distinguish woods

[Iced Dragon]

I'm not sure if my Hamer Centaura is alder or swamp-ash. Is there a way to distinguish between them?

[Dave Sloven]

Swamp ash generally has a really obvious, textured grain

[darkbluemurder]

What the Agent said. Best to seach the internet for pictures of both woods and check to which it appears to be closer.

Weight is not a good indicator as the weight can vary from one piece to another even with the same wood species.

BTW: if your guitar has a solid color finish you can check the grain in the body/neck joint - which would of course mean to dismantle the neck.

Cheers Stephan

[Dave Sloven]

A lot of instruments I've seen in swamp ash you can see and feel the grain even when painted, especially if they have contoured bodies.  Alder has a different grain and is smoother than swamp ash.  Northern ash has a similar looking grain (but not the heavily figured dark type you sometimes get with swamp ash) but is smoother and less porous looking

http://www.guitar-muse.com/image-gallery-some-beautiful-guitar-woods-a-z-5266

[FELINEGUITARS]

Post a pic and we may be able to help