Is my Legacy Alder or Ash?

[Muleya]

I've always just assumed my Legacy was alder, but suddenly this evening I realized that I don't really know that for sure. I know that these days, any premium finish is generally applied to an ash body, and I have no way of knowing if the Tobacco Sunburst in 1998 was a standard or premium finish, or if that was the policy at that time. They have it listed as Standard today, but then they have the Cherry Sunburst listed as Standard, but my local dealer, who thought it was a Standard Finish at first, too, found out it is actually a premium finish.

And I'm not familiar enough with the woods to really tell by looking...though if I had to guess I'd guess alder...it seems to me the ash grain is a little more distinct than what I'm seeing in these pics. Can anyone more knowledgable tell me?

[Craig]

I've always just assumed my Legacy was alder, but suddenly this evening I realized that I don't really know that for sure. I know that these days, any premium finish is generally applied to an ash body, and I have no way of knowing if the Tobacco Sunburst in 1998 was a standard or premium finish, or if that was the policy at that time. They have it listed as Standard today, but then they have the Cherry Sunburst listed as Standard, but my local dealer, who thought it was a Standard Finish at first, too, found out it is actually a premium finish.

And I'm not familiar enough with the woods to really tell by looking...though if I had to guess I'd guess alder...it seems to me the ash grain is a little more distinct than what I'm seeing in these pics. Can anyone more knowledgable tell me?

That is Ash.

[Muleya]

Okay, now I feel ignorant (or maybe that should be ignernt!).

Thanks, Craig!

[sirmyghin]

Hate to argue but I have had alder that looks just like that. It doesn't have the wide grain I associate with ash, or the normally very narrow grain associated with Alder. I would have said Alder at a glance.

[darwinohm]

My vote is ash.-- Darwin

[BillEvans1956]

Hi All,

I'm going for Alder too: http://www.ratcliffe.co.za/articles/bodywoods/alder.jpg. Sorry to disagree with you Craig.

It's not Ash http://www.ratcliffe.co.za/articles/bod ... ampash.jpg

I've got a G&L Legacy HB in Swamp Ash (natural gloss), and it certainly doesn't look anything like the grain in Muleya's pics.

Bill

[bassman]

I thought it was alder too.

How heavy is the guitar? Ash tends to be a heavier wood.

[sirmyghin]

I thought it was alder too.

How heavy is the guitar? Ash tends to be a heavier wood.

Aye if it isa boat anchor, definitely ash. But problem is Ash can also be lighter than alder... My newest ASAT special is a feather weight in ash, the one I played in store however was at least 9 lbs.

[Muleya]

Okay, the debate goes on! After looking at Bill's pics, I'm leaning back towards Alder, I believe.

The guitar is quite light...a bit over 7lbs, but I don't remember the exact weight.

[Craig]

I know that these days, any premium finish is generally applied to an ash body, and I have no way of knowing if the Tobacco Sunburst in 1998 was a standard or premium finish, or if that was the policy at that time. They have it listed as Standard today, but then they have the Cherry Sunburst listed as Standard, but my local dealer, who thought it was a Standard Finish at first, too, found out it is actually a premium finish.

There were three transparent Standard finishes in 1998: 3-tone Sunburst, Cherryburst and Tobacco Sunburst. If body wood was not specified for the order, the factory would use Alder for the body.
After 1998, G&L added the 2-tone Sunburst finish as a Standard finish. These four transparent finishes continue to be Standard finishes and the standard body wood for the USA Legacy
solid body model is Alder. I am not aware of G&L changing Cherryburst to a Premium finish. It is still listed in the latest G&L Catalog as a Standard finish.

After reviewing these photos of your guitar, I am now leaning toward the body wood being Alder. It makes sense that the factory would choose an Alder body blank with some character in the grain
for a transparent Standard finish.

So, I will change my guess to Alder.

Hope this helps.

[Muleya]

Hmmm, that's interesting.

Do you know if the Standard Burst finishes have an additional cost? My dealer (who is an acquaintance and a straight up guy, pretty sure he wouldn't knowingly decieve me) told me originally that the Cherryburst is a standard finish (which is what I had thought based on the website and catalog), and that there was an upcharge for Swamp Ash of $xx. Then, a day or two later he came back with this:

FYI: In my reviewing of the price list it looks like the cherryburst finish is actually considered a premier finish, but upgrading to a premier finish automatically changes the wood to swamp ash. So the overall pricing stays the same, but the finish & wood choice apparently go together with the finish being the official source of the extra $xx in list price and the change to swamp ash being included in the finish upgrade.

So, does anyone know if that is indeed the case? Is the upcharge just for the finish? What you are saying, Craig, suggests the wood shouldn't automatically change to swamp ash. So I could still have an Alder body and the price would be the same? I'm thinking I want a swamp ash body, but I'm not completely decided on that.

[sirmyghin]

Mine was ash no charge with a premier, but I don't think I specified it, it is currently implied by the option scheme. This one is a real doozy.