Last year I became interested in building my own customized guitar. Thus began my quest to discover the perfect tone woods to build my dream guitar. I compiled a rather lengthy list of woods that helped me along my path, and I am now here to share them with all Sommatone customers interested in having custom guitars built. We get asked these questions all the time so I hope it’ll reduce the amount of phone calls we get on the subject. So now you got it on the Internet, therefore let us work in peace! Cuz every time someone calls Jimmy has to pause the Drive By Truckers and that pisses me off. I’m just teasing yah’ll! I hope to make a much more relevant and cohesive list than any I was able to find online. Plus I hope I can make you laugh on the way, so maybe more of yah will talk to me rather than just stare at that kid on the bench and wonder what in the world sort of haircut is under my hat.

I’ll go over everything: genres, the EQ Spectrum, the body weight, and the grain. Later in the article I will explain some popular pairings of different woods and how they compliment one another. Remember, this is just a basic reference of the standard characteristics of each wood and no two trees are the same! There are always discrepancies. My Mahogany Les Paul, which is known to be a heavy wood, is a lot lighter than most Strats. Actually, it’s the lightest Les Paul I’ve ever felt, and no it is not chambered. But that’s just shows one example of how wood varies.

As far as aesthetics are concerned you can find any wood from Grade A to Grade AAAAA. (Which is a big concern for those who like to practice staring at yourself in a mirror with a fan blowing your hair back. (Weirdoes, I know you’re out there.) Just one A wood will have less prevalent rings making it a plainer piece of wood; it may have a small knot in the back. (or the front, depending on how cheap the retailer is you’re buying it from) AAAAA wood will look beautiful, and normally is more lightweight than A. This means it a heck of a lot more expensive to buy 5A wood than A. Just keep that in mind if price is an issue. Just figured we would clarify that early on. So enough chatter lets begin with the body wood, in alphabetical order.

BODY WOODS

Alder - It is more of a multifaceted wood that could be used for a variety of genres. Truly it can be used on anything from the most brutal Death Metal to that New Age Jazz Fusion Dandelion Love Whatever. The spectrum is rather even with less mids than Basswood but a tighter low end with slightly deeper lows. It’s normally a lightweight wood. The grain is normally tight, plain and straight. It is much easier to finish if you plan on painting it yourself.

Ash/Swamp Ash - This is perfect for you Blues nuts! Country, Jazz, Funk, you get the picture, this wood’s for you. It has the effect of “scooped mids” because of the tight bottom end and clear highs. A lot of early Thrash and Speed Metal was recorded with Ash Strats (Think Exodus, Nuclear Assault) so some of you old school Metal Heads may want to consider this guitar. Swamp Ash tends to be lighter and more resonant than its Ash counterpart because it’s much more porous. Thus, its grain is usually more open, and I have been told harder top finish. This is the wood most of the 50’s Tele’s and Strats are made from.

Basswood - This wood has a fat bottom end, good for spanking around. You may want to consider getting some decent pickups to help keep the lows from getting too mushy. It has strong fundamental tones, and can be quite midrangey. The highs are smoothened and the mids are well pronounced. Once again you’ll want to keep the low end in check but for you Metal heads and Hardcore chug chug sqweee chug chug sqweee kinda folks this wood is for you! But just be careful while your chugga chugging because this wood is really soft, so play it safe when your guitar is spinning around your body.

Koa - This wood is a lot like Mahogany but with a tighter and less muddy low end. It has been known to have a sharper attack, although it may dampen some highs and have a more compressed sound. Regardless it is known to have better high-end response than Mahogany, without loosing any warmth. Its less expressive so for hard picking blues this ain’t for you. It is normally a darker looking wood with weight similar to Mahogany. The grain can range from moderate to incredibly interlocked, and super porous. Anyway, it’s great for Rock, Jazz, and softer Blues. The only problem with this wood is that its super rare so be prepared to pay top dollar for it.

Korina - Ah yes, the Mahogany Deluxe. Also known as Limba Black and Limba White. What’s the difference you ask? COLOR! Now I better not hear that question again. Actually the Black Limba is known to be the lighter weight of the two with a darker and more interesting grain. For those who love Koa but can’t spend the bread, this may be the wood for you. It has a sweeter midrange, and is more responsive than Mahogany. It has bright upper mids, which is great for rock soloing. Yet, it too suffers from a muddier low end, but is much less dense than Mahogany, which is good for those of you who love the sound of the Les Paul but can’t bear the heavy burden. This wood is good for Jazz, Heavier Rock (think Down, Pantera), or Blues. The early Flying V’s and Explorer’s were built out of this wood.

Mahogany - The legendary wood of the Les Paul. It filters out a lot of the shrill 4-5k highs with great mids and a fat bottom end. Baby got back! Its nice and chunky but combs the upper mids and may seem to have a nasal sound. The high’s are rich and thicker than say, Alder wood, and is all around a thicker and warmer sounding wood. You may want to think about some bright pickups, I personally love the sound of P-90’s on this body to compliment the warm tone. Plenty of sustain when you need to hold that note for just a few seconds longer. This is great for Metal, Rock, Blues, and any Heavy Heavy chugga chugga sqwee breakdowns that are all the rage now a day. (If you’re no familiar with what I’m talking about go check out The Chariot and be prepared to have your face ripped off) This wood is also fantastic for Hollow body Jazz playing. The wood is Porous but strong so it’s easier to finish than you would think. It has an interlocking grain pattern that can be described as spiraling. Honduran Mahogany is the best, but of course is the hardest to find. It’s a good question to ask prior to purchasing the woods, as many places will sell Spanish or African varieties. The African variation has a curlier grain and is a lighter brown.

Maple - WEEEEE DIVEBOMB The Hellion Strikes Again!!! For all of you 80’s Metal heads this is for you. This wood is shrill as sin and but is durable, bright and articulate. You get plenty of harmonics and sustain from this baby. There’s a strong upper midrange, terrifyingly bright highs, tight lows and a sharp low attack. So if you think you can shred like Children of Bodom then this just might be perfect for you. This can cut through the mix for your solos and is super clear and you could say it’s pretty spanky. There are so many kinds of grain for maple its not even worth getting into. It is used a lot as a top wood and there are tons of pretty looking tops to help decorate your guitar but unlike other aesthetic woods this one does boast worthwhile EQ properties that when used with Mahogany or Basswood will help tighten up that muddy low end and give it more clarity without loosing too much of the original wood’s quality.

FRETBOARD WOODS

Ebony - Snappy, crisp attack with stronger fundamentals than Maple, and percussive overtones in the pick attack. It may sound twangy and helps the guitar cut through that mix. Or if you’re using a Mahogany body this can help give you some more of that clarity and brightness in the bottom end. Plus it feels real smooth and has great smooth bottom end. The wood is incredibly stable and you’re going to have to screw up pretty bad to get it to warp. It’s also extremely dense. So dense that it doesn’t float. It gets great sustain as well for when you need to hold that note out F-O-R-E-V-E-R…

Maple - Bright and dense, this wood favors the harmonics and is wonderful in bringing out the variations in pick attacks. It also emphasizes the higher overtones. If you’re doing a maple neck, then you won’t even have to worry about purchasing a fretboard!

Rosewood - This will give you rich fundamentals, more so than Maple. It dampens some of the high end when used in conjunction with Maple, and is very porous. It has less of a defined attack but has a sweeter midrange. The grain is fairly straight, and this may be the most popular fingerboard.

Pao Ferro - Snappier attack than Rosewood, with good sustain but a warmer tone than Ebony. It’s similar to Maple, but with a darker color. It gives you a lot of clarity when you’re pounding out chords so for you chug chug sqwee guys that also dig on Isis, Pelican, or even The Sword and Clutch, you may enjoy this wood a lot.

So there you have it. These are the most common (and practical) Tone woods that most human beings are going to come across. There are tons of more exotic woods out there but that’s not for me, I’m a simple man. I know wood like Bubinga, Zebrawood and Purple Heart are popular woods (especially in high end basses) but I am a guitarist and not a bassist so I can’t really cover those as well. Although, if you do your research the information is out there, on the Internet.

Anyways, get creative! Think about what most guitarists in your favorite genre use or what sort of guitars your favorite guitarists use. Don’t go for a Maple Strat if you want to sound like Black Label Society! Also, use this guide so we can craft your instrument into a well-rounded musical machine. If you like the warmth and thickness of a Mahogany body, but want more clarity in your chords, maybe pairing it up with an Ebony fretboard will help. Or throw a nice figured Maple top on your guitar. Not only will it help give you some more definition but it’ll also look real pretty. When we build a guitar for heavy music, a maple top may be your best friend.

Remember, this is only an introductory guide to these woods and every piece of wood is different. This guide should help you create a great sounding guitar, but these are only the first few steps on your quest to great tone. Hands down the most important aspect of great tone is your fingers, and your hands. Your hands have their own unique tone and I don’t care if you spend thousands upon thousands of dollars recreating Jimi Hendrix’s entire guitar rig, if you can’t play nasty like him, you’re never going to sound like him. And besides why do you want to sound like him anyway, he has come and gone, and there will only be one. But enough ranting, go forth and make music!

I hope my article will help you on your quest for your perfect guitar. Feel free to contact me and we’ll amend it immediately. If you feel I left any woods out, you better have a damn good explanation why Mesquite NEEDS to be on there. Or I’ll be pissed that you made me pause Buddy Guy to listen to some lunatic raving.