What kind of wood would you prefer? Building a new Suhr Tele....

  • I´m sure, that there are some cracks here... and I am not!
    Since I bought a Suhr Guthrie Govan Signature Guitar I´m absolutely happy...


    But now, I want to get a new guitar - just in case - when something happens on stage... or a string breaks, or, or, or...
    damn it, i don´t need any reason - I just want one!!!! :thumbup: And I like Tele bodies, so the next one will have a Tele Body with a maple neck!


    But I don´t know, which wood combination is the best for me - perhaps some of you guys could help me find out.


    The guitar should sound a little bit different to the Suhr GG (Mahagony Neck and Body with maple top),
    but should also have two humbuckers, no single coil needed in the middle, but with a 5 way switch, so I can have the middle positions...
    drilled directly to the wood without any pickguard - like Eddie did it!


    The wood for the neck should be roasted maple cause of the look and feel,
    the sound of the whole guitar should be sweet, not too sharp, with an extra boost in the high mids... you know, what I mean?
    Not that sound of a twangy telecaster... more like a fat tele with enough high mids - to be heard without being loud...


    Should I get a swamp ash or alder - isn´t that too harsh?
    Or should I get basswood or more mahagony-style, cause the neck sounds different enough...
    or is this all esoteric shit and get the wood that looks fucking crazy?! :thumbup:


    Thanks for your advice...
    best regards from Bavaria,
    Mario

  • My musicman axis sport has very dense swamp ash with p90's and the crunch is absolutely amazing. I'm sure with humbuckers it would be great too. Thickness of the wood is probably key. Get a plank for sure, no unnecessary cavities. And ask them, whatever wood you get, for as dense a plank of wood as they have in stock. If weight isn't an issue.

  • What about black korina/limba? Not so 'dark' as mahoganey, and not so 'bright' as alder and ash? I think the maple neck will give you the 'hights' anyway, so the body can be a little more darker.


    Thanks, this sounds great!
    I will try guitars with this combination if it´s possible...

  • If you don't want the Tele twang, go for the Gotoh hardtail bridge w/ bridge pickup mounted in the body, instead of the Wilkenson Classic-T w/ bridge-mounted pickup.


    Thanks for your idea!
    But I think I will choose the trem system like in my Suhr Guthrie Govan - it works wonderful! I am used to it and will sound a little bit "not so twangy" aswell...


    Best regards!

  • Thanks a lot!
    But I´m wondering, if the chambering will be the better way to reduce the harshness...
    the korina body should really be a good choice... but with the chambering it will be perfect, or? What do you think?


    Has anybody chambered bodies (no cateye or other "open space" at the top!!!) - sorry for my english, don´t know the right words, kindly.


    Greetings from Bavaria,
    Mario

  • I am a newbie at Kemper forums but I think I can speak for the wood and tonal characteristics of guitars from first hand experience. I have been playing for about 25 years and owned so many different types of guitars and wood combinations.. if you ask for an honest opinion, there are a lot more important things than the actual wood itself such as the neck shape and the pickup configuration .. I tend compensate the wood characteristics with the opposite end of the spectrum with the pickup so it's somewhat easier to reach the tones in two extremes..So I decided to get Suhr Modern satin, why because it's cheaper than building it, the pickups have more mid character and Mahogany body has more scoop sound.. with the teles many people prefer Swamp ash ,, and the flame maple on top is more for looks but not really for function many makers agree on that.. mahogany body and neck with hand polish has very distinct, bright sound and sustain.. imo, I even owned a mahagony Strat for a while :) it sounded great with Tex Mex pick ups

  • Since You're not among for a true Telecaster sound, what about John Suhrs 'holy grail' combination? Basswood with a maple top.
    I have that in my Standard Pro and it's an amazing combo.
    I'm actually thinking of a third Suhr in the future, something along the lines of a Modern shape with Basswood/Maple top and a maple/pau ferro set-neck...

  • Have you considered to change the scale length? If you want a "darker" tele you could use the Gibson 24-3/4" scale instead of the Fender 25-1/2". This will give you a darker/warmer tone.


    I also agree that the wood is not the only key here as glamcem says.. What pickups do you have i mind? Very hot pickups will remove the influence that the wood has on the tone anyway...

  • Have you considered to change the scale length? If you want a "darker" tele you could use the Gibson 24-3/4" scale instead of the Fender 25-1/2". This will give you a darker/warmer tone.


    Does Suhr offer 24-3/4" necks on their models yet? They haven't in the past, and it doesn't appear on the options list no either. Tom Anderson OTOH offer a short-version of all models, an they are on-par with Suhrs guitars wrt functionality, quality and price. All TAGs also have a slightly more ergonomic neck pocket than you'll find on Suhrs T models. Both John and Tom make excellent instruments, but I find Anderson to offer a little extra in terms of options. Both his standard T-models as well as T-shaped Cobras could be equipped to meet the requirements.