tegs07

There is a a third camp. Tonewood is a generic name for wood used to make instruments. It may make a difference or not but it is still known as Tonewood. If ply is used to make an instrument it is Tonewood!

You are aware that you used the terms marketing and integrity in the same sentence? I’m with Bill Hicks when it comes to this.

That comes down to marketing piffle. It’s like wine and perfume.. they employ a team of people to flog the stuff. It doesn’t mean the technique and knowledge of the people making the product is diminished in any way.

I think the generic name is constantly being confused for the marketing of the product. It’s called tonewood like decking is called decking. I am open to the idea that all components of a bass, be it wood, nut material, bridge or strings will affect the way it sounds.. to what degree is another matter entirely.

Indeed. They are both tonewood.

Interesting... thanks will do some research on that.

Ply is fine as long as it’s treated ... it’s not particularly great for grain or repeat screw changes and can be a swine to get dents out of. Personally I would prefer Ash, Alder or Basswood (other tonewoods are available.. insert preference here) for a bass body regardless of the tone question. Edit: I have yet to find a bass that is 100% ply body. Usually they are a front and back ply over a frame of wood ... often multiple pieces of wood.

It’s even made of Tonewood though what flavour is hard to say being buried underneath all that tat.

My favourite bass is turdburst ... it even has a tort pick guard and an ashtray over the bridge. In its defence it is in keeping with the era it is from. Overall churning these out these days is akin to choosing platform shoes, psychedelic brown and purple carpets and Ford Cortina’s.

I guess this would also depend on the band and music played. If you’re creating something loud and raucous with a load of distortion, overdrive whatever would small factors like what wood the bass is made of have any impact? I think this topic is highly subjective, personally I don’t get the objection to the term Tonewood it’s like being cross about the words Decking or fencing because there are no boats or people with Collinders on their head. It’s just a collective name. Nor the idea that brands are try to fleece you. In my experience things are generally made with profit being a driving factor. If basses could be made of turds encased in plastic waste with no impact on sound then they would be.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224378368704 This could be part of a great bass build project. Any New Order fans out there? Edit: Rosewood fretted as well: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224383258953 There must be someone on basschat interested in recreating a Shergold Marathon surely? Lovely bass sadly out of business in the early 1990’s much loved by Peter Hook (6 string version) amongst others...

I’ve been guilty of this but that’s the curse/beauty of buying second hand on the internet. Curse because you don’t get to try and see if it works for you.. beauty as if you buy wisely you don’t really lose any money and in some cases maybe some cash,

Well my favourite bass cost either £28 or £38 can’t remember about 16 years ago. It’s one of my least favourite colours, has numerous dents and was made by Hondo about 40 years ago. It just sounds great and is a joy to play.

Don’t start that again...

Cheers some really good points... interesting re setup in particular as it’s such a personal thing only you can really get it right! I definitely need to dedicate more time to getting it right. Edit: I think I am floundering a bit as I have recently switched to a Jazz and am just working out what is right for me

Me too and largely due to Jimmy Cliff’s cover of Ruby Soho

There must be more to it than that though. Are there any luthiers here and if so do you ever assemble a bass before the final finish, play it and think nope that’s not right? I’ve only recently realised just how important a good set up is and am working to try and master that skill.

That maybe why mine never sound so good..

As a side topic to the whole Tonewood debate what factors do make a bass “sing”? There were several comments in that thread about a bass being the sum of its parts and changing elements of the mix making a huge difference. During lockdown to relieve boredom I did a few builds. None were as accomplished as some of the talented lot that post here, but it was a genuinely interesting experience. Changing a neck or even a bridge really could alter the character of a bass, affecting the sound to an extent but more the overall feel. I don’t mean swapping a rubbish part for a decent one. One Mexican Fender for example just felt horrible to play. When I swapped the neck over it was a joy.. yet the necks were both Mexican Fender... both maple, different years and profiles though. For this reason I have often found ’Bitsa’ basses make a great overall instrument but they will be devalued on the used market for not being “original”.

I would hazard a guess that Christians world wide will celebrate Christmas in the same way that Muslims world wide will celebrate Eid. Anyhow have grown weary with this debate now. Tonewood is a widely recognised generic term for wood used in instrument making. If you all want to call it wood that is fine. PS not sure where on the East Coast USA you are but here is but one of many New York Luthiers advertising his exotic tonewood guitars: https://barlowguitars.com/

Possibly it’s called Tonewood so luthiers don’t get a load of 2x4 beams delivered when they make their order. Maybe due to how the wood is graded, sawn and shaped. Whatever the reason that’s it’s name.

You may have discovered a niche marketing opportunity for yourself

Tonewood = generic name for a shed load of woods used to make instruments. Does wood have acoustic properties = yes Will one wood vs another magically transform your instrument into a legendary syren like creature = no will it make you more sexually appealing = no Is there a load of marketing hype = sure that’s what people do to sell stuff. is it still known as tonewood by luthiers and guitar companies the world over = yes

The thing is they are not saying anything false. The woods do have those characteristics. Whether or not they influence the sound on a solid bodied instrument is another matter. It’s like the bike analogy plenty of road cyclists spend a fortune changing all the components to make the bike lighter. Will this make them faster, better cyclists? I doubt it they would save more cash and weight by skipping pudding. At least Rosewood, Kia etc look nice.