Which wood is this body?

[hunter]

My first electric guitar, a Goldstar Strat from Tokai that I bought used in the mid eighties, got once lost in a music community place where I left it for a few weeks (someone borrowed it it seems).

Well the funny thing is that I got it back now, around 6 years after I had seen it last time, was pretty much same condition as i left it.

Scrubbed the ugly red finish off yesterday, oiled and waxed the body and reassembled everything nicely. Now it stays in tune!!

Was a bit disappointed that the body wasn't one piece, but can someone who knows woods confirm whether this is alder or ash?

Thanks a lot!

P.S.: Yes, she will definitely be BKPed, but don't know which ones yet ...

[gingataff]

I'm no expert, my guitars still have most of ther paint still on, but I think it's alder. *waits for someone to say no you idiot, it's ash!*  :)

[38thBeatle]

I can't tell you about the wood but don't be too disappointed about it being more than one piece. Both of my Strats are made the same way. As for Pickups-well that will start a debate in which I look forward to taking part.

[WezV]

Definately alder, its redder and has less prominent grain than Ash.

It doesnt really matter that the body isnt 1 peice, very few guitars in this world have 1 peice bodies.  At least its one peice in the middle which means that the bridge and neck pocket are not mounted on a join, not that that really makes any difference but it does feel like it is a slightly better way to do things.

[downfader]

The guitar looks great like that! I should know, I did something similar to mine, but left black edges  8)

I was going to say ash but as you'd oiled it.. but Wez knows better than me, he knows his woods  

[hunter]

Definately alder, its redder and has less prominent grain than Ash. .

Thanks man, Hmm, the redness only came when I applied the oil though....

[WezV]

An oiled peice of ash will still generally be more yellow/creamy, obviously each peice is different but i would still guess alder.

The colour of ash can be similar to your guitar, but the grain really looks like alder to me.  Ash has a very deep, coarse grain that needs porefilling before finishing

swampash:

http://www.ratcliffe.co.za/articles/bodywoods/swampash.jpg

alder:

http://www.ratcliffe.co.za/articles/bodywoods/alder.jpg

The picture is swamp ash but that looks the same as normal ash anyway, its only weight that seperates the two types of wood.

[FELINEGUITARS]

I suspect it is alder or a far eastern variant of alder
The heavy grain pattern at the bottom does look a bit like ash - whereas Alder is usually pretty uniform and boring. But it may just be the way the wood is cut.

Dont be upset that it is more than one piece - some trees such as alder do not grow big enough to get lots of planks big enough for a one piece body

Most Fenders were 2 or 3 piece bodies

Show us the back and the endgrain too and it might give more away

[hunter]

Thanks a lot, I can see that well.

OK so Pickups:

I'd like to do some Pink Floyd,  Red hot chili as well as Rock, maybe à la Blackmore. Most important is Gilmour's tone though, especially the in-between ones.

Any recos?

[hunter]

Allright Feline, more pics as requested.

Would you say the guitar is worth investing in Pickups and maybe potis and stuff or should I rather ask you to build me a custom strat :)

[_tom_]

Looks similar to my strat copy (Which I've also stripped and oiled the body on :D), when I asked what it could be I think it was told alder aswell.

[Fubar]

What did you all use to strip the paint off? I'm wanting to re-fin my strat and the paint/top coat appears to be seriously thick, am not sure whether to go the chemical route or spend the next few months attempting to sand it all off. I'd consider burning it off but am severely cack-handed and liable to destroy the guitar, myself and probably my house.

[hunter]

Go the chemical route like I did. Make sure you do it outside, and wear some good gloves.

Also don't trust the instructions. Mine said 10 minutes waiting, and I started to scrub like an idiot until I realised that the paint almost falls off by itself after 30-40 mins.

Sanding? Don't even think about it, you'll destroy the body and your own hands:)

Using heat I wouldn't as it might burn the wood which is bad for looks and resonance/tone...

[Fubar]

Go the chemical route like I did. Make sure you do it outside, and wear some good gloves.

Also don't trust the instructions. Mine said 10 minutes waiting, and I started to scrub like an idiot until I realised that the paint almost falls off by itself after 30-40 mins.

Sanding? Don't even think about it, you'll destroy the body and your own hands:)

Using heat I wouldn't as it might burn the wood which is bad for looks and resonance/tone...

Nice one!  8)

Can you use any paint stripper on poly or will I need a specific brand?

[Bainzy]

Really thick poly usually needs to be either heat stripped or scr@ped off - most chemical strippers just don't work on it. If you can find a strong enough chemical stripper to use though, go for it.

I'm planning on getting some one piece swamp ash and mahogany bodies made for the '54 Fender Esquire, '57 Fender Strat and '59 Les Paul replicas I'm building for myself, but no way would I try and get one piece Alder for any of those guitars, it's just too much effort to try and track down as it's so scarce.