Tom Anderson woods! woods or not woods this is the problem!!

[alexguitarlab]

where to buy the best wood for building guitars as a TA?
Italy is a real problem in finding the best wood, mainly basswood, alder swamp ash and hard rock maple!

[tom]

all those body woods are grown here, so i imagine they get treated like exotics there. you might want to try LMI, stewmac, or some other guitar parts seller if you only need enough for a guitar.

[alexguitarlab]

I am very happy to speak with Tom Anderson in person!:o
tom anderson guitar is my reference how I have to work to improve the guitars that I make.
is very difficult to find these american woods in Italy...
I'm looking for a good supplier of wood for guitarr bulding.
I found this, but I never tried.
is valid?
http://www.exoticwoods.com/home.php
could you recommend other?

sorry my bad english!:(

[tom]

i have bought fingerboards from them from time to time.
if you are looking for several pieces at a time the price will be much higher than if you buy bigger quantities.
http://www.lmii.com/ is another good source for smaller quantities or even larger quantities.

[alexguitarlab]

On lmii I've never bought because they have body in alder in 3 / 4 pieces and swam ash in two pieces, do not have the basswood.
I usually build in a single piece body..

[tom]

i seldom see alder or basswood in a 13" wide board. the trees are just not big enough. ash does happen but a premium would have to be paid for it. we do 2 piece center seem on those woods and can usually get what we need pretty easily. we try to keep some 1 piece ash on hand but do charge more for it. i don't ever use 1 piece for my own personal guitars as i don't believe there is any tonal advantage.

[alexguitarlab]

as i don't believe there is any tonal advantage.

I also think so!
While I find it important to give weight to the tonal advantages?

I also believe that a resonant wood should be the one which is done with the neck and the fingerboard ..you agree?

[tom]

i'm not sure i know what you're asking.
i believe weight affects tonality much more than whether it is one piece or not.
neck and body are both very important to tone. all components must compliment each other and work together to make the guitars tone.

[alexguitarlab]

i believe weight affects tonality much more than whether it is one piece or not.

did not understand very well ..


neck and body are both very important to tone. all components must compliment each other and work together to make the guitars tone.
fully agree with what you think.. the tonal advantage is the combination of each part put together well... together with a good set-up .... but i may be wrong... his experience is certainly greater than mine:D

I use a body one piece because, since the guitar fine, I want to build it with the finest woods... only for this:)

[tom]

some people believe a 1 piece body sounds better than a 2 piece. i do not agree with this. the wood available to me in 7" width is of an over all higher quality than the wood that is 14" wide.

[alexguitarlab]

that 14 "is more rare is it costs more.
that 7 "is more stable?

[tom]

14" is more rare and is often heavier.
narrower boards are often more stable because they are usually cut so the are coming out of 1/2 the tree diameter. often times 1 piece boards are cut near the center of the tree and the boards take up much of the trees diameter. when the wood has this grain orientation it is likely to cup.

[alexguitarlab]

I do not know if I understood correctly ... I think some words are not translated by the translator with the right meaning

[alexguitarlab]

I d'not know if a 1 piece body is more heavier because the weather has absorbed more moisture and therefore difficult to lose it?

usually when I have a drop top with a one piece basswood body, lightened with the routing and after proceed with the gluing of the top.
this allows me to lighten the body...

[tom]

weight is not because of moisture content if the wood has been dried to 6%. it is just how the tree grows. slower growing usually makes heavier wood, but it is also the climate and soil that can affect weight. the one pice basswood i have had has always been heavier, just because that tree was heavier. the percentage of 1 piece basswood lumber is very small compared to 7" wide basswood lumber so it is just a smaller group of wood to choose from.

[alexguitarlab]

Thanks Tom .. you've been very clear!

[markus]

Hey Alex, I checked out your webpage. Very nice guitars you're making there!
Very cool! :cool:

[alexguitarlab]

Thanks markus!
I do whatever I can to build the best guitars!
I registered on this forum also for this...

[alexguitarlab]

Over the years, through direct experience, I realized that the wood in an electric guitar is a sound generator but a subtractor, a kind of filter frequency.
It 's a correct conclusion?

[tom]

i don't think anyone would say that the strings by themselves without any wood sound beautiful, so for me it's how the wood is driven by the strings that makes the tone.

[alexguitarlab]

oh yes! wood is important to make the guitar tone just because the type of wood used, it acts as a filter frequency.
So, knowing well their frequency response, you can choose one rather than another.