swamp ash - hard rock/metal credentials?

[gwEm]

have been deliriously playing my new jazzmaster over the past few days.

now considering building another jazzmaster, or perhaps a mustang, with telecaster electronics. i love the telecaster sound and feel, but not the look. the weight of my jazzmaster is a bit heavy, though its tolerably so, and has good balance. anyway, i'd like to reduce the weight a little, and also experiment with some new woods.

so anyway, this line of thought logically leads to swamp ash. but with it being a light and soft timber, will i find the bass end rather dull and ill defined? how are warmoth's stocks of swamp ash?

i've gone over previous posts from wez, where he mentions it can be of variable quality, which is a concern.

i like the different properties of my hard ash strat, and my alder jazzmaster. they're both very 'together' tonally. i perhaps prefer the hard ash, but its really very hard to say considering they have very different pickups ;)

[Twinfan]

The bass on my CS Tele is anything but dull and ill defined.  Swamp Ash varies quite a bit though, so if you're going to Warmoth you'll need some luck that you get a good piece...

[MDV]

Me, and my Legra MDV602

That was a very specifically selected piece though.

[PhilKing]

I've had swamp ash from Warmoth and it's been OK, but if you want to save weight you should look at mahogany and alder.  They seem to have some very light stuff in that (the last alder body I got from them is one of the lightest Strat bodies I ever had).  Korina can be light as well.  If you are making a custom order you can specify the weight (not the exact poundage, but that you want the lightest end of that woods weight). 

[Roobubba]

Wasn't Nolly's new B6 Blackmachine swamp ash? If so, there's some serious metal credentials there ;)

Roo

[tomjackson]

Swamp ash has a very tight low end, scooped mids and nice twang on the top.  I t can be a pain to finish due to the open grain, but If you don't mind the grain being open that's fine, as long as it's sealed.

My Tele body from Allparts (in my Avatar) feels just the right weight with the right amount of grain (too much grain and you will lose definition as the grain is soft and pourus).

I think it will do you fine.  Here's a description from Tom Anderson

Swamp Ash
The other, so called vintage wood, also began its usage—in single coil, 25 1/2" scale length guitars—during the early 50's. It has a rather scooped out midrange tone with a robust low, low end and beautifully musical sparkling highs. The type of ash we use is Swamp Ash. It is lighter in weight and more porous, producing a timbre that is usually richer and less harsh than regular heavy ash. Its color is light blonde, highlighted by a darker brown elongated grain pattern. This wood looks extremely good with many transparent colors.

[WezV]

sorry Gwem, didnt mean to discourage you from it with one of my rants.   I guess its usually because i get annoyed by it being marketed as some kind of super holy grail wood... the truth is its just like any other and will vary a lot, and some people will classify it differently as well.  Swamp ash does vary in weight and density more than some other woods, but they all vary to a certain degree.

the weird thing for me was some swamp ash i was given that had the tap tone of wet cardboard... i expected it to be awfull so used it for practice guitars and they ended up sounding particularly awesome.

[WezV]

for clarification i wouldnt mind a swamp ash body from a reputable supplier  like warmoth but, like phil said, i would be asking for a particular weight range

[Philly Q]

I've got some Warmoth swamp ash bodies - 2 Strats and a Tele, all 4 pounds or less.  One of the Strats is one-piece, the others are two-piece centre joined.  There's enough information on their site to choose by weight and appearance (assuming you're buying from the Showcase).

My three look amazing - can't tell you what they sound like, though, as none are actually put together yet.  :oops:

[ailean]

Our Feline Tabby is swamp ash, it sounds awsome. But I realise that doesn't help you in the slightest. Sorry!

[martinw]

I've got/had two swamp ash guitars, and both of them are amazing guitars. The SG is the Gibson GOTW that I converted to HSS, and it plays hard rock as well as anything.
The Redwing Tornado (Patrick Eggle's venture after he left PEG) was somthing special. the wood was different to the SG, being denser, but it still had a resonance that's hard to find. That guitar made any type of music sound better.
Sadly I sold the Redwing because the neck was a bit thin for me. I should have got a different neck I suppose. Ah well...

[sgmypod]

that eggle is a bit unusual

[Philly Q]

The Redwing Tornado (Patrick Eggle's venture after he left PEG) was somthing special. the wood was different to the SG, being denser, but it still had a resonance that's hard to find. That guitar made any type of music sound better.
Sadly I sold the Redwing because the neck was a bit thin for me. I should have got a different neck I suppose. Ah well...

I saw one of those on eBay a couple of weeks ago.  Not yours was it Martin?

[Jonny]

If you're not gonna build them, can I have one? PDT_003

[Philly Q]

If you're not gonna build them, can I have one? PDT_003

Who me?  No, they'll get done... I just don't like to rush things.  :P

I must have at least 10 guitars I've got "plans" for, if I ever get round to it.