[shadowboxer]

I'm with Specialears on this. Take the same style Telecaster/Stratocaster whose body is made with any traditional wood such as ash, alder, mahogany or maple, run them through an amp at high volume and play to an audience, and I don't think the audience could tell any difference because of body wood. Now I will grant you that the player can perhaps feel a difference in weight, and their unamplified sound and the way they vibrate against your body might differ. And of course one may be more attractive than another. But through an amp to an audience, I don't think the type of wood used for a solid body matters anywhere near as much as some argue here argue. Balsa wood . . . maybe.