- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,939
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,939
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
Is this like a tort question 
? If so, it's unintentional on my part... I really want to know.
? If so, it's unintentional on my part... I really want to know.
- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,619
- 222,155
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
It is completely variable as there are examples of each being heavy or light. I had a very heavy alder J body and have a super light (roasted) ash body. In general ash can tend to be heavier, but I have 2 very similar basses, one ash-one alder and they weigh about the same. Even a roasted ash body is only as light as what it weighed before the process, which makes it lighter in weight.
Last edited:
Joe,Is this like a tort question
You're going to get many answers that will for the most part be correct. My past experience is that ASH has been heavier than Alder, but there will always be exceptions to the rule. After all it is WOOD, and they can vary from tree to tree.
Northern Ash is heavy. Think 70's fender.
Alder is a lighter hardwood.
Most quality guitars made with ash use Swamp ash, which is usually slightly lighter than alder. Swamp ash is the bottom part of an ash tree that has its roots underwater.
Alder is a lighter hardwood.
Most quality guitars made with ash use Swamp ash, which is usually slightly lighter than alder. Swamp ash is the bottom part of an ash tree that has its roots underwater.
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,939
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
Just found out that on the bass I'm considering ash is $100 more. That kinda made my decision for me, especially if the differences in tone and weight are negligible.
DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
I don't know much about woods but aren't there variations of ash? I know I prefer swamp ash due to it's lightweight nature.
Turnaround
Commercial User
The varieties used in instrument making are Red Alder and Swamp Ash. Their weight is comparable on average with the accepted average weight per cubic foot of Alder being 28 pounds, while Swamp Ash average weight is 30 to 33 pounds per cubic foot.
Swamp Ash is not actually a species of ash but is just a descriptive name. So it's a bit difficult to put a weight to it on average. Really Swamp Ash is only the wood from ash trees grown in a swamp area. By comparison, White Ash comes in at 42 pounds per cu.ft.
Swamp Ash is not actually a species of ash but is just a descriptive name. So it's a bit difficult to put a weight to it on average. Really Swamp Ash is only the wood from ash trees grown in a swamp area. By comparison, White Ash comes in at 42 pounds per cu.ft.
I have a mike lull JT4 (jazz bass size & shaped) which has a swamp ash body & maple/rosewood neck which is significantly a lot lighter than my Fender Jazz. Which has an Alder Body & maple/rosewood neck.
Therefore ...
Therefore ...
I've seen density charts for various woods. Density would obviously go hand in hand with weight but as other have said, it can vary.
It's either in my head or I swear alder seems to have a brighter resonance. Ash is of course much prettier.
It's either in my head or I swear alder seems to have a brighter resonance. Ash is of course much prettier.
Not that much of an issue. I've heard that lighter "trans" and Natural finishes look better on Ash wood, because of the looks of the grain. G&L uses Ash for all of their Premium colors and Alder for their standard colors. But I've seen solid black finishes on an Ash body. Sadowsky uses Ash wood with all maple Fretboards and Alder with all Rosewood. There's no rhyme or reason for any of this sometimes.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Ash, especially northern ash, tends to be heavier, but wood can and does vary by over 25% in weight. I make baseball bats, and have bought identically sized ash billets ranging from 80 ounces to over 110.
Last edited:
Louisiana Southern Ash, which is what swamp ash is, varies in weight dramatically. The bottom portion of the tree is very light, while the middle is kind of medium weight the top of the tree is heavy. We’ve all seen vintage Fender basses from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s that weighed thirteen pounds and were just exceedingly heavy. That was just a different portion of the tree that was being used.
Most of the lightweight alder is gone. Lightweight alder would be old growth stuff. Most of that wood is gone, because alder was considered a firewood
Most of the lightweight alder is gone. Lightweight alder would be old growth stuff. Most of that wood is gone, because alder was considered a firewood
If Warmoth Custom Guitar Part's showcase inventory, which I check from time to time (gas symptom), is any kind of measuring stick, then Ash would be considered more consistently lighter-weight than Alder. However that is not to say that a blind purchase of an Ash bodied instrument will definitely yield a lighter weight than one of it's Alder bodied counterparts. In a blind purchase, the only definite benefit of "upgrading" to Ash is the more prominent grain that tends to be more appealing for transparent finishes.
I just checked with my calibrated scale. 1lb. of alder weighs the same as 1lb. of ash.
