Help me pick the top for my new guitar

[strumminsix]

I don't know anything about woods. But great sustain can clearly be attained on hollow and semi-hollows. Listen to Phish-You Enjoy Myself

It can be but citing Trey who always uses a sutain (comp) pedal and has his guitar blaring in the monitors on the verge of feedback is not the best source

[Rusty the Scoob]

Yeah, trey's sustain is endless but largely electronic.

Why does everyone make a big deal about sustain anyway? So you hit a note and it goes Dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

do you really care if it rings for 5 minutes instead of 3? I care 1000% more about the attack of the note. I want a good initial impact THUMP, and I'd prefer for it to die down a little imediately after like an upright bass. That's how you keep a mix clean but still cut through.

Phil's even on record as saying he hates listening to bass players who sit there and sustain notes, and I agree. There's rarely any interesting information conveyed by letting a string vibrate endlessly.

[gr8fullfred]

For me its a no brainer, quitled maple. Others are cool, but too distracting
Just my $.02

[keirweir]

I may be jumping in on this late but that spalted Maple is remarkable and one of a kind. Spalted maple, A nice dark purple heart core... Thats where I would go. But Vic knows what he's doing and I am sure it wil come out quit nice regardless of choice.

Goooooooooooooooooooo Spalted!!!!!!!!!!

[Maybeck09]

Graphic Designer says....

Quilted maple

The others have brief appeal-just not keeper stuff....like the Quilted Maple.

snow again,
Maybeck

[mijknahs]

Splated Maple - beautiful and unique

Quilted Maple - cool looking but also kinda generic

[playingdead]

Again, lots of good points ...

As for resale, since I'm a lefty, it's hard to imagine being able to sell it at all, so I'm not going to pick a top based on that. I want something beautiful, interesting, and unique ... the spalt seems to be all those things.

(PS -- I'm an art director, too.)

For the body and neck, Scott suggests:

"I have a super rare stash of Indian rosewood that I think would make a killer match. If it was chambered too, it would keep the weight off. Here is a picture. We could do a matching neck as well."

[keirweir]

The pic of IRW isn't computing...

[SarnoMusicSolutions]

Keep in mind that Trey's hollow Languedoc's actually don't have that much sustain at all compared to solid electrics with metal bridges. I've held and played them. Trey got his sustain from a compressor pedal and feedback, but not the guitar itself on its own. Jerry's guitar is quite the opposite, very dense, heavy, and bright sounding woods. Jerry's guitars likely had tremendous sustain.

Brad

[strumminsix]

I'm gonna based on looks along - quilted maple. It's a classy and timeless look!

I want a good initial impact THUMP, and I'd prefer for it to die down a little imediately after like an upright bass. That's how you keep a mix clean but still cut through.

Rusty, every play an axe with a quartsawn neck? Talk about attack before your pick is even done picking! WOWZA!

[sillydog2]

That spalted top is growing on me and with all the stuff you are seeing in it, it seems like you made you decision already.

As for your 'excess' lefties..... what do you got and what do you want for them? I always have money for a good guitar.

[krzykat]

That spalted top is growing on me and with all the stuff you are seeing in it, it seems like you made you decision already.

As for your 'excess' lefties..... what do you got and what do you want for them? I always have money for a good guitar.

I'm a lefty too so . . .

[playingdead]

When the Walker is done, I would likely part with my backup Jerrycaster, which is based on a mid-80s American Strat, with two Super IIs, and an SDS-1, and a Cutler CB-1 buffer. The Walker's getting a buffer and a Super II in the middle, so it will be a good backup (or primary) GD guitar.

I also have a beautiful lefty John Suhr Custom Classic Strat, like new, great tone, swamp ash, tobacco burst, Surh V60 pickups (HSS), stainless frets, pleked, maple neck, abalone markers ... terrific guitar, $1800 (guitar specs out to about $3600 new). Suhr makes about the best boutique Strats out there.

[RiverRat]

.

[Crazy 9.5 Fingers]

Vic can you really say no to the spalted after the Jerry face(s), the dancing bear, (which actually looks a lot like the UCLA bear or the Utah Jazz bear), the Culkin, the Edvard Munch?

No way dude, can't be done.