What's heavier, alder or ash?

[johnson79]

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.

What bass is it if you don't mind me asking? It seems most (Fender-style) basses with opaque finishes are alder, transparent are usually ash. My Ray34 is supposedly ash, but is opaque, so that isn't always the case.
If it's an opaque finish I wouldn't sweat it.

 

[Joe Nerve]

Sire fretless.

 

[gln1955]

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.

So why don't they, like, weight their basses? Then you'd know before you buy.

 

[jlepre]

So why don't they, like, weight their basses? Then you'd know before you buy.

They just don't. Believe me, I tried.

 

[buldog5151bass]

If they don't weigh the bass, you can't make an educated guess based solely on body wood.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

The listed density for "swamp" ash is 30-33.6 lbs/ft3, for Alder it is 26 – 42 lbs/ft3. So the answer is, "It depends".

 

[jlepre]

@Joe Nerve
I have to say that these Sire basses are all in the 10 pound range, and they balance perfectly on a strap. To me balance is more important than weight.

 

[socialleper]

It seems like alder is often lighter, but there are exceptions to everything. The difference is also pretty minor. Maybe half a pound either way for the same dimensions.

 

[socialleper]

I just checked with my calibrated scale. 1lb. of alder weighs the same as 1lb. of ash.

If one was denser, so the piece had to be bigger for the same weight, could you say it is louder because it has more volume?

 

[aprod]

Ash

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

depends.

Ash = heavy
Alder = not so heavy
Swamp Ash = Usually light.

I used to only use swamp ash bodies - but over time decided I like Alder better. My alder basses just sound better to me.

 

[JMacBass65]

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.

This looks to be the only answer that carries any weight. Pun not intended.

 

[Joebone]

I just checked with my calibrated scale. 1lb. of alder weighs the same as 1lb. of ash.

So what weighs more - a pound of metal, or a pound of carrots?

 

[wideload]

So what weighs more - a pound of metal, or a pound of carrots?

I'd rather be hit with the carrots! By the way, what's the best carrot variety for metal??

 

[Jeff Bonny]

So many factors go into making any particular bass what it is (luck, personal taste, a dash of voodoo) generalizations are a slippery slope. I've never been partial to ash because in general it's heavier than alder.
I've never preferred maple boards because in general they're brighter than rosewood.
I've always liked the girth of P-bass pickups over J-bass.
All this said I just spent $3600 on a used ash body, maple board Jazz which after having had around 100 basses is one of the two the best bass guitars I've ever owned. As it relates to this thread my very first observation is I bought it after having had the chance to play it several times. Buy sight unseen and you takes your chances.

 

[T.Rex]

my bass has alder and swamp ash, lol couldnt tell you

 

[MarkoYYZ]

It also depends on your choice of neck. A lot of people seem to like the Ash+Maple combination for a bit of added brightness and snap, while Alder+Rosewood is the most popular pairing, offering the well known bass tones on most recordings.

Swampash tends to be lighter than regular Ash (they tend to use the woods from the bottom of the tree), where Alder would sort come up the middle on average, but can also range from light to heavy itself.

You're likely paying the extra $100 to get a nice grain, which you can choose not to seal with as many - or any - sealers. The J4 we built for Remco Hendriks for example, is a single piece of Swampash which was color stained before getting a rubbed on oil finish, with the complete bass barely tipping 7lbs when fully built. Alder is better sealed, from the advice I've been given.

Sire fretless.

In this case, I don;t think it matters. As far as I'm aware, Sire uses Asian body woods (as opposed to imported Alder and Ash), which are heavier in general. While overseas on sourcing trips, I was given the choice between US woods and Chinese woods and there was no question about paying more for the US woods, which were consistently lighter in blank form, like 2lbs on average.

I would suggest hitting the Sire megathread and ask people if their Ash bodied basses were light, average or heavy and decide from there.
.

 

[bdplaid]

Yeah, what everyone says, they vary a lot. But you didn't ask about tone...

I prefer ash. To me, it has a more "open" tone, especially with a maple board. Alder is like the chicken of body woods.

 

[Dragan]

That's all I want to know.

depends

 

[Dragan]

my bacchus jazz is heavy ash, not sure if that's why it sounds so good

IME lighter instruments sounds better.