Fender body woods?

[carfish7]

So, I just got a sweet Fender Tele last weekend - my first "brand-new" guitar in many a moon. All the spec sheets I have seen, and the demos, say it has an Alder body. I like Alder - no problem there, but I'm seeing some very distinct and pronounced streaks running through the wood that are suggesting the body might be Ash?!? The guys at Willies told me Ash after looking at it, but I did some reading after the purchase and then discovered it was "supposed" to be Alder. It has a "Vintage WHite" finish that is just slightly less yellow than the usual butterscotch, and the veins I'm seeing appear almost "blue" to my eyes. Have not had the neck off yet to dig further, but does Fender change something as significant as body wood without noting this change somewhere, or am I likely just seeing things?

[velorush]

Which of the Tele models is it?

[carfish7]

Which of the Tele models is it?

American Special

[tbonesullivan]

pictures? ash looks quite a bit different than alder.

Alder:

ash;

[carfish7]

Some REALLY lame quick and dirty pics;

[Jakeboy]

Could be either but ash is usually very noticeable and identifiable with its bold grain patterns. Fender typically uses alder on the painted opaque bodies and ash on the transparents, but not always....the burst finishes are usually alder. They both sound great. Ash is prettier to look at IMO, but at the end of the day sound is what matters to me.

Enjoy the beautiful tele, BTW!

[cmatthes]

Looks more like Ash to me...

[burningyen]

Take the neck off and have a look.

[velorush]

Beauty!

Been eyeing those since GC in Memphis had one just like that (and a Strat) set right in the entrance a couple of years ago around this time.

[crunchee]

As they say, "Specifications are subject to change without notice."

I vote ash. With alder, you wouldn't be able to see much of anything with a semi-opaque finish, unless it had something really nasty.

[FrankieIII]

That's clearly ash. Fender must have made a mistake on their Spec sheet.

[burningyen]

Before we all go jumping to conclusions about what's clearly what, here's a piece of alder:

As you can see, some alder pieces can fool you into thinking they're ash under a trans finish. The only way to be sure is to pop the neck and see the bare wood color. Alder will tend to be beige, ash will tend to be white.

[carfish7]

Cool. Thanks for all the info. I learn something almost every day here.

I guess it doesn't matter enough at this point to pull it apart since I'm pretty happy with the acoustic tone and resonance, but if I do remove the neck I'll take a peek and snap a pic for prosperity.........

Now, about these Texas Specials..........

Where's my snap and twang?!?

[cmatthes]

Ash has a more open grain. Alder is a closer grained, smooth wood.

[Feynman]

It also has a focused yet floral body versus the supple monocepage that is alder.

[FrankieIII]

Before we all go jumping to conclusions about what's clearly what, here's a piece of alder:

As you can see, some alder pieces can fool you into thinking they're ash under a trans finish. The only way to be sure is to pop the neck and see the bare wood color. Alder will tend to be beige, ash will tend to be white.

Ben is right! I'm just so used to seeing older alder from decades ago that usually had much less of a visible grain pattern than the current alder being used:

http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Bodies/BodyOptions.aspx