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Electric Guitar Body Woods

What are the tonal differences between Alder, Ash, Poplar, Basswood, Mahogany and Maple?

Alder is full and rich, with flat low-end, nice cutting mids, and good overall warmth and sustain. Alder is generally considered to be one of the "traditional" Stratocaster body woods.

Ash exhibits a "snappier" tone with a bright edge, but with a warm bass and long sustain. It is often considered as the other "traditional" Stratocaster body wood.

Poplar is one of the softer hardwoods, nicely resonant with a meaty tone. Many guitar manufacturers use this wood as a substitute for alder, as it is quite similar in tone.

Basswood is the principal wood used on most Japanese- and Korean-made instruments. This is due both to its tonal response (very similar to Alder), as well as the fact that Basswood is much more readily available to the manufacturers in Asia.

Mahogany has deep warm mids, good sustain and nice "bite."

Maple is punchy, bright and has a nice bite on the high end. It is often used as a laminated top instead of an entire body, as it tends to be a particularly heavy wood.

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