Basswood vs. maple(He really meant to say Mahogany) bodies

Maple is too heavy for a body. George Lynch likes it... I'm a Koa fan personally.

I think though bright a maple body would be rather spanky. I like a maple neck and fretboard on a Strat or Tele but that is about as much maple as I can handle outside of a maple cap on a darker sounding wood like mahogany.

A good friend of mine ordered a custom Fender bass, years ago. He ended up getting rid of it due to its weight. He also didn't like the tone of it at the time.

On the acoustic side, though, I sure like the Taylor GS with maple body and a spruce top. It's a very sweet sounding guitar.

Taylor makes some nice guitars. I am glad they are so close (SD).

Sorry rabies. I digress.

Mahogany will give you more bite and sustain than a basswood guitar. I think that the basswood has a tendancy to be warmer sounding.

Basswood kind of sucks for tone. I much prefer Mahogany. I have played lots of guitars and ended up playing Gibsons for a long time. I just recently got a Strat again (12 years without one). Mine has a maple neck and I like the bite of it. Though that guitar is alder it is nice for what it is, a Strat. I was tired of lifeless tone coming from the superstrats when I gave up on them. They sure were fun to play but I much prefer the tone I have had without having a Floyd and a wafer thin neck.

I have one basswood guitar, and its a semi-hollow. Because its a semi-hollow you get more of that warm woody sound, but it is also pronounced in the highs.

I can't comment on ceramic pups, I've never had them. I have an alder American Deluxe Strat and Tele w/maple necks. They are slightly brighter and have a little more spank than ones with rosewood necks. The ones with rosewood are a bit warmer.

Could it be that because your LP has a shorter scale that you get a rounder attack? Isn't the RG1570 a 25 1/2" scale vs. a 24 3/4?

+1 Maple necks tend to give a brighter bite because their hardwood cell structure and resonance vs. the rosewood.

Basswood kind of sucks for tone. I much prefer Mahogany.

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I hear ya Russ. The guitar that I was talking about above was an earlier model and since the bodies have been changed to Mahogany by the manufacturer.

That was a smart move. Mahogany is a great wood choice for a guitar body.

Rabies, On the Ibanez site, if you click on the the underscored portion of the neck specs it states a 25 1/2 scale on the neck. You have to dig a little for the info.

Russ, I wish that I had gotten the mahogany, but it came out right after I ordered it. I bought it for more of a vintage look and sound. I'm glad that I have it. I got it with a Bigsby and it has that 50's look to it. It's a pain in the butt to restring, but that's life.

Oh Rabies, here's where it tells you the scale on the Ibanez...

http://ibanez.com/eg/guitar.aspx?m=RG1570&s=n&u=150#detail

I'm not sure. I know that if I try to play one of my Rev's. and then go to my Tele, it messes me all up. (Not that it takes that much! :lol: ) I'm not a lead player.

I played Fender scale before (25 1/2). It was easy to go to Gibson scale (24 3/4). I have a hard time now not having played Fender scale in such a long time (12 years) without at least constantly watching myself while I play my Strat. Because I played Les Pauls for so long, I also have to really be conscious of my right hand placement on anything else, even my other Gibsons. I have to look a little for knobs and such with the V's and Explorer. The SG i still have to look for the switch. But for some strange reason, I know exactly where the controls are on a Strat once I place my right hand. The slightly different necks take a couple minutes to adjust to between the Gibsons, but I really have to watch my left hand on the Fender.

I find that it is fairly easy to go to a 24 3/4 scale too. It's the neck's width that messes with my right hand. Funny, it's easier for me to from narrow to wide than vice versa. Once you make the adjustment, then it's OK.

Russ said:

Basswood kind of sucks for tone. I much prefer Mahogany... but I much prefer the tone I have had without having a Floyd and a wafer thin neck.

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You think Basswood sucks, try multi-ply plywood Kramer Focus, Charvettes (Charvel), Jacksons that flood the market during the hair bands of the 80s era especially w/ Floyd Rose and FR license.

I build guitars of many different woods. Between mahogany and basswood, and for most applications I would prefer mahogany. But basswood do get a bad rap just because its inexpensive compared to the other woods. But for ceramic magnet hi-gain pickups, you'll find in most case, a basswood guitar smooth out the harshness of ceramic pickups. Remember I said most case because someone is going dispute and say their mahogany guitar equip w/ ceramic pickups sounds great. Its ear of the beholder.

I now there's a member here that will dispute my case about basswood (its not you Russ, you've been pretty informative), but until he himself build a guitar from scratch, I'll rest my case.

Basswood gets a bad rap by many, but I don't think it should. I own guitars with different kinds of wood and even an Ibanez similar to Rabies 1570 (mine is a 2550). I am selling mine, but not because of the wood. Ironically, I've used the 2550 to record many tv commercials (who would have thought?) The reason I am selling mine is more because of the neck radius. In fact I am going to order a Suhr with a basswood body real soon. Suhr has a small discussion about woods, check it out:

www.suhrguitars.com/wood.aspx

My suggestion: Sell all your guitars and get a Suhr, you'll never regret it.

Just played my first Suhr yesterday, a local dealer started carrying them. Very nice and refined strat style guitar. I can't wait to try the models with buckers.

Check out Tone Merchants in Orange Co. and try some of the Suhr's there. It will give you a idea of the craftmanship. Be warned, you'll have a hard time going back to anything else...... :shock: