#1
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Ash or Alder
I have a 1996 50th year anniversary American Standard Strat...sunburst. It seems heavier than my friends white Strat of the same year. Is my guitar ash or alder? Have done some research with conflicting results. I am wondering if different wood was used depending on color.
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1980 Ovation Legend Larrivee L09 Yamaha CG142S Classical Fender 1996 American Standard Strat Epiphone Elitist Casino Kanai Lal Sitar |
#2
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I’m sorry I can’t tell you what wood was used for the body of your guitar, but I can tell you that yes, Fender absolutely does use different woods for differently finished bodies. I’m surprised you can’t find a descriptor somewhere saying what they used on yours. Most times anything with a very apparent grain pattern showing thru the finish an ash, swamp ash or mahogany type is being used. Solid color paint and two or three color bursts are normally basswood or alder.
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I love playing guitar |
#3
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Email Fender with the serial number - they should have the specs for it.
Guessing that Fender had the standard American production model as well as the "50th Anniversary" edition that year, which is what you said you have. It wouldn't surprise me if that the standard model was alder and the 50th anniversary was ash, which would account for the differences you're reading about. |
#4
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If you can see the grain of the wood underneath the colour of the guitar (like whitewash) then it's ash, otherwise it's a good guess that it will be alder. (Alder is generally heavier also).
Save for a few models which Fender offers in ash, Fender uses alder for just about everything else and has done since the late 50's. (I have a Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster and they are both alder). All those custom colours were painted over alder bodies for the most part. (Doesn't soak up the paint like ash). Can confirm with a picture of the guitar in question but if I was to guess, it would be alder. Last edited by Steel and wood; 11-26-2020 at 04:26 PM. |
#5
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I don’t know if weight will tell you much. My two identical Fender American Standard Strats are ash. One is significantly heavier than the other.
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- Res “There’s no end to what I don’t know” |
#6
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Quote:
Alder is generally heavier than ash, but there's always going to be exceptions. |
#7
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Except his point was that some ash guitars weigh more than others. Not that ash can weigh as much as alder.
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#8
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Quote:
Same inconsistencies are true with any wood. (Some guitars heavier than same others with the same wood be it alder, ash, mahogany, etc. because of density differences). Last edited by Steel and wood; 11-26-2020 at 10:08 PM. |
#9
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In my experience an ash strat body can weigh 3.4lbs or it can be 5.8lbs for example, ditto alder, ditto mahogany.
So it's difficult to tell what the body wood is by weight alone. The vintage Fenders and some custom shop Fender were swamp ash which is desirable and light, but just recently Fender has stopped using ash in regular production models. |