Ash Or Alder

Sorry folks. I need help on this one. I have owned it for two years and always assumed it was Ash. After cleaning and adjusting this evening I looked closer and I think this could be Alder. I have it in the registry as Ash. What do you think?





I had a cold one when preparing this post. It didn't help and I am unsure. Thanks-- Darwin

Darwin, I reckon it's ash. But what do I know?

The grain in the LH piece on the front shot looks too well defined to be alder IMHO. I've seen ash look like alder with little definite grain, but not alder look like ash. I've got 2 alder Fender sunbursts and they show little to no grain at all.

You could always inspect the build codes in the pickup routing to see if there's any mention of ash?

To me, it looks like alder. I would say it's not defined enough to be ash. It looks slightly more "figured than my own strat which is definetely alder. But, at the same time, those are only pictures and I'm no specialist.

Willing to make a fool of myself, I would probably bet money it is alder because of the shimmery tendency of the grain to drift from clear to soft.

I realize you cannot always make absolute statements about the character of different woods.

Look at these samples. Just going by this alone it shares traits with alder. The ash grain is clear from edge to edge.

Alder:



Ash:




Here is a great source for color corrected wood samples:

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/

Last edited by Michael-GnL-Michael on Wed Oct 12, 2011 7:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I've changed my mind.

After seeing Michael's samples I reckon it's grainier than usual alder.

This is getting interesting as I always thought it was Ash and like you Philby, I thought it had too much definition but MGMs photos are pretty convincing. Lets see what develops and maybe Craig will check in at some point. He speaks with wisdom. Ed, where are you when we need you????? Yow, what do you think? Now I will have to have a cold one to ponder this mess!-- Thanks for the input guys. -- Darwin

This is getting interesting as I always thought it was Ash and like you Philby, I thought it had too much definition but MGMs photos are pretty convincing. Lets see what develops and maybe Craig will check in at some point. He speaks with wisdom. Ed, where are you when we need you????? Yow, what do you think? Now I will have to have a cold one to ponder this mess!-- Thanks for the input guys. -- Darwin

I think it might be Alder. It does fit the standard spec of Alder body with Standard finishes and 3-tone Sunburst is
a Standard finish. The grain just does not look like Swamp Ash to me, but I certainly am no expert.
I will send your photos to a couple of contacts at the factory and see what they think.

Stay tuned.

I reckon alder. I was also fooled by my Classic S. I always thought it was ash until I had the pick guard off whilst changing pickups and there was a sticker in there saying alder -check THIS THREAD.

Have a look at the grain in the bottom half of the guitar. It looks more like ash than ash does!

Alder.

Bill

I had a transparent cherry over alder on a U.S. Masters guitar and it looks like alder to me.

Oh just to pile on: alder!

- Jos

The consensus seems to be Alder. I hadn't even thought about it until last night. Having fessed up that I have been in the dark for a couple of years, it is a beautiful piece of wood with a gorgeous knot in the back that didn't show up very well in the camera. This one is pristine with virtually no play. Thanks for the input folks. Lets see if the factory gets back to Craig. By the way it is a medium weight, more to the lighter side and I believe about a 2007 build.-- Darwin

how does it sound and do you have a similar guitar in ash you can compare it to? alder "should" have a bit more chunk in the mids than ash, although nothing is hard and fast.

Jon, I have other ash and alder Legacys to compare it to. It has a beautiful GOT neck. I hadn't done the sonic comparison. It was purely from from an appearance aspect that I even thought about it. I have been going through my fall waxing, adjusting and oiling. It is almost like rediscovering some of them. Thanks for the idea.-- Darwin

Alder would be my lot.

I'm going to go against the grain (so to speak) and vote for ash. The grain pattern looks a lot like my F-100, which was from back before G&L used alder. There's a certain porosity to ash that makes the flat sawn "arches" have a lot of open end grain that darkens under the finish. Your guitar looks like that to me.

Either way, she's a beauty!

Ken C

I will send your photos to a couple of contacts at the factory and see what they think.

Stay tuned.

I just heard back from John Toner and he says:

Alder.
Our G&L Woodshop Dept guy Stan has also confirmed my assesment

So, Alder it is. I have updated the registry entry to reflect this.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Craig. The left side of the front had me fooled. A nice piece of Alder it is. It is still a keeper.-- Darwin

Glad you got some excellent information from the source before I made an "ash" of myself. Ha! - ed

Ed, I had made an ash of myself all along as I was admiring it as an ash guitar. So much for my opinion, in fact I went through a complete setup and new strings tonight. This thing is new! I may put it in marketplace or Cl. I am stalking another victim!-- Darwin.