Hallmark availability

[Strat-o-rama]

Okay, I'll take the blame. I had made critical remarks about the Fillmore Mosrite Mark 1 copies, which are made of soft basswood and surrounded by a plastic shell of Polyrazzmatazz. A luthier friend of mine calls these M&M guitars: soft on the inside, hard shell on the outside. I know basswood is tonally good. I've heard some Japan made Strats that sound fantastic that were basswood. But check most Japanese guitars (construction is nearly always top notch and often better than American counterparts), as in Fender Japan. Why are the Alder bodied reissues (let's use Strats as an example) more expensive than their basswood counterparts? Finish is the same (except for the nitrocellulose finished models which are yet more expensive)...maybe in Japan alder is more expensive? My criticism was directed at the Fillmore reissue of the '63 sidejack model of the Mark 1, selling for 5 grand, basswood and poly shell coating. For 5 grand I would want something a little closer to what Semi produced in 1963.
Black Cloud made alder with Nitro finish (more vintage correct) for a lot less. That was my point. Hey, when you're playing a gig and you've got the crowd on their feet, spending money at the bar as you crank it through your Showman amps...it's all a moot point anyway.

[sleeperNY]

I can't say for sure what the body of my 60Custom is made of but the Hallmark web sight says it is made of Alder.

Copied from Hallmark
Scale length: 24+3/4
Shade Roller Bearing Vibrato
Hallmark locking saddle roller bridge for perfect intonation
Shade Custom Wound High Fidelity Pickups
Zero Fret for exact pitch return
Custom finishes
Set Maple neck with bound Indian Rosewood fingerboard
Alder Body with body binding
Vintage style tuning keys

Jim

[Tommy W]

Yeah my Custom 60s body is also alder.

[64sunburst]

Regarding basswood.....I had a MIJ reissue '62 Tele Custom, and the main issues I had with the basswood body was that being a softer wood, it did ding pretty easily, and the grain was pretty non descript. As far as tone, it was fine. Maybe that's why it's considered a 'cheaper' wood - it's not as pretty as ash or alder?

[Strat-o-rama]

'64 Sunburst,
Verified. The 60 Custom is alder.