NGD - JP6 this time

[TheShreddinHand]

In my experience from playing both basswood and alder JPs, what I like about alder is that leads seem to really jump out of the guitar. It's hard to explain but Alder just seems to make the guitar a little more lively and prominent in the mix. I know I read somewhere that it's a good wood for a guitar player that is the only guitarist in a band and it helps them stand out. I don't think that's a good description, but I know my ears prefer it ever so slightly to basswood! Haha!

-Eric

 

[TheShreddinHand]

But again, with so many other factors, pickups, amp, settings, gain level....don't worry too much about the guitar wood if you're a high gain metal/shred player.

-Eric

 

[yellowv03]

Basswood is a more neutral sounding wood. Poplar is actually almost exactly the same in tone as alder and it isn't anything like basswood. Basswood is quite a bit darker sounding than either alder or poplar. That is why many shredders use it. It makes for a nice smooth, rounded lead tone. Alder is going to be brighter and more cutting. The rosewood necked, basswood bodied JP I used to have had a glorious lead tone. Petrucci's tastes have changed and he wanted to try different things. Thats why he changed up the woods. I bet his old JP's still sound amazing in his hands

 

[beej]

As for JP, if he wants basswood & that is the bomb, I wondered why the BFR guitars use alder.

As Sterling Ball has said on many occasions, JP is the kind of guy that likes to continually try new things and push his instrument forward- thus why you see several variations of his sig guitar (and I'm sure countless prototypes that we don't see).

With the BFR, it's the mix of woods that is key. It's not just alder, it has a block of mahogany running from the bridge to the neck (the "tone block"), a maple cap and a mahogany neck. The sound of that guitar is the sum of the parts.

This mix of woods is something that came from the development of the 20th Anniversary Silhouette - JP liked it, so EBMM built his sig model using similar techniques. Same thing happened with the JPX guitar (based on the chambered 25th Anniversary MM guitar). JP still plays all of these different guitars, it's not like he's dropped them in favour of the newest revision.

But to say basswood's the best & then the upper end goes to alder for sonic reasons and not for reasons of manufacture or construction, my original question remains.

You're asking what's "best" - the short answer is that none of them are, they're just different. Different woods give the guitars a different tonal palette, so artists can choose what suits them best. One isn't simply better than another.