get a guitar with a solid finish and give it the "workhorse" badge. I'm getting tired of being so delicate with my current guitar with fancy woods and delicate finish.

Which brings me to my (hopefully) last point (I apologize for getting so long-winded with this post ). You will feel like shit if you put a dent on your guitar with pretty woods. I put the slightest dent on my Carvin's koa-covered headstock about a year back, and I almost didn't sleep that night. I look at it today, and I just think to myself "I can't believe I stressed so much over it. I'm an idiot." It's just one more thing to worry about.

 

[TheBigGroove]

usally they just come when they want to...oh wait

no but seriously I've only ever picked wood combinations with my ear....just because something sounds good in a mix (as in another band's recordings) doesn't mean you will like the way a wood combination sounds when you're actually playing. I've always been a proponent of the whole "tone's in your bones" kinda thing. That being said, it's not always possible to try out certain wood combinations. Carvin and Warmoth both have pretty helpful wood guides on their site. Also the construction of the guitar (bridge, pickups, neck joint) is a huge factor...like I like mahogany bodies on neckthru guitars but not bolt ons.

But in the end, it's like a lot of the guys have said: no two pieces of wood will sound alike even if they're from the same species.