Fast shipping, and I like how well machined and sanded this strat body is. The wood looks and feels like a mahogany version of alder wood. For me, ‘tone’ is all in the pickups and in the hands, so the wood only has to be strong enough to hold a bridge. There are cheap unfinished guitar bodies out there made of what seems like compressed, pourous material, and Fender Squier bodies start at double the price. I like to sand, prime, and paint my own guitars and I like to think outside the box regarding design & illustrations on the finished piece. With all professional pickups, electronics, and bridges, the finished guitar has a perfect weight and stability to it, so the action is solid. Building a guitar by hand is like making a painting on a sculpture that unifies in its own way over time, and this okume wood body is a solid, sturdy base to build from.