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Just curious if anybody has ever tried using a typical acoustic wood combination, but for a solid body (or even semi-hollow) electric. For example, a Spruce top on an Indian Rosewood body with a mahogany or laminated neck. I know David Myka plays around in all the gray area between solid body and hollow body, but I don't think I've ever seen a really typical solid body build, with typically acoustic wood.

The configuration I've been playing around with is a chambered, Alder body with a carved spruce top. A friend of mine took it for it's inaugural real world test ride over the weekend and we received quite a few compliments on how much bite his tone had, but it stayed very even and clear all over the place without ever getting brittle. None of this was any surprise. It's kind of what you'd expect to get from that combination of wood in that configuration. I'm making up a batch with some different body woods too...some laminations perhaps...certainly one from Khaya (i.e. African Mahogany). Maybe Sapele? Maybe Walnut? All three of those are acoustic side/back woods. I may make one with a figured maple top because I have the wood here, but I've tried that before and it completely ruined what I was trying to achieve, leaving something else cool in it's place. Just not what I wanted but cool nonetheless.

I wish I had a piece of Indian Rosewood big enough to make a body out of Maybe I can laminate together a bunch of fingerboards? I suppose I could order some...

I remember someone building some solidbody instruments for Billy Gibbons (or some other rocker)with thick spruce or cedar caps, along the lines of which you speak.
This would have been back in the 80's.... it's a very interesting sonic palette that deserves more research.

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I made a lap steel with a doug fir body,
and a koa neck.
Also a lap steel out of a nice old piece of tight grained redwood, one piece.
They both sound great.
I always grab the fir one when I play a show.
My thinking is that soft woods might give a chambered effect.
They are lighter,
and more easily dented.
DAMHIKT.

I have an east indian body blank suitable for a telecaster.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Like this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTJKw2HnAiM

Mike, I'd consider that more of a traditional acoustic than a traditional solid body electric. It has an acoustic bridge, is fully hollow, and has a sound hole with a pickup mounted. I'm thinking a 1.5" thick body of Indian Rosewood with a 1/4" thick spruce top, or something along those lines. Also, it would have electric hardware and parts, like a TOM bridge/tailpiece, solid block trem, or hardtail, and any pickups designed for a solid body guitar.

What I find interesting is that on acoustic guitars, woods like Cocobolo, Walnut, or Ebony would be used as the backs and sides, whereas on an electric, they would likely be used as tops. I'm curious to get some insight into that.

It's only semi-hollow, the back is full thickness under the bridge and even though it has an acoustic-style bridge it's a string thru, so it functions more like a regular electric one. As you can hear from the recording it didn't have much in the way of acoustic output.