Conference napalm::guitar

    For a Tele I would use swamp ash, for a Strat alder.  Good alder has
    a sweeter tone than ash and seems to work well for Strats.  That said,
    I'm not *that* crazy about the alder see today; it seemed better back
    when Leo was building em.
    
    For non-traditional, I just tried out a great Strat-style with solid
    maple body.  Maple various greatly depending on the type; hard
    varieties are heavy and don't seem to work well for body woods, but
    softer maples are lighter and have a bright sweet tone.
    
    /rick
    

    I guess it depends on what kind of finish you plan to put on this.
    The first Strats were made of Ash which is very dense and heavy. 
    The '54 re-issue Strat is made of Ash. These were generally 
    finished with a 2-color sunburst through which a lot of the grain
    could show through. These make great looking sunbursts IMHO.
    
    Later on Fender started building Strats out of Alder. Alder is 
    lighter than Ash and not quite as nice looking. It has a warmer
    sound than Ash. Ash tends to produce a bright tone.
    
    Swamp Ash is sort of a mix of the two, it's light and airy like
    Alder, but has more of a bight like Ash. It is favored by many. 
    
    I would say if you plan to put a solid color finish over this, I
    would go with either Alder or Swamp ash. If you plan to put a
    natural finish, sunburst, or transparent color, which will leave
    the wood grain showing, Ash is your best bet. You might also 
    consider getting a body with a curly/quilted maple cap. If
    you like spectacular-looking wood, quilted or flamed maple is 
    probably your best choice. A maple cap over Alder or swamp ash
    will give you the best of 3 worlds. The Alder/swamp ash body
    will help keep the weight down, the maple will provide a little
    more bight as well as the stunning appearance. 
    
    Here are a few more things to keep in mind. You can build a truly 
    unique custom instrument by going this route. If you do it right
    you can get an instrument comparable to many high-end (expensive)
    instruments. Despite this, these instruments are very hard to ever
    re-sell. No one wants to buy an instrument made of parts unless the
    price is ridiculously low. There are a few that have been for sale
    in the Mass Want-Advertizer for more than a year. No one is beating
    down their doors to buy these. I speak from personal experience.
    I built a P-bass clone from parts. After a while I lost interest
    and tried to sell it. I ended up trading it and took a hosing on
    what I spent for parts. This trend started in the late 70's when
    Fender Quality bottomed out. It seems to be much less popular these
    days.
    
    Mark
    
    
    

    Yeah, a better strategy is to buy someone else's state-of-the-art parts
    guitar project for next to nothing (only half :-)
    
    One comment on maple-topped alder. I've played and owned several
    solidbodys like this and was never happy with any of them.  It almost
    seemed to me that the combination cancelled out the good qualities
    of each.  Just my opinion, your mileage may vary.
    

    Thanks for the comments. What about koa, zebra wood, mahogony, walnut,
    lacewood, etc.? The idea of buying someone else's project has a great
    deal of merit as well. I check the Want Advertizer periodically and am
    aware of the "Custom Strat" adds. I want to do a custom once in a
    lifetime (at least for me) guitar. Money is only an issue upfront, I'll
    probably end up giving it to one of my kids when they get older. I'm
    not a whammy kind of guy, so I was thinking of having a 2Tek bridge put
    on. I've already acquired a set of Rio Grande MUE GRANDE red tortoise
    shell pickups. I've hand tooled and dyed a leather pickguard (what the
    h*ll why not). And now I'm toying with the idea (from a PBS special
    on making Stradivarius violins) of getting a fresh cut piece of wood
    and using an inert water displacement compound as a drying agent.
    According to this special, Antonio used this method to keep the cell
    structure inplace on his tone woods. Sound farfetched? Would it have
    any noticable affect on a solid body electric guitar? Don't know
    but I'm willing to try.
    
    Rich

    I've tried the Koa wood.   I think it does have a sweet tone, but then
    again, your mileage may vary.   I saw only one zebra wood guitar.  It
    was very nice to look at, but due to it's unique shape, was a little
    harsh.
    The most important thing for me is the balance between the guitar and
    the power of the pickups.  I had an Ibanez once with super-high-output
    turbo charged :) pickups and sounded like an electric I-beam.  Not
    enough real wood in it.
    My main guitar is Koa with hot pickups and it's very well behaved.  I
    think it could stand even more power.  (like, it goes to 11)
    
    I think you will enjoy "designing" your own, even if you only pick
    options out of a catalog.  It really does make it special
    Mike
    

    
    
    I'm not sure about a guitar, but I've got a KOA bass and it
    seems that the KOA imparts a warmer, more rich tone. This is
    a must for the bass... you skinny-string players might have 
    other opinions on it...
    
    /Bill_K

    re: .6
    I've heard lots of bass players talk about the incredible difference
    that koa makes on a "fat-string" instrument.  It may be that it is
    not as noticable on a guitar, but I don't think so.  I submit that 
    most people can't tell the difference 'cuz the tone is covered by
    distortion. ;-)
    
    I have never heard a hollow-body koa guitar yet.   I wonder if it
    would be way too cool?
    Mike
    

    Koa's nice, but tends to be heavy.  This is okay for muscular bass
    players, but you girly-man six-stringers may not be able to handle
    it.
    
    :-)
    

    That's as close to a challenge as I've heard in this note...  ;-)
    For me, the koa was lighter than my last instrument, so I found a
    new freedom in playing.
    
    (I could actually stand up...)  many :-) 's
    
    Mike     who, at 6'3 and 210lbs, does not get called a girly-man often
        

    Mike is a shrimp - trust me.  Could barely pull that gibson outta 
    da case...
    
    :-)

>>  Mike     who, at 6'3 and 210lbs, does not get called a girly-man often
        
    Hey Mike, ever thought of taking up the bass?
    
    :-)
    

    Bass guitar is for people who can't do chord substitutions!

    What's a chord?  If I had one, why would I want a substitute?
    

    
    	Rick, don't be a silly goose.  It's that long wire thing that
    	stretches from your guitar to your amp.  Chord substitutions
    	are also called "Wireless systems".
    
    	You're welcome,
    	Tom
    

    
    I thought "chord-substitution" was that never-ending process
    you go thru trying to get the damn PA to work every weekend????
    
    /Bill_K

    re: .11
    OK, challenge accepted.   If I need to get respect by playing bass,
    well, I'll try it.
    
    re: .14 & .15
    These are indeed wise words.  Just how do these people get so wise, I
    ask myself.  Could it be from experience?  
    
    Wise man say: "There is no such thing as a "cheap" cable"
    
    re: Coop
    Jeez, I guess I can't keep a secret around here!   :-)
    
    Now to stay on topic:  I *STILL* think Koa is lighter than a standard
    Gibson Les Paul or L6 style.  Now, lots of mfgrs are doing Mahogany
    'cuz the koa is endangered.  (Carvin wants about $200 to add koa)
    Anybody try that?  Some say mahogany is just as cool as koa....
    
    Mike  (who now looks for a bass to prove manhood)
    

re: .16
    
>    Now to stay on topic:  I *STILL* think Koa is lighter than a standard
>    Gibson Les Paul or L6 style.  

*Anything* is lighter than a Les Paul!  Except a Twin Reverb, of course. :-)

-Hal

    Les Pauls got heavy in the late 60's.  They got really heavy in the
    early 80's.  If you ever get a chance to pick up a 50's Les Paul,
    you'll find most of these are surprisingly light, comfortable, and
    resonant.  I've road tested several of the new Historic Collection
    Les Pauls, which supposedly strive to be accurate 50's reproductions,
    and these usually weigh in fairly light as well.
    
    Re other exotic wood choices, zebrawood is an interesting alternative.
    I actually know of only one solid zebrawood electric, Jack Casady's
    original "Revolution" Alembic (the first production Alembic, #001).
    The current owner of this bass told me it's 'acoustically' the best
    solidbody bass he's ever heard.  I've also personally owned an Alembic
    Persuader with zebrawood top over mahogany core; again, an excellent
    sounding instrument and easily the best Persuader I've ever tried.
    
    /rick
    

    
    >*Anything* is lighter than a Les Paul!  Except a Twin Reverb, of
    course....
    
    ... and anything made by Ampeg, most of the old "Kustom" line, and
    even a stomp box, if it's the last thing to go in the truck at the
    end of a long load-out.  
    Persepective is a dangerous thing.
    
    -Mike not_as_young_as_he_thinks_

    re: .18
    I didn't realize a solid zebra wood guitar was so rare.
    
    I saw one in Denver - probably won't see it again.  I don't think I
    should have drooled on it.  :)
    
    -Mike
    

re: .19
    
>    >*Anything* is lighter than a Les Paul!  Except a Twin Reverb, of
>    course....
>    
>    ... and anything made by Ampeg, most of the old "Kustom" line, and
>    even a stomp box, if it's the last thing to go in the truck at the
>    end of a long load-out.  

Actually, I own a Precision Bass, which is probably also heavier than
a Les Paul.  Never let facts get in the way of a good story.  :-)

    
>    -Mike not_as_young_as_he_thinks_

-Hal not_as_young_as_you_think

    
    I think the old P-basses and J-basses were made outta swamp-ash.
    I know my old j-bass is like a boat anchor around the neck, 
    but it's got the sweetest tone.. so it's worth it.
    I paid the extra bucks to Carvin for the Koa, and I'm more
    than happy with the tone and sustain (I also paid the extra
    bucks for the tung oil finish on the back of the neck.. which I
    highly recommend). I'm certainly no expert on the acoustic qualities
    of different wood, but it seems that the more dense the wood, the
    better the tone and sustain. I had a Peavey DynaBass that was set
    up perfect, great active packups, bridge, neck, etc... It just never
    had the tone and sustain I wanted, which I attribute to the it being
    made out of something akin to balsa!!