Daytona: Ash/Alder body?

[captjc]

I thought I knew the answer to this question. My understanding was that all Daytonas in early production years 93/94-96 were ash, and then it was hit or miss on the body wood as things were being cleared out of the shop. But, recently there was a post here and on TGP of sunburst that had a serial # of '93 that appeared to be alder. The finish gave the wood a kind of flame effect, but not the distinct grain pattern of swamp ash.

I am a lover of all things "Daytona" (I have three). I just would like an experts opinion. Cheers!

[morningstar]

Alder when I can get it. It's usually lighter and the sound is a bit mellower. The appearance is definitely of a finer grain and has some distinctive "flecks" in the grain. If I wanted a Daytona for metal, I';d try to find a lightweight ash one. Some of the ash ones were real brick-o-casters (ow my numb left arm and hand).

Dunno how years correlate to woods. They all are dynamite players. Fret wire seems a tad soft though...

morningstar

[cmatthes]

All of my Daytonas have been light to light/medium weight - none were heavy at all. I've had an Ash '94 and '95, and an Alder '96.

[cynic]

My '96 is alder

[captjc]

Thanks for the responses. My designated years are only based on my limited experience. I love them all. I was looking for a factory perspective of what they used throughout the run.

Mornigstar, I don't really find your objection to the fretwire. I love these guitars (14" radius "strat" with perfect frets for me).

I am true Daytona fan, cheers!

[zenmindbeginner]

Didn't Hamer follow the CBS era Fender rule of opaque finishes on alder and transparent finishes over ash?

Fender liked the hard Norther ash but their sources of good and lightweight billets became a bit more scarce after 1968 so only transparent finished guitars received ash bodies.

Fast forward to the last 20 years and the country's species of Northern Ash is being destroyed by blight. The softer and less dense swamp ash of the South makes up the bulk of the commercially available ash today.

The grain of ash is uniform and bold like oak

The grain of alder is somewhat chaotic with knots occuring quite frequently throughout. The grain is more fine than ash.

Ash is extremely tight like maple

Alder is more porous like mahogany

Ash is extremely light in color and gives off a very pale dust where alder is a warm colored wood that gives off red hued dust.

Alder is a bit warmer and more compressed sounding than ash which is a very bright and lively tonewood.

Even with all of these differences, ash and alder are similar in weight, appearance and soundwhich is why they are used interchangeably for strats and teles. Absolutely excellent woods for longer scale lengths and the woods of choice for bass guitars.

[hamerhead]

Mine apparently is made of lead. Great guitar, but weighs as much as a small car.

[kizanski]

Mine apparently is made of lead. Great guitar, but weighs as much as a small car.

lol - yeah had one of those, too.

1995 - Light as a feather.

1994 - Light as a ton of feathers.

I've found the T-51 weights are all over the map as well.

[Lockbody]

I had one that I got off the board that I failed to ask the weight of before I bought it. I was pretty new and hadn't read up too much on the Daytonas yet.

11.6 lbs on my scale.

That thing made me feel sick to the stomach if I wore it for too long. It did sound good, though.

[hamerhead]

That's funny - I bought one off the board from a 'Lockbody' that I failed to ask the weight of before I bought it. I was pretty new and hadn't read up too much on the Daytonas yet. Hmmmmmmm...........................

It still sounds good. Damn good.

[Lockbody]

That's funny - I bought one off the board from a 'Lockbody' that I failed to ask the weight of before I bought it. I was pretty new and hadn't read up too much on the Daytonas yet. Hmmmmmmm...........................

It still sounds good. Damn good.

The blue one? Nice try, it was right there in the description. 9.5lbs.

[cmatthes]

None of my Daytonas have been over 8lbs, but I've played some that would give a cinder block a run for its money before.

My Doubleneck Daytona may actually be well under 9lbs, actually, but it isn't a Hamer-made body.

[hamerhead]

That's funny - I bought one off the board from a 'Lockbody' that I failed to ask the weight of before I bought it. I was pretty new and hadn't read up too much on the Daytonas yet. Hmmmmmmm...........................

It still sounds good. Damn good.

The blue one? Nice try, it was right there in the description. 9.5lbs.

The same. I love that guitar. I'd love it more if it were hollowed out, but still. And I haven't so much as turned a screw on it - it's exactly the way I got it. Well, with newer strings. And a bit more wear.

[Hamer Time]

Found my long lost twin!

Almost!

It's a '94 with Ash body. Yes it's heavy, heavier than my old LP Studio.

[kizanski]

God bless the HFC magic number-priced guitars!

I miss those days.

[morningstar]

Mmm. I need a guitar with whatever frets ESP used in their late 1980's Japan models. That stuff is bulletproof. I want a car made out of that stuff.

Maybe I just "love Daytonas too much" and it shows?

Maybe I am a "masher".

morningstar