Alder is one of the most widely used tonewoods due to its light weight and full sound. Fender has been using alder wood for many years, meaning the subtle tones of alder have been prevalent throughout music for the last 50 years.

Ash tonewood is lightweight and looks great on a guitar with a clear finish. Swamp ash is the most commonly used in guitars and has a great balance between warm and bright tones with plenty of sustain. Swamp ash is often used in single-piece guitars, allowing for really versatile sounds. You can also get guitars made of Northern Ash, which is much heavier and very dense, giving you a really bright sound with loads of sustain.

Basswood was very popular in the 80s because of its warm, grizzly tone. It is also one of the cheapest guitar tone woods available, making it a common choice for basic guitars.

Ebony is used for fretboards primarily; its high density leads to a really bright tone with a nice snap to it. Its dense nature makes it extra smooth under the fingers. Ebony fretboards are among the densest, giving you a bright tone with a nice snap. Its dense nature makes it feel extra smooth under the finger, but it needs some care as it is unsealed.

Mahogany is used in guitar bodies and guitar necks; its warm tone and good sustain have made it the preferred tonewood of Gibson for many years. This fine-grained, medium-heavy tonewood looks great with a clear finish but can be used with most finishes. Mahogany body woods tend to have a mellower sound and deeper tone.

The brightest of all tonewoods Maple fretboards almost always have a coated finish on top. Although less common as a body wood, maple can be used on any part of the guitar. Maple wood is almost always dyed and holds other finishes very well.

Rosewood is a heavier tonewood used primarily in fretboards; it can be made into the body of a guitar, but it results in a very expensive guitar. George Harrison of the Beatles used an Indian rosewood guitar.

Walnut has a warmth to its sound, but less so than its mahogany counterpart. Another hardwood, walnut, gives you great attack and midrange, but it is not a common guitar tonewood. Most players opt for mahogany instead.