Does Alder Look Good Natural??

[Austin Manny]

So I just bought a Fender Precision MIM at my local music store for $300!

It was used but it was in imaculant condition, just had knobs from a Strat so they sold it for $300. The color is Midnight Wine, it's nice but I was wondering if I stripped it down to natural and then clear coated it, would the Alder unpainted look good?

 

[Bass Mule]

There's a good reason why alder is the choice of wood for solid or other opaque colors. It's not known for distinct grain lines, so it's not as pretty as ash, or flamed/spalted (insert wood type here). You can do it, it just won't look as nice as a clear-finished ash body.

 

[Barkless Dog]

It's not bad but not great. Depends on the piece of wood.

 

[Guest043]

natural wood is..well..natural. nature<3.

 

[Rickett Customs]

This would roughly be what you're asking, though YMMV.
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Also, this is close to the same grain as the back of my Spector Euro5.

Hope this helps.

/Jason

 

[spade2you]

It's not bad but not great. Depends on the piece of wood.

Pretty much sums it up. The clear coated alder body I have is a tad darker than ash. It has plenty of distinct lines, but not as pronounced as swamp ash.

 

[Wm. E. Evans]

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Search under "Clear Gloss" for "Finish" and "Alder" for "Top Wood" for an idea.

Cheers.

 

[crkempton]

I did a similar thing with my SX jazz, this is how it turned out....

I like it, but alder can be very hit and miss, i lucked out with mine.

 

[UnderwaterGuy]

I think that natural alder is good looking, but I do not think there is any P that looks better than a midnight wine P with a black pickguard and rosewood board.
If you like natural wood though then absolutely strip it. (and post pics of course)

 

[savit260]

If you decide to strip that finish off, don't be surprised if you find a four or five piece body. They probably weren't concerned about matching up the grain nicely either, considering it's going to be covered in paint. You could be opening up a giant can of worms.

 

[savit260]

Also keep in mind that the MIM's have only been Alder for a few years now. Before that they were Poplar, which can have greenish streaks in it, and is also very plain grained.

 

[Hawaii Islander]

It can look very nice. The problem is that you don't know what it will look like until after the paint is removed. The wood might have marks and/or blemishes that will show through a clear or transparent finish.

 

[ni714]

i'm actually looking for something along the lines of midnight wine. its a beautiful color.

 

[EagleMoon]

I did that to a Midnight Wine Strat and there was a cap and several pieces of wood glued together. It wasn't pretty. Usually they take the less pretty pieces of wood to make the solid color finishes. And on top of that, what a pain in the behind to try and strip that finish off. I wouldn't do that again on a bet!

 

[westrock]

If it is in immaculate condition and you like how it looks now just leave it alone. You might be very bummed out if you screw it up.

 

[embellisher]

It is usually pretty unspectacular. As others have said, it may be a 4 or 5 piece body under that paint.

Might look OK with some kind of tint or stain before the clearcoat is applied.

 

[Oric]

I play a MIM Jazz in midnight wine, and I will say, don't strip it. Midnight Wine is indeed sexy.

 

[savit260]

Do you know what year it is?

Again, it may not be alder under that paint if it's an earlier MIM Fender.

 

[Siegy]

keep the midnight wine and slap a black pickguard on there.

 

[FLWing]

I've got a nice Carvin 4-string fretless (LB70F) with alder 'wings' and a maple center strip finished in clear gloss poly - looks great. If I had a choice I'd have gone with a satin finish cause it shows fingerprints something wicked...