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Vintage threads from the first ten years

Body Wood

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8/28/1999 6:49 PM
Tailpiece	Body Wood What is Brian May's Red Special made out of? I have in two different interviews, heard either oak or mahogany. If it is oak why aren't there any oak guitars out there?

8/28/1999 10:47 PM
Mike shaw	I always heard it was oak from a 200 year old fireplace mantel. As far as oak as a body wood, I would think that it would be really heavy for a normal sized guitar. Plus oak is HARD!! I would think that it would be a bitch to tool. Mike

8/29/1999 12:48 AM
JohnC	So is oak wood suposed to be a good material for a guitar body? What tone properties/qualities could it have? That's something I have been thinking about for a long time: building an oak body for a bolt on neck (strato type guitar) We still have some nice oak wood aroud here. At least enough for making a couple of guitars JohnC

8/29/1999 1:24 PM

Oak machines very well with carbide tools. White oak is finer grained than red oak, and splinters less (although both species do tend to splinter.) I think white oak would be the better choice for a guitar body. I once obtained some "flamed" red oak, but have never completed that guitar body.

Fifteen years ago, I played an oak bodied strat that was made by Willcutt Guitars in Lexington, KY. It was fine playing & sounding instrument, but was as heavy as a Les Paul!

I have heard that oak is a "tone soak" type of wood, but this has never been substantiated, to my knowledge. Perhaps this is an old wives' tale.

Mike Malott

8/29/1999 2:04 PM

I have heard that oak is a "tone soak" type of wood, but this has never been substantiated, to my knowledge

Well, it is a very hard and heavy wood. My *guess* is that this will give it a lot of sustain, and a rather bright, mid-heavy sound, very punchy and agressive (compare walnut and hard maple).

I have seen pieces of oak with an irregular grain-structure (to the piont of internal cracks/cavities) that will have an undesirable effect on resonance, and hence tone. If you find a nice regular sample and your back is up to the weight, go for it! It´s toolable, just takes a bit more sweat and time.

8/29/1999 6:52 PM

I have a friend with an oak-bodied van Halen kind of thing (strat-type body, Fender strat neck, one PAF Pro and a Kahler tremelo), it is a one-piece back-routed body; it's a beautiful guitar, and it sounds great, real mid-rangy and kind of warm; you can make it sound like an ash tele pretty easy, really, not at all dark sounding like I thought it would be. Doesn't sound much like Brian May's guitar, but it is REALLY heavy. Not as heavy as a late '60s or 1970s Les Paul, but real close. It is a really nice guitar, but really only for about 15 minutes at a time, it's just too heavy for a regular instrument.

Hi

8/30/1999 10:52 AM
Joe Fuzz	All this time, I never knew it was oak! Sure explains why it's small! Here's a couple of links. His equipment: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Venue/6448/sounds.html General pics and info: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Venue/6448/brian.html

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