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Post by groovergeorge on Mar 7, 2007 4:50:48 GMT -7
Those G&L's were great sounding guitars but they were definitely a lot different to your average tele and even there asat classic model. Those top loading bridges and big magnetic field pickups contributed a lot to that.
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Post by BW on Mar 7, 2007 6:43:41 GMT -7
Dale has a good thing goin' on over there, he has a new take on his compensated tele saddles that a lot of tele pickers are interested in....
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Post by hdahs143 on Mar 7, 2007 8:18:14 GMT -7
There are definitely some tonal differences between ash and alder. I'm an alder guy. It seems to have a more solid fundamental lower mid sound built into it. Ash is nice, but a little too bright and airy for me. But to me, one of the big keys to getting that twang, is a maple neck and fingerboard. The notes are just tighter and got mo' pop to 'em. I like rosewood as well, but if I could only have one, it would be maple. www.andersonguitars.com/toneLibInfo.htmlThat's Tom Andersons take. Interesting reading. Congrats on the Crook.
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Post by hermyinaz on Mar 7, 2007 18:35:31 GMT -7
Hey hdahs143 thanks for the link.....looks like there is some interesting reading to do......Yeah I like alder as well the only thing my custom shop tele with alder was probably just to heavy ya know coming in at 8lbs .... I guess it was just to much weight for getting the tones I want and I know it wasn't the amps fault ha ha .....Maybe mine perhaps ......but anyway I appreciate the help.....thanks, Bryan......Man I love this forum......Best on the NET.....................In my opinion anyway ......
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Post by OG Mini Z on Mar 9, 2007 21:07:27 GMT -7
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Post by jwr on Mar 9, 2007 22:34:39 GMT -7
Greg's a monster player. He's always got a good tone and he's a nice guy, I spoke with him once over the phone at Bogner.
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Post by chipstar75 on Mar 12, 2007 17:03:40 GMT -7
I agree with benttop its not as much thr wood as it is the other varibles. I had this discussion with Bill Callaham. i told him i heard swamp ash was tonefully the way to go. He said " i bet If I made two guitars,one swamp ash and one alder, you couldnt tell the difference in tone " Im sure he is right.
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Post by hdahs143 on Mar 12, 2007 20:32:59 GMT -7
See that's where the catch is. Alder is generally significantly heavier than Swamp Ash. I agree that there are alot of factors that contribute to the final tone. Weight is certainly one of them. My T/A Hollow Drop Top Classic doesn't have the same punch as either my completely solid Tele or Strat. And it's way lighter than either. But as for the contention that the type of body wood has little to do with the tone of the instrument, I personally disagree. That would be like making a Les Paul with Alder and an Ash top instead of the standard mahogany with maple top, and expecting it to sound the same. It simply wouldn't.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Mar 12, 2007 22:35:10 GMT -7
See that's where the catch is. Alder is generally significantly heavier than Swamp Ash. I agree that there are alot of factors that contribute to the final tone. Weight is certainly one of them. My T/A Hollow Drop Top Classic doesn't have the same punch as either my completely solid Tele or Strat. And it's way lighter than either. But as for the contention that the type of body wood has little to do with the tone of the instrument, I personally disagree. That would be like making a Les Paul with Alder and an Ash top instead of the standard mahogany with maple top, and expecting it to sound the same. It simply wouldn't. Ah, very true. But you don't want Tele tones out of that Les Paul, and I think that's where the observation applies. My Grosh is Alder and it's the lightest Tele I've ever hefted. You can get light or heavy wood in either, apparently. I know swamp ash is lighter than regular ash. So as I said, if you can get a nice light piece of swamp ash, or your other choice is a heavy hunk of alder, defintely go with the swamp ash. But if the weights are reversed, go with the alder. I'm sure there is some minimal difference in tone just from the wood, but in my view the weight is a larger contributor to the difference. Stated another way, if both pieces of wood were the identical weight, you might still hear a difference, but it would be pretty small. Now build your Tele out of Mahogany and you got another whole ball game.
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Post by billyguitar on Mar 13, 2007 6:28:03 GMT -7
A local builder, Dave Wendler, uses cedar for his solid bodies. He doesn't do Tele types, he builds his own unique guitars. His guitars sound great and they only weigh 4 or 5 pounds.
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Post by (8^D) on Mar 13, 2007 9:07:19 GMT -7
Dale has a good thing goin' on over there, he has a new take on his compensated tele saddles that a lot of tele pickers are interested in.... I remember a few years back Dale telling me about this idea he had for a tele parts business... Dale is a great player and always has great tone. Very vintage vibe (as you could well imagine). You can absolutely take to heart the comments by Redd Volkaert and Steve Rhian. Redd...wow. Steve's another sic player...geesh. Beyond humbling watching him work... Now, I'm homesick for TX...
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Post by (8^D) on Mar 13, 2007 9:11:19 GMT -7
Regarding the thread caption, equal weights, I think Alder has a warmer/meatier mid-range vs. Ash - which seems a bit brighter overall.
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Post by Curt on Mar 13, 2007 9:19:59 GMT -7
Here's a shot of Steve Rhian @ work with Deryl Dodd at a recent show we did with them, Steve has such a unique style,,just a monster player; And Dale Clark.....man can he get it done....builds his own guitars too, I played one made of paualina (sp?) at a show and it weighed under 5# ! Have ya seen what Dale can do with a Gut String ?
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Mar 13, 2007 9:42:03 GMT -7
A local builder, Dave Wendler, uses cedar for his solid bodies. He doesn't do Tele types, he builds his own unique guitars. His guitars sound great and they only weigh 4 or 5 pounds. Wow, I've never heard of using cedar for a solid body, but that might make a pretty toneful guitar. I love cedar tops on acoustic guitars, but a cedar solid body... interesting!
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Post by (8^D) on Mar 13, 2007 12:36:03 GMT -7
Here's a shot of Steve Rhian @ work with Deryl Dodd at a recent show we did with them, Steve has such a unique style,,just a monster player; And Dale Clark.....man can he get it done....builds his own guitars too, I played one made of paualina (sp?) at a show and it weighed under 5# ! Have ya seen what Dale can do with a Gut String ? Great pic! You know there's a cool groove happenin' when BOTH the bassist AND guitarist have the "lean" goin' on! ;D Ah, and a TX bucket-o-beer to finish out the vibe. What was Steve playin' thru...doesn't look like one of his Sewells? Thought he'd stopped draggin that showman or dual professional around.
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Post by Curt on Mar 13, 2007 13:09:47 GMT -7
Gotta have "the Bucket" ;^) I think Steve has a Dual Pro? Been modded by someone in Nashville and sounds awesome, better than the Sewell IMO. This was a low watter of another brand..............
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Post by hermyinaz on Mar 16, 2007 16:44:56 GMT -7
I think I saw Steve at Namm in January ....or at least his twin......I heard if you get to light of body that you lose alot of bass response is that true ? But it seems you really have to have a light guitar though to get that bright, twangy sound, so what gives ?
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Mar 16, 2007 17:36:59 GMT -7
I think I saw Steve at Namm in January ....or at least his twin......I heard if you get to light of body that you lose alot of bass response is that true ? But it seems you really have to have a light guitar though to get that bright, twangy sound, so what gives ? Well what are you playing? If you're looking for a jazz sound, the Tele's probably all wrong from the get go, no matter what wood it's made of. OTOH, if you're playing country or rock, that Tele sound works great.
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Post by hermyinaz on Mar 16, 2007 23:33:40 GMT -7
Yeah pretty much all country stuff......I just didn't want to lose all of the bass with to light of a body.......but oh well that's alright, that's what multiple guitars are for .......B.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Mar 17, 2007 13:12:00 GMT -7
Talking to my local expert here today and he rebuffed me a bit. He said that he prefers Swamp Ash, and light is good but not too light. He says if you get a big plank of it that the weight will vary all over the place from end to end. He likes the middle ground best. So YMMV on this whole deal - one of the reasons I like dealing with a great guitar maker like Don Grosh. He can take any weight and any wood and make it sound great.
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Post by hermyinaz on Mar 17, 2007 15:22:32 GMT -7
Yeah I will look into Grosh's guitars as well.....thanks for the info.........B
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