If you think that’s bad some guitar companies are charging more for electric guitars made from special kinds of wood. They claim it improves the tone. Of an electric guitar. Lol. There’s one born every minute.
Tell me you don't know anything about electric guitars without telling me you don't know anything about electric guitars.
Wood has a great deal with how an electric guitar sounds. Maple-topped guitars are brighter, as are guitars with maple necks.
Leo Fender used ash and alder because they were readily available and sounded good. Pine electrics are light but have a different sound. Solid maple electric guitars are extremely heavy.
Unfortunately, a lot of "old-growth" hardwoods are scarcer than they used to be and we're seeing in increase in alternative woods from Asia such as basswood. Brazilian rosewood and ebony from Madagascar used for fingerboards is now much harder to come by and can run afoul of CITES laws (what Obama pummeled Gibson over). We're even seeing in increase of fake wood like Richlite (super compressed cardboard + epoxy resin) enter the manufacturing process.
Type of wood used in electric guitar manufacturing contributes to tone, sustain, durability, and weight and matters a great deal.
I read this among recent press releases from Fender. Just laughable.
Apparently, there is a new series of Fender guitars called “Streetwoods” So these guitars are yer standard Strats and Teles except the bodies and necks are made from woods ‘harvested’ from American streets. In other words, the woods come from tree-service woods, LOL. And they start at $9K. Which is at least partially crazy because oak and walnut, fairly common “streetwoods” are not good guitar woods. Oak just completely sucks, Walnut is heavy as hell.
So there’s some reason I guess to believe a $9,000. Strat made from that narly old walnut tree cut down from in front of aunt Edna’s house is built better than a regular Mexican Strat (which have gotten really good) for $500 or an American Strat for $1200..... Because these come out of the “custom shop” and are “master built”.
https://guitar.com/news/gear-news/fender-launches-new-collection-sustainable-guitars/