software

I`ve got a ash bodied Strat and a alder bodied Strat . The ash bodied is natural with a clear finish and the alder bodied is the Highway 1 satin type finish , both have maple necks. The ash bodied with a Blues Trembucker sounds brighter than alder bodied with a 59b. They were played under medium gain with the same rig with the settings the same on the amp(Trademark 10 and 2x12 cab with Celestion Greenbacks). I was thinking the 59 would have sounded brighter than the Blues Trembucker but it was the other way around. Which leads to my question , is brighter sounding than alder?

My experience with swamp ash (don't know if yours is) is that it had pronounced highs and lows with suppressed mids...alder is mid range to upper-mid range. Most people say swamp ash is brighter, which it is, but acoustically there is also a bunch of low end. Maybe it's not as noticeable.

Generally speaking, Ash has much highsamp; lows, but not so much mids, while Alder seems to be more balanced (though a bit more middy)... Swamp Ash is a bit more tamed than Northern Hard Ash or how it's called...

which do you think is better sounding for early Van Halen?

i saw your avatar and figured you are a VH fan

Vh1 is brighter than the rest of the albums (partly due to the mixing) so ash is the best choice.