Wood Quality

[Curtis Steinhauer]

Hello,

I am gearing up to build my first electric guitar, have read up tons and am still doing re search before I go off buying materials. Now I know that when it comes to woods like Spruce and Cedar there can be a world of difference in quality from tree to tree. My family owns a few cedar mills, and some blocks we buy and cut into shingles for $300 a cord, where other's come in, get dubbed music wood, and get sold for $300 a block. When it comes to Alder though, what is the difference between the 100 dollar blanks from stewmac and the straight vertical grained 2x10 bieng sold for $20 at my local lumber yard? Does the wood have more grains per inch? I know here's no figure on a piece of Alder worth 80 bucks. Is it just way marked up from how many hands it's touched? I'm on the Western Olympic Peninsula in Washington (aka Alder Heaven) so if that's just the wood I see here bieng shipped to Pennsylvania and sold to me marked up I don't want to be the sucker that buys it.

Any thoughts?

[Steve Senseney]

I think the difference is $80.

You probably have better wood in your slash piles.

When you are cutting up trees for lumber, you get a lot of straight logs with few branches. These will produce wood which will be easy to mill and work into any kind of wood work. Then you have a tree with branches in the wrong place, and insect damage and some discoloration from impending rot. This would not even be cut up in a usual logging operation. This is the tree with the wildest grain pattern. If you can find a piece that you like and fit a guitar face on it, you will have a more interesting instrument.

[Curtis Steinhauer]

But as far as tone goes you don't think there is a difference?

[Steve Senseney]

Electric guitar--Most of the tone is related to the pickups and amplification. A piece of alder with straight grain will sound the same as a piece with knots (solid of course). Wood density varies with in species. A tree which grows faster or slower will be different than the tree standing next to it which had better (or worse) light. This might make a slight difference for an acoustic but very minimal for an electric.

Acoustic guitars--Vague differences exist between species, but it is so hard to judge which is best or worse. Every guitar sounds a little different, but one day I like one, and the next day, I like a different guitar. A "Tone wood" dealer will pick pieces which are quarter sawn and dried appropriately. You can't tell what an instrument will sound like just because of the color of the wood, or the grain pattern. The density of the wood correlates with some of the sound transmission characteristics of the top and back and ribs. Using the bracing, glue and bridge design modifies all of this a little. If you go beyond the simple ideas I mention, you are drifting into the area of the mystic and spiritual world of guitar building!!! Enjoy the ride.

[Chuck Tweedy]

But as far as tone goes you don't think there is a difference?

Yes!! There is a difference!!
Your wood will sound MUCH better than the stuff that gets cut in WA, shipped to Ohio, then shipped all the way back to WA.

Seriously, you have the pick of the litter there - use it!!