What is my body made out of

[Graeme]

I have a 1988 Skyhawk Sickle head in black G022878. When I bought it I was told the body was maple but I'm not so sure. Is there any way of finding out. I took the back spring plate off but too good a paint job to see any bare wood.

[Boogie Bill]

Well, this is one of those circumstances where I have to ask, "Does it really matter?" If it's a great guitar, and you need the information to build a clone, then I suppose it would. But sometimes, these "things" simply transcend the mere materials to become a "musical instrument", full of mojo and inspiration--to become MORE than the sum of its parts.

I think back then G&L was using maple, ash, and alder--and mahogany, too. You could take the neck off to see a bit of wood; but myself, I prefer to leave well enough alone and not mess with things that are working good--who knows, the magic could leak out. It's probably not mahogany; with a solid color I'm thinking it's maple or alder.

You might be able find more info in the Knowledge Base; and I have a friend that has a Skyhawk and I will pick his brain. So stay tuned, and we'll try to figure it out.


Bill

[Graeme]

Thanks Bill
You are right it does not really matter. I was only thinking of making sure the right body wood was recorded in the G&L registry.

[Craig]

Thanks Bill
You are right it does not really matter. I was only thinking of making sure the right body wood was recorded in the G&L registry.

Hi Graeme,

Don't worry about recording the body wood type if you cannot determine which one it is. Just leave the
field empty in the registry entry. Thanks for using our G&L Registry.

BTW, there are some here who require photo proof --- "it does not exist without it."

[jonc]

at one time i had the same era Skyhawk (with the fine tuner DF) and mine was clear blue over ash. if you pull the neck you should be able to get an idea of the wood from the pocket, and at one time Gabe posted neck pocket pics to show the differences between the woods, but that was on the old board and i'm not sure that post transitioned over. yours could definitely be maple but as already mentioned it could be any number of woods including poplar, although that was usually reserved for the later generation SC's.