Exotic Woods

[Lew-Bass]

Which ones do you reckon look the best, and provide a nice growly warm tone? And what are your woods of choice? Pics appreciated

[chris_b]

Try reading
[url="http://www.tunemybass.com/bass_guitar_buying_guide/tone_woods.html"]http://www.tunemybass.com/bass_guitar_buyi...tone_woods.html[/url]
[url="http://www.sweetwater.com/shop/bass-guitars/bass-guitars/buying-guide.php"]http://www.sweetwater.com/shop/bass-guitar...uying-guide.php[/url]
[url="http://www.tonewood.ca/servicepage.htm"]http://www.tonewood.ca/servicepage.htm[/url]
[url="http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm"]http://www.jemsite.com/jem/wood.htm[/url]

[ARGH]

Wood and it being the cause of tone is rubbish...

Dont give it as much kudos to tone origin as people would like it to be...The P/U and scale are far higher in affection of sound. Throw string choice and how and where its played..wood is wayyyyy down the chain...very little in effect of tone creation.

But the question is what woods do I like...

OLIVE
LIMBA
TULIPWOOD
WALNUT
PURPLEHEART
MASSACARR EBONY
ZEBRAWOOD

all look nice,or most of these breeds do...but dont get to bogged down on the 'What wood sounds best?' arguement....its like a serpent chasing its tail.

[soopercrip]

[quote name='ARGH' post='435751' date='Mar 16 2009, 07:30 AM']Wood and it being the cause of tone is rubbish...

Dont give it as much kudos to tone origin as people would like it to be...The P/U and scale are far higher in affection of sound. Throw string choice and how and where its played..wood is wayyyyy down the chain...very little in effect of tone creation.[/quote]

+1
it's not so much the wood, it's the dope that's holding it that creates the tone...

[Kiwi]

this argument is so old and done to death.

[ARGH]

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='435764' date='Mar 16 2009, 07:58 AM']this argument is so old and done to death.[/quote]
But what wood do you like to look at?

[lowdown]

[quote name='soopercrip' post='435757' date='Mar 16 2009, 07:49 AM']+1
it's not so much the wood, it's the dope that's holding it that creates the tone... [/quote]

I think you might be spot on..!


Garry

[GreeneKing]

[quote]Wood and it being the cause of tone is rubbish...[/quote]


That's not quite the way Jim Fleeting would put it

Seriously, go with what looks good to you - full stop.

[chris_b]

[quote name='ARGH' post='435751' date='Mar 16 2009, 07:30 AM']....Wood and it being the cause of tone is rubbish....[/quote]
Had a bad night?

[Eight]

Wood is sooooo fifteenth century.

Go for [s]luddite[/s]... luthite.

[dlloyd]

[quote name='ARGH' post='435751' date='Mar 16 2009, 07:30 AM']Wood and it being the cause of tone is rubbish...[/quote]

I wouldn't go that far. It certainly has an affect on tone, although its overall influence is often overstated. All things being equal, a bass with a mahogany body sounds less bright than a bass with a maple body.

But, yeah, it has less influence than string type (flat/round, stainless/nickle), pickup type, pickup placement, etc.

Differences in fingerboard material are mostly cosmetic, except on fretless necks.

[neepheid]

Loving the zebrano at the moment -



Of course, most people only use it as a top because of its density (and therefore weight) but this body is solid zebrano and as such I expect 1) mucho sustain and 2) to play it mostly sitting down

[ARGH]

[quote name='chris_b' post='435783' date='Mar 16 2009, 09:02 AM']Had a bad night?[/quote]
Yes...

[chris_b]

[quote name='ARGH' post='435834' date='Mar 16 2009, 09:55 AM']Yes...[/quote]
Me too!!

[thepurpleblob]

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='435764' date='Mar 16 2009, 07:58 AM']this argument is so old and done to death.[/quote]

It's just a pointless discussion. *Everything* makes a difference to the tone - you almost never have the luxury of doing an A-B (never mind C,D,E....) comparison between two basses with different wood but everything else the same. Same old story - try it. Did you like it? Good

[Marcus]

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='436048' date='Mar 16 2009, 01:23 PM']It's just a pointless discussion. *Everything* makes a difference to the tone - you almost never have the luxury of doing an A-B (never mind C,D,E....) comparison between two basses with different wood but everything else the same. Same old story - try it. Did you like it? Good [/quote]

ive done just that on many an occasion at overwater. . . . . the differences even a face wood can make is not subtle.

[thepurpleblob]

[quote name='Marcus' post='436062' date='Mar 16 2009, 01:33 PM']ive done just that on many an occasion at overwater. . . . . the differences even a face wood can make is not subtle.[/quote]

"almost" never.... I always leave myself a get-out

[Marcus]

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='436065' date='Mar 16 2009, 01:34 PM']"almost" never.... I always leave myself a get-out [/quote]

a career in politics becons

[paul h]

I know nothing about exotic woods being a bit of an ash and maple man myself.

I am actually a bit surprised by the people who think wood doesn't make a difference! I would imagine most luthiers feel it makes a substantial difference.

So how do you equate the non importance of wood to bridges for instance? Most people seem to agree that a bridge with more mass will, to a certain degree, improve tone and sustain. So how can woods of different densities not affect tone?

Puzzled.

[Rich]

I'm a big fan of figured woods... like the burr maple facings on my Shuke... and there's something about the look of a nice deep quilted maple under a coloured lacquer that is soooo lovely. Especially when the light hits it and it goes almost 3D.

[Kiwi]

Exactly.

The problem is that it takes a lifetime for a luthier to understand the variations in character (or lack thereof) caused by using the vast range of different exotic woods and hardware on offer in different combinations. Often its just easier and more commercially convenient to find something that works (eg maple and ash) and go with that. Also, one luthiers idea of what works can differ significantly from anothers.

[thepurpleblob]

[quote name='paul h' post='436080' date='Mar 16 2009, 01:52 PM']I know nothing about exotic woods being a bit of an ash and maple man myself.

I am actually a bit surprised by the people who think wood doesn't make a difference! I would imagine most luthiers feel it makes a substantial difference.

So how do you equate the non importance of wood to bridges for instance? Most people seem to agree that a bridge with more mass will, to a certain degree, improve tone and sustain. So how can woods of different densities not affect tone?

Puzzled.[/quote]

I think the counter-argument is that although this is true it is mostly irrelevant "pub talk". Unless you are having a bass built from scratch the instrument is a sum of its parts and in most cases you don't have a choice. So you wouldn't choose an Ash Fender over a Bubinga Warwick (for example) just because of the wood - probably.

[Tinman]

[attachment=22141:boelite4full.jpg]

This is rather gorgeous to me, more so due to the fact that it's mine Buckeye Burl is just beautiful

[thepurpleblob]

[quote name='Tinman' post='436127' date='Mar 16 2009, 02:31 PM'][attachment=22141:boelite4full.jpg]

This is rather gorgeous to me, more so due to the fact that it's mine Buckeye Burl is just beautiful[/quote]

Paint it black.... that'll fix all those marks in the wood

[dlloyd]

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='436104' date='Mar 16 2009, 02:03 PM']I think the counter-argument is that although this is true it is mostly irrelevant "pub talk". Unless you are having a bass built from scratch the instrument is a sum of its parts and in most cases you don't have a choice. So you wouldn't choose an Ash Fender over a Bubinga Warwick (for example) just because of the wood - probably.[/quote]

What about a bubinga Fender? There's no particular reason why you couldn't get a bubinga body made for a Fender and keep all other things equal.