Scali
Banned
For example, has anyone ever done a FAIR comparison between basswood and alder? In other words, play 2 guitars that are EXACTLY the same except for the body wood?
I have an Ibanez RG570CT, which is identical to a regular RG570 (and now the RG1570 prestige) in every respect, except for the body wood, which is alder instead of basswood.
There's a clear difference, not only in the sound itself, but the alder also has a different feel to it. Basswood is much softer, and somehow you feel it when you're holding the guitar. Like it vibrates in a completely different way or something.
In general I'd say the alder has more sustain, and has a more lively sound to it because of its strong high-end response. Basswood sounds more 'hollow' or 'scooped' I think.
In my case, the alder is the reason why I bought this one, instead of a regular basswood RG. It had something in the tone that the other RGs didn't deliver (or various other superstrat guitars in that priceclass for that matter).
Edit: it's the guitar I used in the video I posted here a few days ago:
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/ge...tube-i-thought-it-was-time-for-a-new-jam.html
Hard to make a direct comparison because I don't have a video with a basswood RG... but nevertheless, I think you can hear a certain 'Strat-like' quality to the tone, that's uncommon for an RG. And that I think is the alder you hear.
The guitar is all stock, so you're just hearing the usual V7-S1-V8 pickups that are also used in the basswood models.