Alder vs Swamp Ash vs Mahogany - Guitar Body Wood Tone Test

Does body wood have an effect on the tone of an electric guitar? You tell me!

Not a scientific test, you say? Use a spectrum analyzer, you say? What do you think I'm trying to do here...put a space shuttle into orbit? :) This isn't a test for facts...it's a test for your *perception*. Because when it comes to evaluating sound, what's true for you may not be true for me, regardless of what a spectrum analyzer might say. Different people will perceive the same sound source slightly differently, either because their ears are different (older/younger, more/less sensitive, more/less trained), or because they listened at a different volume (the whole Fletcher-Munson thing). Some will hear a difference and others won't.

My intention here wasn't to prove a hypothesis. It was to do a fun - and pretty legit - comparison, and offer up the results without bias, so others could listen and offer their take.

So don't be shy...let's discuss!

00:00 Intro
00:17 Test parameters
01:23 Test #1 Clean bridge pickup
01:52 Test #2 Clean middle pickup
02:33 Test #3 Clean neck pickup
03:07 Test #4 Gain bridge pickup
04:00 Test #5 Gain neck pickup
04:35 Unfinished bodies are creepy
04:59 Why I used a Tele-style body
05:17 What I heard
06:07 Signal chain and wrap-up