RogerD
Wholenote
Fraternity, Dedication, & Passion
Posts: 181
Formerly Known As: Roger D
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Post by RogerD on Apr 15, 2020 19:49:55 GMT -5
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Post by Leftee on Apr 15, 2020 19:57:01 GMT -5
Just saw this today.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Apr 15, 2020 21:38:54 GMT -5
This makes me sad. I always felt ash was underrated, and the price has always been so low that I assumed that the supply was strong.
Might be a good time to look at some of those pacific rim hardwoods. They show up on import guitars from time to time and can be absolutely great in a guitar, but since they're species no one has ever heard of that have no vintage pedigree, few people ever seem to take note.
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Apr 15, 2020 22:27:33 GMT -5
I only have 1 ash body guitar, ironically on my homebrewed 3 TSB 59 Strat build which should be alder. Even my Tele is alder. Maybe I should snag an ash Tele body from Warmoth while I still can. Then again, I don't know my ash from a hole in the ground.
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Post by LTB on Apr 16, 2020 3:02:20 GMT -5
Glad I bought a Fender Jazz bass with Ash body before this came out
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Post by budg on Apr 16, 2020 4:38:47 GMT -5
That stinks, but apparently ash is getting harder to come by. I have an AVRI 59 Thinskin in white blonde that is ash. Phenomenal guitar thats going no where.
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Apr 16, 2020 7:11:07 GMT -5
Oh yeah, I forgot my Jazz bass is ash.
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DrKev
Wholenote
It's just a guitar, it's not rocket science.
Posts: 418
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Post by DrKev on Apr 16, 2020 9:29:39 GMT -5
Noo surprise. The wood industry has been saying this will happen. The Emerald Ash Bore beetle just destroyed huge stock of ash trees in the last few years. I really noticed around Buffalo/WNY last summer. Some forests look more like a winter scene than a summer scene. Just shocking what a pretty little beetle can do.
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Post by Duke on Apr 16, 2020 9:33:16 GMT -5
I'm not surprised. The downside is the price gouging that will now happen on the used market ash body Fenders.
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Post by Seldom Seen on Apr 16, 2020 10:42:42 GMT -5
This is news to me. I have two Telecasters and a Jazz Bass with ash bodies. I don’t plan on any more guitars so I’m glad to have a few ash bodies in the herd.
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Post by Mfitz804 on Apr 16, 2020 14:02:18 GMT -5
I only have 1 ash body guitar, ironically on my homebrewed 3 TSB 59 Strat build which should be alder. Even my Tele is alder. Maybe I should snag an ash Tele body from Warmoth while I still can. Then again, I don't know my ash from a hole in the ground. I was contemplating using "ash" and "hole" together somehow. Well played.
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Post by Joe Potts on Apr 16, 2020 15:55:59 GMT -5
Rats!
I used to have an American Std Strat in natural that had an ash body. It was a wonderful guitar that I regret selling, but I have no idea how much the ash body might have contributed to the vibe.
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Post by stratcowboy on Apr 16, 2020 16:32:19 GMT -5
My custom Strat is ash. Though it is an excellent guitar, it's not as resonant and toneful as my #1...which is an older American Std. from around 1998. Which I figure means it's an alder Strat. But it's super!
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Apr 16, 2020 17:24:16 GMT -5
It's no big deal in the grand scheme of guitar woods because there are plenty of other woods that are just as good. You cannot listen to a recording and identify which guitar is ash and which is alder.
Where it hits hardest is the fact that ash is what Leo & Company used, so nostalgia is a powerful emotional factor. But Fender used pine for their earliest stuff, and it is quite popular now. Up until the early 2000's if you said you wanted a pine guitar, most all the screw sniffers would've had quite a laugh at your foolishness.
How the times have changed.
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Post by LTB on Apr 16, 2020 17:46:46 GMT -5
My custom Strat is ash. Though it is an excellent guitar, it's not as resonant and toneful as my #1...which is an older American Std. from around 1998. Which I figure means it's an alder Strat. But it's super! Yes, I had a 2011 American Special Jazz Bass my wife bought me for my Birthday that year. I believe it was the first year they came out. It had an Alder Body with Rosewood Fingerboard that had nicely rolled edges on the fingerboard. Loved that bass but when I was off work for 2 different operations in the span of 2 years I had to sell it to pay a bill. Regretted that ever since. It had a soulful tone that my 2017 American Pro Jazz bass with Ash body doesn't quite achieve. The only thing though as nice as the 2011 with Alder sounded in a live mix at high volume (thanks to guitarist and drummer lol ) the lower tones got a little lost where as the Ash being a little brighter cut through. I tried to find another American Special in 2018 but they were no longer made and the few I found on Ebay were as much as I paid for mine new in 2011 so I went for the American Pro Jazz as it had nice tuners and bridge which the 2011 Special lacked (had same as Highway one bass) and by the time I would have bought the Special and upgraded tuners and bridge it would be as much as the American Pro.
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Post by theprofessor on Apr 17, 2020 14:42:27 GMT -5
Wow, this stinks.
(All my Fenders are white blonde/ash.)
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Post by larryguitar54 on Apr 17, 2020 15:22:04 GMT -5
My 'go to' is a 52 reissue Ash.
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Post by bluzcat on Apr 17, 2020 18:22:54 GMT -5
I love the grain so will hate to see it go, but I can understand from a company perspective.
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herb
Wholenote
Posts: 159
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Post by herb on Apr 18, 2020 11:42:42 GMT -5
Now I'll have to hang onto my '52 AVR Tele. Damn.
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Post by jefe46 on Apr 18, 2020 14:47:37 GMT -5
"I love the grain so will hate to see it go, but I can understand from a company perspective."
Yup, they simply don't want to pay the price.
Fact is that Fender used swamp ash and alder because it was available and cheap.
No different than Martin using red spruce (now "adirondack" as a marketing name/tool) as it was available and cheap.
Time to go out and start buying ash Fenders ...stash and hold til the word gets out and the used prices go up.
Ash may be the new Brazilian rosewood. : )
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Post by LTB on Apr 18, 2020 15:32:20 GMT -5
"I love the grain so will hate to see it go, but I can understand from a company perspective." Yup, they simply don't want to pay the price. Fact is that Fender used swamp ash and alder because it was available and cheap. No different than Martin using red spruce (now "adirondack" as a marketing name/tool) as it was available and cheap. Time to go out and start buying ash Fenders ...stash and hold til the word gets out and the used prices go up. Ash may be the new Brazilian rosewood. : ) So a guitar or bass with Ash Body and Brazilian Rosewood Fingerboard are going to be doubly rare...
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Post by jefe46 on Apr 18, 2020 17:05:04 GMT -5
Got it....I'm on it.
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Post by De ville on Apr 19, 2020 1:38:05 GMT -5
Rats! I used to have an American Std Strat in natural that had an ash body. It was a wonderful guitar that I regret selling, but I have no idea how much the ash body might have contributed to the vibe. My old jam buddy Dave had one of those. Just a beautiful guitar, and sounded great, too. Dave was a pretty good player.
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Post by rdr on Apr 20, 2020 10:51:21 GMT -5
I hear there is some light ash, but I've never had any. My ash Baja tele is heavy. I had a Fender "Lite Ash" Strat which was a really good guitar, but also really heavy- sold it. I'll keep the Baja tho, it sounds great.
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Post by bluzcat on Apr 20, 2020 11:01:03 GMT -5
My ash-bodied 50th Anniversary AmSe is the lightest Fender I have.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Apr 20, 2020 13:06:48 GMT -5
I hear there is some light ash There is, but it's not widely available. I made an Esquire body from ash that is super light...the lightest I've ever handled. It came from a slab that had been sleeping for more than 40 years in a barn in southwest Texas, where it's really dry. This guitar weighs 5.2 lbs soaking wet.
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Post by LTB on Apr 20, 2020 13:37:10 GMT -5
I hear there is some light ash There is, but it's not widely available. I made an Esquire body from ash that is super light...the lightest I've ever handled. It came from a slab that had been sleeping for more than 40 years in a barn in southwest Texas, where it's really dry. This guitar weighs 5.2 lbs soaking wet. Isn't Swamp Ash a very light ash?
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Apr 20, 2020 15:00:28 GMT -5
Generally, yes...but swamp ash, as a species, does not exist.
The term originated from various species of ash harvested from areas in close proximity to a wetland, and this wood is generally lighter in weight than the same species of wood from trees in dry areas.
The result of all this is that even though wood may be described as swamp ash, it can still be fairly weighty; there's no guarantee. Ultimately it comes down to mineral content in the soil: areas of higher mineral content produce trees with greater specific gravity than areas with lower mineral content.
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Post by reverendrob on Apr 20, 2020 15:26:08 GMT -5
Fender: Losing their way one choice at a time.
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Peppy
Wholenote
Guitar gear guru at Milano Music Center
Posts: 180
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Post by Peppy on Apr 20, 2020 22:21:32 GMT -5
Bought a brand-new Professional Natural Ash Tele, with maple board, four hours ago. I had played it a few times previously. With Fender's announcement, and this store being the only one open in a metro area of 7,250,000, I decided to wait no longer. They now have two left. A Tele with two humbucking pickups (not a Tele to me) and a Thinline Tele. I think I lucked out. Mine has awesome figuring and it is a very light piece of........ash. To add: my sales guy (also a personal friend of mine outside of the store) said his Fender portal shows nada for ash. Fender took it off the dealer portals a week or so back I guess. Meaning yeah, *very* official.
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