Hi Guys,
Hope all is well. Had some questions for the experts on here regarding Wolf & Alligator and their tonal differences in the 72 - 74 era.
I've often read that Wolf was initially made to essentially be like a Super Strat. Based on the wiring schematics from Waldo in the link below, that seems pretty much the case as the wiring (to my novice eyes) seems just about identical. The pickups were also basically the same.
http://waldotronics.com/spudwiring.html
But as we all know, the tone of Wolf and Alligator were vastly different. To my ears, I describe Alligator as having that classic Strat snap, but with a thicker, denser tone than most Strats. You never got any of that harsh brightness that you can sometimes get from Strats.
Wolf had much of all that yet it had a clearer, softer, rounder tone. It has always sounded to me like the strings of Wolf were made of hay in that 73 / 74 era as they had such a natural sound to them.
So if Wolf and Alligator had such similarities, why did they sound so different?
Was it primarily the different woods used? The Neck through construction? Were there some other electronic differences such as the pots being very different? Was Irwin able to work some magic in the tone knobs adding some uniqueness? All of the above? Something else?
Curious if there are some specific points about Wolf that make it so different I might be missing.
At some point I will be getting a Wolf inspired guitar and I love the 73 / 74 era for that instrument.
Any insights would be greatly appreciated. I've done numerous online searches and haven't found anything definitive. Of course, perhaps there is nothing definitive!
PS - I should mention that I'm not at all expecting to sound like Jerry nor want to sound like Jerry. It's more that I'm looking for the highest quality instrument I can get that is inspired by the beauty and tone of Wolf.
Hope all is well. Had some questions for the experts on here regarding Wolf & Alligator and their tonal differences in the 72 - 74 era.
I've often read that Wolf was initially made to essentially be like a Super Strat. Based on the wiring schematics from Waldo in the link below, that seems pretty much the case as the wiring (to my novice eyes) seems just about identical. The pickups were also basically the same.
http://waldotronics.com/spudwiring.html
But as we all know, the tone of Wolf and Alligator were vastly different. To my ears, I describe Alligator as having that classic Strat snap, but with a thicker, denser tone than most Strats. You never got any of that harsh brightness that you can sometimes get from Strats.
Wolf had much of all that yet it had a clearer, softer, rounder tone. It has always sounded to me like the strings of Wolf were made of hay in that 73 / 74 era as they had such a natural sound to them.
So if Wolf and Alligator had such similarities, why did they sound so different?
Was it primarily the different woods used? The Neck through construction? Were there some other electronic differences such as the pots being very different? Was Irwin able to work some magic in the tone knobs adding some uniqueness? All of the above? Something else?
Curious if there are some specific points about Wolf that make it so different I might be missing.
At some point I will be getting a Wolf inspired guitar and I love the 73 / 74 era for that instrument.
Any insights would be greatly appreciated. I've done numerous online searches and haven't found anything definitive. Of course, perhaps there is nothing definitive!
PS - I should mention that I'm not at all expecting to sound like Jerry nor want to sound like Jerry. It's more that I'm looking for the highest quality instrument I can get that is inspired by the beauty and tone of Wolf.