Official Luthiers Forum!

Does Alder have to be filled for finishing? And how heavy is it compared to mohagany and maple?

Alder is cheaper and lighter than mahog and maple, that's why many companies use it. Also, the grain is light, the color often really plain, and you don't need to porefill. So, if you want an opaque colored finish, it's good. Otherwise, alder is not so nice, IMO.

Francis

_________________
Francis Richer, Montréal
Les Guitares F&M Guitars

Love Alder! It works well, is a dream to finish, is generally(IME) on the light side of medium weight wood. The only drawback, as has been mentioned, is mediocre visual appeal. But you can find visually appealing stuff if you look hard. Much of the older honduran Mahogany was pretty straight-grained, boring stuff, but it never stopped anyone from building with it. Alder is a good, solid choice. Slap a nice, figured top wood on it, and enjoy! Nobody looks at the back anyway, lol.

_________________
Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Thats what I was thinking of doing Mike. A Chambered Les Paul style with F-holes. Was hoping
chambering would also cut down on the weight some. I have a les paul and its heavy.

I had a chambered Les Paul and it was still heavy, lol.
Check out http://www.carvin.com . Their standard wood is alder, and the list of options for top wood or other extras is near limitless. They don't seem to have a problem making beautiful guitars with alder.

_________________
Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Mike, thats partly where I got the Idea was from Carvin. If I didn't want to build my own I'd buy one of theirs.