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JetBoy · October 19th, 2009, 07:00 AM

Guys I need your help!!

I'm thinking of buying this Japanese tele: http://sweetguitars.ru/good.php?id=1353&archive=

But I'm not sure what kind of wood it's made of. I wonder if it is ALDER or BASSWOOD??

The guy who sells it says it's ASH, but I think it's definitely not.. I would really like it to be alder))

It's got serial number begining with "A" (Axxxxxx), so I suppose it's 1985-86.

Thank you!

tdu · October 19th, 2009, 08:23 AM

I am not the wood expert most people on this forum are, but that definitely doesn't look like Ash. It doesn't look like any Basswood I have seen, but again I am not expert. It almost looks like is has some kind of top on it.

RodeoTex · October 19th, 2009, 08:28 AM

I'm guessing that is Agathis. Lots of asian guitars tend to be made from it.

JetBoy · October 19th, 2009, 08:30 AM

Yeah, it's written there that it has THIN LAYER OF MATT VARNISH!

But what type of wood is under it...

sneakyjapan · October 19th, 2009, 08:37 AM

I have an A serial Fender Japan tele from the Zinger series...had 2, sold one... it`s a 72-55...one thing about the one pictured in this thread...the body is matte while the neck is shiny...appears to me the body has been stripped. I know mine and others like it I`ve seen here are alder...I`m pretty sure the one pictured is not sen so by process of elimination we might figure it out...doesn`t look like basswood to me either...so alder or ash? Mine is pencil dated 1985 on the neck butt and has the 55 blue sticker on the back of the headstock...I love it. I`ve read on line the ones with the A serial on the neckplate were not made for very long...can`t say how accurate that is though, might be true might be one of the many stories on line.

MatthewK · October 19th, 2009, 09:01 AM

It's not orange enough for alder, it's not grained enough for ash. My guess is probably basswood. Here's a pic of basswood grain from another site:

JetBoy · October 19th, 2009, 09:21 AM

I wonder if it is possible to know it for sure?? Maybe with the help of some Fender Japan catalogs or something else...

2MatthewK
The varnish I suppose could change the color of the wood slightly

Momotoro · October 19th, 2009, 09:26 AM

zen ash was listed on a bunch of those Japanese teles and many had basswood and ash veneer tops

JetBoy · October 19th, 2009, 12:17 PM

Any more ideas?

JetBoy · October 19th, 2009, 02:52 PM

!!!

AjayTele · October 19th, 2009, 05:26 PM

My understanding was that the MIJ 50s Reissues had Sen bodies (which is a Japanese version of ash).

JetBoy · October 19th, 2009, 05:44 PM

Well.. seems to me that there were different models and they were all made of different kinds of wood. These MIJ 50s reissues were ash, alder, basswood as well... and even more i think

Telenator · October 19th, 2009, 05:51 PM

It's that mystery pacific rim wood they use on guitars and bodies shipped over here. Can't say whether it sounds good or not, but it's pretty non-descript looking wood.

MatthewK · October 19th, 2009, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JetBoy

MatthewK
The varnish I suppose could change the color of the wood slightly

Well, yes - and pretty much all Fender Japan stuff of that era was using tinted varnish. If it's coated a varnish to bring out the grain, only basswood has a grain that subtle, everything else would look much grainier, apart from poplar maybe, but that usually doesn't have such an even colour. Alder maybe but it would look much pinker/oranger.

sneakyjapan · October 20th, 2009, 12:47 AM

heres a pic of one of my sen Greco strats...sen has white-ish/silvery grain to it. The tele above does not look like sen to me, though I have seen other -55 natural finish teles from the mid `80s that were sen but mine is not and it`s white. Am I alone in thinking the tele here has been stripped of it`s finish?

sneakyjapan · October 20th, 2009, 12:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatthewK

It's not orange enough for alder, it's not grained enough for ash. My guess is probably basswood. Here's a pic of basswood grain from another site:

after comparing the pics...I`d agree with you.

BuddyLee · October 20th, 2009, 01:02 AM

The info on the net about my 2003 Japanese Antigua says the body is Ash.

still_fiddlin · October 20th, 2009, 01:20 AM

That body makes me suspicious. I'd ask for higher res photos. I agree it looks like a possible refin, and basswood. Almost looks like poplar.

JetBoy · October 20th, 2009, 01:43 AM

Well, I've got only these photos :-(

MatthewK · October 20th, 2009, 05:22 PM

Can you ask how much it weighs?
No offense intended - but if you are prepared to buy a guitar you haven't played, are you confident that the wood will make a difference? I have also bought guitars without playing them (from Japan) and I have no idea whether I prefer ash, alder, basswood or balsa wood. Many players swear by basswood. For a Tele, the sound is much more dominated by the pickups, bridge and neck, from my understanding.

Iris · October 20th, 2009, 05:35 PM

ëèïà

JetBoy · October 20th, 2009, 05:52 PM

2MatthewK

Yeah, the point is that I played it once, and I don't really heave a chance to play it once more without buying it-the guy is a douche... so, difficult story

I liked the sound of it, really: good sustain and at the same time very bright highs!

I just was intending to buy one of the "traditional"-wood tele's - alder or ash.

sneakyjapan · October 20th, 2009, 10:57 PM

you can only play it again if you buy it? "4 letter word" that guy, guess he`s not really interested in selling it then.

ROADMAN · October 20th, 2009, 11:33 PM

Buy it ....if you don't like it sell it....if it wasn't sell-able
you wouldn't want to buy it...and who cares what wood it is ...if it's a player it's a player

JetBoy · October 22nd, 2009, 04:06 AM

Yeah, you're right,really.

But how can I know FOR SURE what kind of wood it is?? How can I check it?

BuddyLee · October 22nd, 2009, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JetBoy

Yeah, you're right,really.

But how can I know FOR SURE what kind of wood it is?? How can I check it?

I recommend this here book.

sonny wolf · October 22nd, 2009, 08:45 AM

Judging from the picture,I'm guessing it is basswood.It looks like the typical basswood I have seen...not very grainy.It's not ash,that's for sure.

October 19th, 2009, 07:00 AM	#1 (permalink)
JetBoy NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Moscow Posts: 9	!!! Fender Japan Telecaster !!! (wood type?) Guys I need your help!! I'm thinking of buying this Japanese tele: http://sweetguitars.ru/good.php?id=1353&archive= But I'm not sure what kind of wood it's made of. I wonder if it is ALDER or BASSWOOD?? The guy who sells it says it's ASH, but I think it's definitely not.. I would really like it to be alder)) It's got serial number begining with "A" (Axxxxxx), so I suppose it's 1985-86. Thank you!

October 19th, 2009, 08:23 AM	#2 (permalink)
tdu Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 33 Posts: 2,832 11 Photos	I am not the wood expert most people on this forum are, but that definitely doesn't look like Ash. It doesn't look like any Basswood I have seen, but again I am not expert. It almost looks like is has some kind of top on it. __________________ Torn Down Units brand Rock n' Roll My Solo Stuff:

October 19th, 2009, 08:28 AM	#3 (permalink)
RodeoTex Friend of Leo's Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 2,930	I'm guessing that is Agathis. Lots of asian guitars tend to be made from it. __________________ Turn it on, turn it up, turn me loose.

October 19th, 2009, 08:37 AM	#5 (permalink)
sneakyjapan Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: nippon Posts: 2,992 3 Photos	I have an A serial Fender Japan tele from the Zinger series...had 2, sold one... it`s a 72-55...one thing about the one pictured in this thread...the body is matte while the neck is shiny...appears to me the body has been stripped. I know mine and others like it I`ve seen here are alder...I`m pretty sure the one pictured is not sen so by process of elimination we might figure it out...doesn`t look like basswood to me either...so alder or ash? Mine is pencil dated 1985 on the neck butt and has the 55 blue sticker on the back of the headstock...I love it. I`ve read on line the ones with the A serial on the neckplate were not made for very long...can`t say how accurate that is though, might be true might be one of the many stories on line. __________________ quasi mojo

October 19th, 2009, 05:51 PM	#13 (permalink)
Telenator VENDOR Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Connecticut Posts: 6,622 5 Photos	It's that mystery pacific rim wood they use on guitars and bodies shipped over here. Can't say whether it sounds good or not, but it's pretty non-descript looking wood. __________________ Dogs have the right idea! www.telenator.com

October 19th, 2009, 08:30 AM	#4 (permalink)
JetBoy NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Moscow Posts: 9	Yeah, it's written there that it has THIN LAYER OF MATT VARNISH! But what type of wood is under it...

October 19th, 2009, 09:01 AM	#6 (permalink)
MatthewK TDPRI Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hobart, Australia Posts: 67	It's not orange enough for alder, it's not grained enough for ash. My guess is probably basswood. Here's a pic of basswood grain from another site:

October 19th, 2009, 09:21 AM	#7 (permalink)
JetBoy NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Moscow Posts: 9	I wonder if it is possible to know it for sure?? Maybe with the help of some Fender Japan catalogs or something else... 2MatthewK The varnish I suppose could change the color of the wood slightly

October 19th, 2009, 09:26 AM	#8 (permalink)
Momotoro Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: germantown, tn Age: 57 Posts: 444	zen ash was listed on a bunch of those Japanese teles and many had basswood and ash veneer tops

October 19th, 2009, 12:17 PM	#9 (permalink)
JetBoy NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Moscow Posts: 9	Any more ideas?

October 19th, 2009, 02:52 PM	#10 (permalink)
JetBoy NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Moscow Posts: 9	!!!

October 19th, 2009, 05:26 PM	#11 (permalink)
AjayTele Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Sydney, Australia Age: 48 Posts: 1,490 12 Photos	My understanding was that the MIJ 50s Reissues had Sen bodies (which is a Japanese version of ash).

October 19th, 2009, 05:44 PM	#12 (permalink)
JetBoy NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Moscow Posts: 9	Well.. seems to me that there were different models and they were all made of different kinds of wood. These MIJ 50s reissues were ash, alder, basswood as well... and even more i think

October 20th, 2009, 12:47 AM	#15 (permalink)
sneakyjapan Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: nippon Posts: 2,992 3 Photos	heres a pic of one of my sen Greco strats...sen has white-ish/silvery grain to it. The tele above does not look like sen to me, though I have seen other -55 natural finish teles from the mid `80s that were sen but mine is not and it`s white. Am I alone in thinking the tele here has been stripped of it`s finish? __________________ quasi mojo

October 20th, 2009, 01:02 AM	#17 (permalink)
BuddyLee Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Silicon Valley Age: 31 Posts: 727	The info on the net about my 2003 Japanese Antigua says the body is Ash.

October 20th, 2009, 01:20 AM	#18 (permalink)
still_fiddlin Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2009 Location: Texas Age: 59 Posts: 161	That body makes me suspicious. I'd ask for higher res photos. I agree it looks like a possible refin, and basswood. Almost looks like poplar. __________________ Pops... If you dance with the devil, the devil don't change. The devil changes you.

October 20th, 2009, 01:43 AM	#19 (permalink)
JetBoy NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Moscow Posts: 9	Well, I've got only these photos :-(

October 20th, 2009, 05:22 PM	#20 (permalink)
MatthewK TDPRI Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hobart, Australia Posts: 67	Can you ask how much it weighs? No offense intended - but if you are prepared to buy a guitar you haven't played, are you confident that the wood will make a difference? I have also bought guitars without playing them (from Japan) and I have no idea whether I prefer ash, alder, basswood or balsa wood. Many players swear by basswood. For a Tele, the sound is much more dominated by the pickups, bridge and neck, from my understanding.

October 20th, 2009, 05:35 PM	#21 (permalink)
Iris TDPRI Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: SPb,NW Russia Age: 34 Posts: 56	ëèïà

October 20th, 2009, 05:52 PM	#22 (permalink)
JetBoy NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Moscow Posts: 9	2MatthewK Yeah, the point is that I played it once, and I don't really heave a chance to play it once more without buying it-the guy is a douche... so, difficult story I liked the sound of it, really: good sustain and at the same time very bright highs! I just was intending to buy one of the "traditional"-wood tele's - alder or ash.

October 20th, 2009, 10:57 PM	#23 (permalink)
sneakyjapan Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: nippon Posts: 2,992 3 Photos	you can only play it again if you buy it? "4 letter word" that guy, guess he`s not really interested in selling it then. __________________ quasi mojo

October 20th, 2009, 11:33 PM	#24 (permalink)
ROADMAN Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: delta b.c. canada Age: 54 Posts: 2,206	Buy it ....if you don't like it sell it....if it wasn't sell-able you wouldn't want to buy it...and who cares what wood it is ...if it's a player it's a player __________________ the blues had a baby and they called it Rock and Roll

October 22nd, 2009, 04:06 AM	#25 (permalink)
JetBoy NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Moscow Posts: 9	Yeah, you're right,really. But how can I know FOR SURE what kind of wood it is?? How can I check it?

October 22nd, 2009, 08:45 AM	#27 (permalink)
sonny wolf TDPRI Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: austin texas Age: 37 Posts: 60	Judging from the picture,I'm guessing it is basswood.It looks like the typical basswood I have seen...not very grainy.It's not ash,that's for sure.

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