help, please. is this an alder body?

[calicdusan]

Hi. I know how to recognize ash. and mahogany. but alder was always tricky for me because i saw a lot of different grains and it's kinda hard for me to lock on and say "this is alder for sure".

so. can anyone help? alder or what?




i'm building a partcaster. and i can get a sweet deal for this pretty old, in ok condition affinity body.

but, squier being squier tends to change wood a lot, so i decided to check before i buy.

[funkymann1]

the grain looks pretty narrow in that middle pick so I would say yes....or maybe its basswood...looks to narrow for Agathis

[calicdusan]

thanks! but i kinda need a bit more specific answer (:

[KevinB]

It's hard to be any more specific.

Could be alder - could be basswood. As it's an Affinity, my guess would be the latter.

Why is it important?

[calicdusan]

well, the seller says it's alder... i wanna check. basswood affinity strat? i didn't know that they made them. i knew they made other series strats out of basswood.

and i kinda want an alder strat.

thanks (:

[Abu Twangy]

Looks like alder to me. Most basswood doesnt have much grain. Affinity bodies are thinner than Standard Squiers. What is stamped in the neck pocket?

I find it interesting that it doesn't look like a veneered body blank like Fender MIM Standard sunbursts.

[KevinB]

Fender's website does list the Affinity Strat as having an alder body though, so maybe it is.

There are about 30 subspecies of alder though, so it's probably an Asian variety and not quite the same as you'd get from a USA made guitar. Not that you'd be able to hear any difference. The top looks to have a nice subtle grain. Could this be veneered?

Whatever wood it is, it looks like a decent body. And the swimming pool routes will give you a lot of pickup and wiring options.

[calicdusan]

thanks! i can't see the numbers. the images i got aren't that good.

well. it's an old body. 7/8/10 years old. the dude got that guitar second hand like five or six years ago took the neck off and left the body.

i don't expect much, i know the wood isn't that great on affinity strats. but i kinda want it to be alder in some form, to counter-act the swamp ash (with maple fingerboard) strat that i got. i wanna put hotter PUs in it, rosewood neck... to be a fatter/hotter/louder sounding than the swamp ash one. the swamp ash one is gonna get some SSL-1 pu's or something.

it' could turn out to be a good body. the wood could have dried out a bit in 10 years and it could sound nice.

i don't think it's veneered. i have a couple more pics and you can see it's a three piece body (looking at both sides). one joint is very visible, the other one is kinda there... kinda not... hahah but i would bet that i could see it if i had the body in my hands.

my 2010 MIM FSR swamp ahs is a three piece and you can see it clearly because it's white blond (just a tad transparent).


sooo... for 30€... i think it's a good deal... if it's alder, and you seem positive that it is.

(:

[Rod Parsons]

It's definately not ash and to me looks like my alder Telly. Pretty sure that is what it is. If it were basswood, the weight would be very light. If it were poplar,[similar to alder in sound], it would still make for a nice 'loud' body. Poplar sounds a lot like alder. Some people 'prefer' the sound of poplar, believe it or not. It's a hard wood.

[calicdusan]

i really respect this forum. you people rock (:

i ordered the body. i'll post the numbers in the neck joint when i get it (in three or four days).

i heard about poplar being very good in some cases. i never got my hands on a poplar guitar though. never had the chance.

the main thing for me on a guitar is how the neck feels in my hand... and the feeling that guitar has more to offer, however hard i hit the strings... so... this alder thing is probably just a mind game for me i guess... i wanted an alder body, and i probably got it, even though it doesn't mean much... i'm no expert. i can tell a tele from a strat with my eyes closed, but i wouldn't be so sure if i could tell the difference between two similar strats.

thank you again.

[KevinB]

If you can see the 3 pieces, you can be pretty sure it's not veneered.

And for 30€, how can you go wrong?

I hope it builds up into what you are looking for.

[calicdusan]

me again.

first of all. thank you for all the replies!!!

the body has arrived. it is obvious that it has been played a lot and that it ain't young. it's got a couple of scratches, and a fair share of dings.

the finish is pretty thin. the body looks nice, i don't mind the dings. the thicknes, the pickguard holes, the routing... it all fits the affinity series. the holes are good, the neck pocket is good.

the neck pocket number isn't visible because the ink got soaked into the wood.

i've looked hard for the other wood joint and didn't found one. it turns out that it's a two piece 8O

i took a couple more pics and did some processing (contrast, structure, sharpness) so the grain would be easily visible.

what's your take now? alder, basswood or something else?

[Rod Parsons]

It still looks like alder to me. How much does it weigh?

[calicdusan]

around 1.7 kg give or take a little. it's 3.75 lb.

bear in mind that affinity strat bodies are around 3 or 4 mm thinner than squier and fender standrads, so they are bound to be a bit lighter.

[calicdusan]

hello? (:

[Stubee]

I'd guess alder too but doesn't matter, you got a very good deal.

[calicdusan]

ok. thank you all again. cheers.