Different Woods Used for Making Guitars

Over the years most of the guitars that are manufactured have been made with what is known as a "tone wood." This kind of wood is usually a stock wood that has held up over time and have been shown to have great quality. These kinds of woods have great characteristics that make for great guitar construction. They have the right kind of weight, density, appearance, and stability just to name a few qualities. Here are some of the most common types of woods used for guitars.

The most popular woods for the body of the guitar are Alder, Ash, Mahogany, and Maple. Alder wood is the wood of choice for Fender. Although they may mix and match with Ash, Alder has been used since the very beginning. It is considered to be a standard in the sound resonance of a Fender guitar. It is a light wood in regards to the weight but it produces a full bodied tone that has mellow highs. It is light in color and can be finished in solid colors although there are a few exceptions where there are three color sunbursts. Ash comes in a few more variations than Alder. In the 60’s and 70’s Fender did use the Northern Ash wood. It was a heavier wood with a dense weight to it. With a strong attack sound many of the 70’s basses were done in Ash to give a bright sound. Swamp ash though is lighter and is commonly used as well. It has a more responsive tone that looks great with a clear finish.

Mahogany is a darker red wood that can be found in many of the Gibson guitars such as the Les Paul and Firebird. It is very heavy, very dense and very stable. It has a lot of lows involved with the sound and some very warm highs. Many of the mahogany bodies are coupled with the Maple wood top to enhance its treble response. Mahogany is one of the few woods that can be used for both the body and the neck making it multifunctional. Then you have Maple wood that is usually too heavy for an entire guitar body but it can be used with other woods. The warmer sounds increase the treble response and make it excellent for many higher end instruments.

For the neck of the guitar you have a variety of wood as well. Whereas Maple cannot be used for an entire body it is the most common and most desirable woods for the neck of the guitar. It has stability, strength and the density that it needs. Maple is also used as the fingerboard material and gives a snappy tone to it. Mahogany as well is used for its density and is common in glued in neck guitars. It however does not work well as fingerboard material. Lastly you have Rosewood and Ebony. Rosewood is a heavy oily wood that wears well and has a warm tone. Used mostly for fingerboard material it is a good quality wood. Ebony also makes for excellent fingerboard material but is a darker harder wood. Some varieties are even black and make for a great looking and sounding guitar.

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