Music + Technology = Pete Lacis

A while back I wrote this post concerning the differences between alder and swamp ash when used in a strat-style guitar and what tones/genres of music those combinations suited best. I originally wrote that post to satisfy my own curiosity, but also to share with others and participate in discussion. Three years later it is still the most searched topic on this site and continues to bring in a steady stream of traffic. Apparently I’m not the only one curious about these things….

Since I wrote the original post, I realized that I was missing a big chunk of the puzzle: how the wood the neck and fingerboard were made from influence the tone of the instrument. I realized the only way to truly see this was by comparing the two most popular neck wood combinations for a strat-style guitar (maple neck with rosewood fingerboard and one piece maple neck & fingerboard) on the same guitar.

To conduct this comparison I used two Suhr Classic guitars with identical electronics (V60LP pickups and the Silent Single Coil system). One was alder with a one piece maple neck and the other, swamp ash with a maple neck and Brazilian rosewood fingerboard. I recorded both clean and dirty passages utilizing every pickup combination on each guitar, then swapped the necks and repeated the process.

note: swapping necks on a Suhr guitar will void your warranty if the factory doesn’t perform the work.

What follows below are the audio clips organized by pickup position so that you can  compare the sounds of the different wood combinations within the same context.

NECK POSITION – CLEAN TONES

Alder Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

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Alder Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

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Swamp Ash Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

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Swam Ash Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

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NECK POSITION – DIRTY TONES

Alder Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

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Alder Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

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Swamp Ash Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

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Swam Ash Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

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NECK + MIDDLE POSITION – CLEAN TONES

Alder Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

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Alder Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

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Swamp Ash Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

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Swam Ash Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

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NECK + MIDDLE POSITION – DIRTY TONES

Alder Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

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Alder Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

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Swamp Ash Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

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Swam Ash Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

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MIDDLE POSITION – CLEAN TONES

Alder Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

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Alder Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

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Swamp Ash Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

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Swam Ash Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

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MIDDLE POSITION – DIRTY TONES

Alder Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

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Alder Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

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Swamp Ash Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

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Swam Ash Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

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MIDDLE + BRIDGE POSITION – CLEAN TONES

Alder Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

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Alder Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

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Swamp Ash Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

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Swam Ash Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

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MIDDLE + BRIDGE POSITION – DIRTY TONES

Alder Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Alder Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Swamp Ash Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Swam Ash Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

BRIDGE POSITION – CLEAN TONES

Alder Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Alder Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Swamp Ash Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Swam Ash Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

BRIDGE POSITION – DIRTY TONES

Alder Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Alder Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

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Swamp Ash Body – Once Piece Maple Neck

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Swam Ash Body – Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard

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audio clips, guitar, musical instruments alder, comparison, maple, neck swap, rosewood, strat, stratocaster, suhr, swamp ash, v60lp

As I’ve been finding myself lately really gravitating to the sound of my VOS 1960 plain top Les Paul Standard, I’ve become curious as to why folks chose Les Paul Standards over Les Paul Customs and vice-versa.

Through my own observations, I’d say that most organic classic rock stuff (Allmans, Zeppelin, Skynard, Aerosmith, etc) tends to be played on Standards (with Fogarty & Framptom being the exceptions) while more metal tends to be played on Customs (John Sykes, Zakk Wylde, Adam Jones (Tool), Randy Rhodes, etc).

I also realize that there are a few different variations of the Custom including the fact that several were all mahogany (no maple top i.e. Black Beauty I believe) while others sported maple necks instead of mahogany (namely 70′s era Customs favored by Wylde & Sykes).

So to that point, what style of Les Paul would you use for which styles of music? I’ve been thinking about getting a ’68 reissue custom (black one at Wildwood), but I really love the organic nature of my VOS Standard and wonder if I would wander away from the tones that I favor by going the Custom route.

To help gain perspective on this, I’ve posted these sames questions along with a poll at Huge Racks Inc and The Gear Page.  Please visit the threads to cast your vote and participate in the conversation.

guitar, music, musical instruments classic rock, ebony, Gibson, les paul custom, les paul standard, mahogany, maple, metal, rosewood