Guitar Body Woods: Fender Japan
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Fender
Japan uses mainly five different types of body woods: Alder, Basswood,
and 3 types of Ash- Light Weight Ash, Northern Hard Ash and Sen. Below
are photos of each and a brief description of each wood.
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Alder
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Alder is closed-grained with a pale to light reddish grain. It's of
medium density and tends to be in the upper 7 to lower 8 lbs range.
Fender Japan uses Alder in their Texas-Special Strat models, Jaguars,
Jazzmasters and JV Stratocasters (some JV Squiers have Basswood bodies).
Alder and Basswood both have closed grains, so it's not always so easy
to tell them apart just by looking in the neck pocket.
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Basswood
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Even less graining
to the wood than Alder. The color is yellowish to off-white. It is lightweight
and basswood bodied Strats will sometimes be under 7lbs. It is also
softer than Ash or Alder, and a slight knock against the edge of table,
etc. will easily leave a dent. Although Basswood is often thought of
as being inferior to Alder and Ash, it is really a matter of personal
taste. Yngwie Malmsteen prefers it and it's used in his Fender Japan
Signature Stratocaster which retails for $1,685.00.
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Northern Hard Ash
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Fender Japan calls it "White Ash". It is open-grained, porous
in areas and is the heaviest/most dense of the five woods listed here.
It is common for hard Ash bodied guitars to weight 9 lbs and sometimes
over 10 lbs. Has a nice grain pattern for non-solid finishes and is
used for Fender Japan's '67 Reissue Telecaster among others.
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Light Weight Ash (Swamp Ash)
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This is another
open grain wood and is actually lighter in color than shown because
the pocket pictured above is finished with nitrocellulose lacquer. It
can be very lightweight- under 7lbs. The density varies so sometimes
the guitar will get into the 8lbs range. Fender Japan uses this wood
now on their '52 Reissue Telecasters and '54 Reissue Strats among others.
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Sen (Japanese Ash)
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Sen is a type of Ash. Yellowish and also with an open grain. It is of medium density and the weight varies in the 7-8lbs range. The graining can be tighter and slightly more even than Swamp Ash. Fender Japan uses this wood mainly on their natural finish Thinline and '72 Reissue Telecasters.
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