The descriptions of tone are very subjective and can be misleading. Let's consider the primary tone generator! Many people don't want to hear it but it is very true: it is your hands...

John adds: "I was never as so convinced as one day listening to Eddie Van Halen record at his studio. The sound was fat, articulate and every bit his signature tone. When I looked to see what he was playing I was stupefied to see a headless, woodless Steinberger. Not only that but when I checked out the guitar later, the strings were very rusty."

"The touch in your left and right hand technique can definitely make or break your tone. All things considered, one person sitting down with one amp, on one day, will come to tonal conclusions about different wood combinations. These are my personal opinions on how certain wood sound to me with my guitars and my amps and speakers."

Maple – Our Maple necks are 1-piece vintage style with skunk stripe and headstock plug made out of Pau Ferro. We use a very light satin wood-feeling finish. Maple has a unique tone, strong in the midrange with a sweet spanky high end. Maple will cut through when you need it and it is never muddy on the bass. Maple is good for overdrive with good harmonics. It's excellent on a Basswood back Quilt Maple bent-top Standard: very ballsy. We put a flat finish on maple so it doesn't feel sticky.

Maple / Pau Ferro – Quarter sawn Pau Ferro has the good properties of Ebony but seems to be more reliable and stable. Pau Ferro is a tight grained hardwood with excellent clarity on the "chunk" tones when using gain, especially when teamed up with an alder body. In overdrive mode it has a fatter low end and more pronounced sparkle when compared to Maple. It adds excellent definition to the notes, especially when using overdriven tones. This combination is strong in the lower mids and bass with some scooped mids.

Maple / Indian Rosewood – Sweet and warm with some sparkle on the top end, Indian Rosewood is probably one of the most popular fingerboard woods. It is open grained with colors ranging from brown black to red brown. Warm and fat, it is not too bright and not too dark - very neutral, it does however have more "sizzle" than 1-piece Maple necks.

Maple / African Rosewood – African Rosewood is rich in color: red brown with interesting patterns to sometimes almost black. Madagascar seems to have a wide frequency response - brilliant highs and punchy lows. It is tight-grained Rosewood similar to Brazilian Rosewood. This fingerboard wood is good with darker sounding body woods and humbucker settings. Exhibiting strong upper midrange and extra presence, it's slappy. The African is very similar to Brazilian in color and tone. Our species is actually a brown Madagascar.

Maple / Brazilian Rosewood – Limited in availability, Brazilian Rosewood has the characteristics of Indian and Madagascar rolled into one. It doesn't have as much brights as the Madagascar and is more crisp than Indian. It is best not used on Ash unless you like brights or you compensate in some other way like using darker sounding pickups or bridge.

Alder – Rich and full, Alder is strong in the lower midrange. This is probably the most widely used wood in the 60's for 3 single-coil style guitars. It is medium to light in weight and takes well to sunbursts and some transparent colors.

Swamp Ash – Popular in the 50's for electric guitars, this wood is alive and lightweight. Swamp ash just wants to vibrate. Bright and sweet at the same time with excellent grain patterns, all transparent finishes look great on Swamp Ash. One-piece Maple neck is a natural for Ash. Pau Ferro fingerboards also work well. Rosewood fingerboard on Ash body will give too much sizzle for many players. We would only build such combination if you are positive that this is what you want.

Basswood – Strong in the midrange, Basswood has a balanced tone and is lightweight. Light in color with almost no grain patterns, Basswood is best suited for solid colors or is excellent as a backing wood for a Maple top. All types of neck wood combinations work on Basswood but Indian would be on the woollier and warmer side.

Mahogany – A popular wood used in set-neck guitars and acoustics, Mahogany is strong in the mid-mids with a good high-midrange bark. Contrary to popular belief, Mahogany is not dark – just strong in the mids that gives it the aural illusion that it's compressed. Mahogany body is best when mated with Mahogany neck.

Basswood Back / Quilt or Flame Maple Top – Okay, this may be the Holy Grail of tone. The Basswood response is extended by a 3/16" Maple top adding more clarity and grind to the fatness of the Basswood, this combination is our favorite! Usually colors chosen will be opaque on the back with transparent colors on the top – LP style. It's most excellent with a one-piece Maple neck.

Ash Back / Quilt or Flame Maple Top – Auditioned with a Madagascar Bois de Rose fingerboard, John used to think that the Alder Body / Pau Ferro fingerboard was one of the best overdrive tones... The Ash back has that open ring with good clarity. The Maple top seems to add another dimension – not harsh at all but very alive sounding in both clean and dirty modes. Also, it's an excellent look for transparent colors both on the back and front. This combination makes for a light guitar as well. It has a nice punch with scooped mids. One-piece Maple neck is also a killer tone for this combo.

Mahogany Back / Quilt or Flame Maple Top – This is another killer combination when mated with a Mahogany neck with various species of Rosewood for fingerboard material. Maple extends the range of Mahogany with more brilliance and punchy lows. The Mahogany back and neck combination works well in the bolt-on design and is highly recommended for those seeking a thick woody tone.

With chambering, we remove the wood inside using 6 tuned chambers. What you lose is some weight and a little of the edginess or hardness. What you gain is sweetness and a warm low end. One of the punchiest guitars we have made was a Swamp Ash Classic T with Quilt Maple Top and a Birdseye Maple neck and HSH pickup configuration. The Classic T tends to have more punch than any other shape; this in conjunction with the chambers and the ballsier one-piece Maple neck definitely makes for a killer tone. Think of the chambering like adding a tube rectifier to you amp. Chambering adds a little more compression and sounds a little woollier. It may not be ideal for the aggressive heavy metal shred tone but works for everything else from AC/DC to light jazz. A big plus is you drop 3/4 of a pound from the weight of the guitar. We can chamber any wood combination. We will also add an F-hole or Cat's Eye for no additional charge.

Something worth mentioning is that different body shapes do sound different. It could be due to the mass or the shape. All things equal...pickups, necks, bridge, etc., the Classic T might be a little heavier guitar but has the punch to back it up. The Classic and Standard models are great sounding guitars as well and do everything they are supposed to do, but the Classic T definitely has some serious punch.

Let's not forget that there are many things that influence tone; the body and the neck wood are a strong part of that but they are not all that matters. For years I played a Solid Quilt Maple Standard with a Rosewood board neck and a Floyd. Bright you think? Not really... The Floyd isn't very bright - sort of neutral and the rosewood warmed it up. I used a hot dark bridge pickup. All this equaled a combo that was a killer shred guitar and never got lost behind the keyboards. The only disadvantage was the price of the wood and the fact it wasn't the lightest guitar in the world. Sometimes a guitar or a sound will sound killer in your living room but just not cut properly with a band. Also, the bridge will make a huge difference in the tone and in the tactile response.

Many have experienced what I have as well; you spend all day dialing in your tones at home or at your rehearsal space and you think you have all your tones dialed in perfectly... The band comes in and the rehearsal or the gig starts... The first thing you do is run to your amp to turn up the treble, turn down the bass and turn down the effects... Sound familiar?