Lightweight Alder body for a strat ?

[StevieRajeVagner]

Hi,
I have been playing stratocasters all my life and have been swapping parts out here and there in the years. Keeping some of my strats, selling others.

At the moment I am playing one of my dads old 70/80's strats. It has a rosewood fingerboard w. falmed maple neck and an ash body.

The guitar sounds good, but sometimes I am missing some fullness and depth. It is sometimes sharp/shrill /bright/icey sounding.
I could first try to change the pickups, but I am also looking to reduce some weight, as my shoulders start to get tight after a night of gigging with it.

The current ash body weighs 1.9 kg by itself. So not too heavy, but also not light. I dont know if it is swamp ash or northern ash.
BUT... I am planing to swap out the body for a light weight alder body.
I have found a couple online in the 1.5-1.6 kg range. Also, I had one strat with a body made from very very old pine that was weighing only 1.33 kg. and it was just a tiny bit too light (it was neck heavy), so I was thinking that 1.5-1.6 kg would be better.
My question is, do you guys have any experince with alder bodies in this weight class ? are they too light/creating neck heaviness ? how do they sound ?

Any input ? thank you in advance

 

[Guy Incognito]

Hi,
I have been playing stratocasters all my life and have been swapping parts out here and there in the years. Keeping some of my strats, selling others.

At the moment I am playing one of my dads old 70/80's strats. It has a rosewood fingerboard w. falmed maple neck and an ash body.

The guitar sounds good, but sometimes I am missing some fullness and depth. It is sometimes sharp/shrill /bright/icey sounding.
I could first try to change the pickups, but I am also looking to reduce some weight, as my shoulders start to get tight after a night of gigging with it.

The current ash body weighs 1.9 kg by itself. So not too heavy, but also not light. I dont know if it is swamp ash or northern ash.
BUT... I am planing to swap out the body for a light weight alder body.
I have found a couple online in the 1.5-1.6 kg range. Also, I had one strat with a body made from very very old pine that was weighing only 1.33 kg. and it was just a tiny bit too light (it was neck heavy), so I was thinking that 1.5-1.6 kg would be better.
My question is, do you guys have any experince with alder bodies in this weight class ? are they too light/creating neck heaviness ? how do they sound ?

Any input ? thank you in advance

I prefer a nice light Alder body. Unplugged and if not drowning in finish they can be lively/resonant. IMO, plugged in the body wood has little effect on the out the amp tone. I also don't think neck dive will be an issue.

 

[Intune]

I had a hardtail strat body that was 3lbs 13oz. Bolted on a fat Allparts neck with vintage tuners and it was neck heavy. I’m sure if it had a tremolo it would have been perfect.

From my experience if you want a strat under 8lbs you need to start with a body of any wood that is at least 3lbs 8oz. That gets you in the 7.5lbs range. To me anything under or around 7lbs for a strat feels cheap or toy like.

Sound wise I really don’t think weight or species makes that much difference when plugged in. Probably slight differences but nothing your amp or guitar controls couldn’t tweak.

 

[vivanchenko]

Resonance makes a difference for plugged and unplugged guitars. Resonant guitars sustain better, play louder, and they sound like there is a tiny bit of reverb applied to the signal.

 

[SalvorHardin]

I have had an alder body for about 41 years. I played a heavy, modern strat belonin to my school that sounded thin and tiny, with not much resonance when unplued. At the advice of my builder, I went with alder with no rerets. It's pretty well balanced: I went with a dimarzio chrome hard tail bride, and I think that helps avoid the neck dive.

 

[Intune]

Resonance makes a difference for plugged and unplugged guitars. Resonant guitars sustain better, play louder, and they sound like there is a tiny bit of reverb applied to the signal.

Which does make sense but it’s not always the case. I have CS 54 strat and many of the unplugged testers would snub their nose at this one. It’s the deadest guitar I have unplugged. Almost like the strings are rubber bands.

Plugged in and it’s actually one of the most impressive guitars I have. So articulate and responsive. It’s loud and it rips. So for me a unplugged guitars tone doesn’t really mean much. Sure a lively guitar unplugged should sound just as good plugged in. Sometimes though I don’t want my guitar plugged in to ring my fillings or give me reverb when I don’t want it.

 

[Ronkirn]

Resonance makes a difference for plugged and unplugged guitars. Resonant guitars sustain better, play louder, and they sound like there is a tiny bit of reverb applied to the signal.

can we see the data on that??

and playing a guitar unplugged to see how it will sound is like having your buds come with ya to the car dealership and push you around the block to see how a car is going to perform..

 

[vivanchenko]

can we see the data on that??

and playing a guitar unplugged to see how it will sound is like having your buds come with ya to the car dealership and push you around the block to see how a car is going to perform..

Do you know what's the definition of resonance? Here, I will reference it for you:

"The resonance is a phenomenon resulting in large amplification of oscillations which occur when the frequency of an applied force is same as the natural frequency of the system on which it acts."

Large amplification of oscillations is the key. If there is resonance then there is a large amplification of osculations, period.

Do you know based on which principle pick-ups work? It's Faraday's Law which says that a conductor moving in a magnetic field will generate electricity or an electrical signal. The more string movement the more electricity/signal you get.

 

[vivanchenko]

The guitars which lack resonance are exactly what people call "duds". They just won't ring properly. I always come across such guitars when I go to a guitar store.

 

[Ronkirn]

If there is resonance then there is a large amplification of osculations, period.

Oh. . is that speculation empirical?

 

[vivanchenko]

Speaking of data. Do you know why different notes sustain differently and why these notes are different for every guitar? This happens exactly because of resonance. Every guitar, that is every piece of wood, has unique natural vibration frequencies. The closer a note gets to natural vibration frequencies the longer it sustains.

 

[vivanchenko]

This is an official scientific definition. All scientific definitions had being proven by countless data.

 

[vivanchenko]

Here is a a schoolbook illustration of what resonance is. The video shows a bridge which collapses in moderate wind. If you scroll to 2:40 you will see that the bridge vibrates like crazy whereas the trees in the background are barley moving.

 

[Torvald]

FWIW, I just watched an interview with Derek Trucks where he was saying that he liked the lighter SG's and sought them out, because they just tended to sound better. Oddly, he said he wasn't very fussy about pickups, just used PAF types. Didn't exactly say that they resonated better, but implied it.
Seems obvious that some players hear things that others cannot. Just like eyesight varies from exceptional to blind.

 

[vivanchenko]

FWIW, I just watched an interview with Derek Trucks where he was saying that he liked the lighter SG's and sought them out, because they just tended to sound better. Oddly, he said he wasn't very fussy about pickups, just used PAF types. Didn't exactly say that they resonated better, but implied it.
Seems obvious that some players hear things that others cannot. Just like eyesight varies from exceptional to blind.

Here is another such example. Resonance is a big deal when it comes to musical instruments, electric or not.

 

[Torvald]

Here is a a schoolbook illustration of what resonance is. The video shows a bridge which collapses in moderate wind. If you scroll to 2:40 you will see that the bridge vibrates like crazy whereas the trees in the background are barley moving.

Old Galloping Gertie, we called her!

 

[rickyp]

Hi,
I have been playing stratocasters all my life and have been swapping parts out here and there in the years. Keeping some of my strats, selling others.

At the moment I am playing one of my dads old 70/80's strats. It has a rosewood fingerboard w. falmed maple neck and an ash body.

The guitar sounds good, but sometimes I am missing some fullness and depth. It is sometimes sharp/shrill /bright/icey sounding.
I could first try to change the pickups, but I am also looking to reduce some weight, as my shoulders start to get tight after a night of gigging with it.

The current ash body weighs 1.9 kg by itself. So not too heavy, but also not light. I dont know if it is swamp ash or northern ash.
BUT... I am planing to swap out the body for a light weight alder body.
I have found a couple online in the 1.5-1.6 kg range. Also, I had one strat with a body made from very very old pine that was weighing only 1.33 kg. and it was just a tiny bit too light (it was neck heavy), so I was thinking that 1.5-1.6 kg would be better.
My question is, do you guys have any experince with alder bodies in this weight class ? are they too light/creating neck heaviness ? how do they sound ?

Any input ? thank you in advance

I wouldn’t change your dads old strat. Leave it as is, save up and buy or build another one. I’m all about lightweight guitars. I won’t play a heavy strat or tele. So I get it, just wouldn’t take apart/swap out parts from my dads old guitar.

 

[micro]

Hi,
I have been playing stratocasters all my life and have been swapping parts out here and there in the years. Keeping some of my strats, selling others.

At the moment I am playing one of my dads old 70/80's strats. It has a rosewood fingerboard w. falmed maple neck and an ash body.

The guitar sounds good, but sometimes I am missing some fullness and depth. It is sometimes sharp/shrill /bright/icey sounding.
I could first try to change the pickups, but I am also looking to reduce some weight, as my shoulders start to get tight after a night of gigging with it.

The current ash body weighs 1.9 kg by itself. So not too heavy, but also not light. I dont know if it is swamp ash or northern ash.
BUT... I am planing to swap out the body for a light weight alder body.
I have found a couple online in the 1.5-1.6 kg range. Also, I had one strat with a body made from very very old pine that was weighing only 1.33 kg. and it was just a tiny bit too light (it was neck heavy), so I was thinking that 1.5-1.6 kg would be better.
My question is, do you guys have any experince with alder bodies in this weight class ? are they too light/creating neck heaviness ? how do they sound ?

Any input ? thank you in advance

Hi I hear your grief. I am no expert but I have a few guitars, and I work with wood. I don't think you can be so precise with the weight - different woods, specimens, ages, storage conditions give rise to a whole multitude of weight/stiffnesss/density and probably more variables than I know of. An electric guitar body resonates, just like an acoustic. Yep. SO how do you choose an acoustic? Yep. By ear. Unplug it - play it - a good electric body will vibrate and resonate where you feel it is right - for you of course. As an aside ... these things are of course factored in to Custom Shop prices .. they choose nice zingy wood (resonant) - I bought a totally mashed up Eric Johnson stripped body some kid had attacked with a sander , for 150 and built a guitar on it - it sings .. ( if you don't believe me the back has no screw holes and no trem cover )

 

[TheDireStrat]

Hi,
I have been playing stratocasters all my life and have been swapping parts out here and there in the years. Keeping some of my strats, selling others.

At the moment I am playing one of my dads old 70/80's strats. It has a rosewood fingerboard w. falmed maple neck and an ash body.

The guitar sounds good, but sometimes I am missing some fullness and depth. It is sometimes sharp/shrill /bright/icey sounding.
I could first try to change the pickups, but I am also looking to reduce some weight, as my shoulders start to get tight after a night of gigging with it.

The current ash body weighs 1.9 kg by itself. So not too heavy, but also not light. I dont know if it is swamp ash or northern ash.
BUT... I am planing to swap out the body for a light weight alder body.
I have found a couple online in the 1.5-1.6 kg range. Also, I had one strat with a body made from very very old pine that was weighing only 1.33 kg. and it was just a tiny bit too light (it was neck heavy), so I was thinking that 1.5-1.6 kg would be better.
My question is, do you guys have any experince with alder bodies in this weight class ? are they too light/creating neck heaviness ? how do they sound ?

Any input ? thank you in advance

Ok please do not switch out that body…
A body of 1.9 kg is by far not a heavy body— it’s around 4.1 pounds, so that’s a little bit lighter than average.
- I don’t understand what some other folks on here were saying, from my experience and other sources on the web, a high 3lb or low 4lb can easily get you in the 6lb range of guitar weight— nice and light weight. Of course this can change based off the other parts— but basically 1.9kg is more than fine— it’s really good!

- Lastly, a difference from 1.9kg to 1.6 kg (alder body you are considering) is 300 grams. A 300 grams difference. That’s like 6 eggs, or 2 oranges.
Is it really worth all the hassle of ordering, spending a good amount of cash, then paying shipping, duties, then worrying if the colour is alright, the grain is nice, etc, for two freaking oranges difference in weight?? I don’t think so!

- You do what you want, but my advice to you is that it isn’t worth it— for getting better tone I’d look at amp settings, effects and pickups first before changing wood.

 

[Tremdaddy]

Most of my Strats are alder but my lightest weight one is a 2014 Custom Shop '54 Reissue. Ash, weighs 7lbs 1oz. Not neck heavy at all, even with the big U shaped neck. Very resonant, as is my Custom Shop '51 Nocaster Reissue, also ash with big neck. Just over 7 lbs also. I don't have a strong preference for ash vs alder but the ash seems a little "airier" where the alder is a bit more "dense" if that's the right word. Both woods can be resonant. Most of the 70's and early 80's Strats I've played are super heavy and not resonant.