So from a tone perspective does a traditional mahogany back with maple top guitar body sound the same as a mahogany center with maple wings? I'm considering ordering a custom guitar build and I was going to go with a traditional "LP type construction" on a strat body but while looking for options I noticed that neckthru guitars sometimes use the wing sections of the body with another wood and also for example the newer Petrucci's BFR models use a mahogany center block and add other woods to the wings.
BTW this would be a bold on guitar.
A Mahogany body / Maple top guitar will def sound different than a Mahogany centerpiece with Maple wings.... (more/less mass/volume of the woods....)
The EBMM JP BFR (starting with the JPX...but that one was chambered as well) featured a Alder Body with a Mahogany tone block and a mahogany neck with an Ebony fretboard.....
The current model is Basswood with Mahogany tone block and Maple top IIRC....also the neck/fretboard is now Maple/Rosewood.
I´ll also have a custom guitar made to my specs next year which will be Mahogany body with maple top and Paoferro neck and fretboard, bolt-on with stainless steel frets.
The neck construction/composition makes for a big part of the overall tone.....
Hey El, SC is on the money here, all the combinations sound different (even down to the really bad (e.g. in construction terms the way Gibson make their necks with the peg head carved from one piece of mahogany (I suspect they get 2 necks from a big blank, one each direction) so the grains run straight behind the nut (very short distance)) (and they break really easily at that point, fixed quite a few, I assume they continue to do this because of the neck sound (otherwise it's just really stupid and wasteful))).
You combine woods for the sound and application you want. Mahogany is softer/spongy (sound wise) warm, reasonably well balanced, lacks really crisp tops (why LPs have 1/2" of carved maple on top) but well rounded (great for back, sides and neck of acoustic guitar designed for studio use). Maple is crisp, a little edgy but lacks warmth to some extent. Rosewood (Paoferro) is different again, great for fingerboard (as fights you a bit, so not as slippery as ebony), but good for acoustic back and sides for live (projects well, is crisper than mahogany).
Of all the guitars I have, the best all rounder is the Anderson: Basswood body (I like :thumb-up: and not too heavy), maple neck with Paoferro (very nice rosewood) fretboard, stainless steel fretts and Ultrasonic PUs... While I love my new(ish) JPLP, the Anderson is by far a better guitar. That combination of wood works very well (so my recommendation for a custom build)
IMO I would go with maple top over mahogany. While I cant elaborate into to great of detail, one of my guitars has a sandwich config (maple/walnut) with a bolt on neck. That particular guitar seems to, while still sounding good, not sustain nearly as well as another guitar by the same builder that i have with the top/back construction.
Quote from: kawai2g4b on June 16, 2015, 12:12:14 PM
..., one of my guitars has a sandwich config (maple/walnut) with a bolt on neck. That particular guitar seems to, while still sounding good, not sustain nearly as well as another guitar by the same builder that i have with the top/back construction.
When you say sandwich config you meen maple center and walnut wings?
Yes, exactly!
My 2¢
My favorite sounding guitars are mahogany with maple tops. I have had several basswood body guitars, and all felt fine but sounded thin in the mix. I never embraced them, though I tried. My favorite necks are the ones Ibanez put in their Korean made models around 2004-2006 - which are 3 pieces of maple sandwiched to make a neck. They all have a rosewood fingerboard.
Now I get it...I could never get maple necks to work for me, but they have that bite that a mahogany neck sometimes lacks. Having the rosewood fingerboard on top smooths out that sound, so I can still get the roundness of the rosewood, with the bite of the maple neck. I never even thought about it until now, but reading this thread, I examined my favorite guitars' construction and that's what I found. I like the maple necks with rosewood fingerboards.
The Japanese Ibanez models from the early-mid 80s play pretty dang nice too. I believe they have a one piece mahogany neck though...lemme check on that......NOPE! 3-ply Maple neck with Rosewood neck. Just like the Koreans and my Chinese big hollow body. Amazing...I picked them all without knowing why.
And ebony boards need a mention (probably the best choice for frettless things), it's a cow to work (I made a few ebony boards by hand, you have to sharpen the plain/chisel etc after about 6 strokes LoL, and it can be cranky..). Nice combination with mahogany (like the acoustic I built), maybe a lttle too crisp with maple ?? well you don't see that many ebony boards on electric guitars (compared to rosewood or maple), popular for high end bass guits though.
I like the feel of rosewood boards and that they fight me a bit and don't get as slippery under lights/sweat.