Need some help with ASAT body woods & finish please

[68wbm]

Hello, I am about to custom order an G&L Asat Classic Alnico.
I want a #3 neck with Rosewood neck and Vintage Gloss Tint.
The body should have front and back contours and wood binding.
My two color choices so far are either Three Tone Sunburst on Alder or Translucent Red.
As far as I understand it Translucent Red is a premier finish. Here now my questions:
1. do premier finish colors all require a swamp ash wood?
2. if not, is it possible to get translucent red on Alder?
3. If it red translucent is available on alder AND swamp ash, what is the advantage of one or the other?
4. Why is swamp ash generally used on premier finish colors? Is it because of looks?

5. unrelated, what is the advantage of a quarter sawn maple neck?
Thanks!

[Salmon]

You can get a premier finish on any wood offered on most G&L guitars. Some finishes look better than others on different wood grains. Ash typically has an interesting grain while Alder is relatively plain. However there are pieces where this is reversed with Alder having the more interesting pattern. Sometimes the two are indistinguishable. You play the odds and go with the one that has the grain you like more often than not.

The effect on tone is debatable. Here is a thread that has been active recently on this subject.

Quartersawn necks are regarded as a more stable/stronger design more resistant to warping. If you use extra heavy gauge strings you are safer going with a quartersawn neck.

[68wbm]

Thank you, so Translucent Red on alder is ok and there is nothing "wrong" with that then I take it.
Do you know if swamp ash or alder are generally lighter? I heard both ways on the interwebs.

[Salmon]

Unfortunately weight is another gamble when going with a special order rather than selecting a finished guitar off a shelf in a store. People report very light and very heavy guitars in Alder and Ash. My featherweight and heavyweight guitars are both Ash. You mentioned choosing all of the body contour options. That will help lighten the load.

Clear Red would be fine on Alder. It is a subjective preference. I special ordered a guitar in Ash but I was tempted to buy an Alder I saw at a store and would have gone with it had I not been able to work out everything I was looking to do with the special order. IOW, I would have been happy having a transparent finish on Alder in that alternate guitar.

[68wbm]

I made it easy and just went with three tone sunburst on Alder. Now the long wait begins

[JustRooster]

Out of curiosity, that 68w in your name wouldn't be your MOS would it? Fellow Medic here, if so!

[68wbm]

I don't know what a MOS is or what a 68w is.
Sorry, I am not a medic.

[Salmon]

Interesting. Now I know what it is. Made sense that the moniker could have tied in with it.

According to Wikipedia: 68W

68W (often pronounced as "Sixty-Eight Whiskey" using the NATO phonetic alphabet) is the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) for the United States Army's healthcare specialist, also known as the combat medic. This specialty is open to males and females as well as allowing color vision deficient personnel.............The primary role of 68W healthcare specialists in the U.S. Army is providing medical treatment to wounded soldiers.....