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The heretic thread approved by Roger Sadowsky or For those who pretend tone doesn't come from wood...


Hellzero

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On 19/04/2021 at 21:03, binky_bass said:

Get in the corner and think about what you've done... 

I agree with both sides ,, the difference of wood can be so micro & nano the difference is un - audible to many 

yet its the same as wine , if you want to get drunk ? just drink it ,,

but if you are a wine freak ? then you search for the perfect wines & have to learn all about what makes a wine good , 

if i was having a bass hand made no expense spared i wood go into the finest possible details "above & beyond" just selecting the best wood ,

as i suggested a few pages back its what folks never bother / realize to listen to that also "could" make the difference in your own personal search for a perfect type set up construction of wood or any material ,, cheers ,,

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To ignore all this fluff 🙂 to repeat my point - other factors make a much bigger difference to the tone than the wood, as evidenced by how hard it is to eliminate these other factors and the struggle to hear the remaining differences.

The question has to be is there any point worrying about the 'tone wood' when any difference it can make is easily compensated for by easier to make changes?

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On 15/04/2021 at 17:57, Hellzero said:

These four basses have exact same preamps (passive only for this test), pickups and strings and were set up to the exact same precise adjustments...

Same amp (Glockenklang), same settings, same cable, same place, same player, same noodling, same ... everything. A real test, for once.

The only differences are the woods used.

Use headphones or good speakers.

great video you can hear the difference , tho only slight ,, yet slight can be enough to yay or nay any instrument ,,

Oliver Lang , Le Fay , a Basschat pendant & Rainger FX all captured with my £35 bass

1621992778_Picture161.jpg.df89e8bd08f699c9e48d39075d68a919.jpg

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16 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

To ignore all this fluff 🙂 to repeat my point - other factors make a much bigger difference to the tone than the wood, as evidenced by how hard it is to eliminate these other factors and the struggle to hear the remaining differences.

The question has to be is there any point worrying about the 'tone wood' when any difference it can make is easily compensated for by easier to make changes?

we all know wine is wine ,, just drink the stuff, yeah ?,, eg my No1 bass cost £35 ok ? not £190K :D

yet bass developers are always searching to improve various aspects in construction including wood ,,

we go beyond what ever wood is used ,, & the above great video by Le Fay , you can hear it reasonably clearly ,, that is if you know what to listen for ,, 

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In the spirit of scientific enquiry, Mrs Dare and I shall be testing these to ascertain which results in the best, ahem, tone (or whether any differences can be found). The participants in the study and the procedures employed will be the same each time. The only variables will be the instruments themselves. Full report to follow.

CaB.jpg

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51 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

In the spirit of scientific enquiry, Mrs Dare and I shall be testing these to ascertain which results in the best, ahem, tone (or whether any differences can be found). The participants in the study and the procedures employed will be the same each time. The only variables will be the instruments themselves. Full report to follow.

CaB.jpg

Definitely couldn’t post that pic on TB!

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52 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

In the spirit of scientific enquiry, Mrs Dare and I shall be testing these to ascertain which results in the best, ahem, tone (or whether any differences can be found). The participants in the study and the procedures employed will be the same each time. The only variables will be the instruments themselves. Full report to follow.

CaB.jpg

Remember that the player touch is important too as well as his fingering...

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47 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

Was gonna ask “is that the 4 knob pre?” I found the 5 knob version too difficult, gave me a banging headache trying to figure out what was going on.

Depends if the 5th knob goes on the right or the left 😉

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On 17/04/2021 at 13:57, Killed_by_Death said:

 

In case anyone had wondered, I am positive that the wood can make a difference in the timbre, I've witnessed it myself & I'm damn near tone-deaf, so if I can hear it,,,

Related or Adjacent, the Finish can even make a difference, Poly vs. Lacquer, & I also firmly believe that the less finish there is on there, the better it will sound.

(also derived from my first-hand experience)

I'm still miffed that Geek99 drops in to comment they're no longer following w/o even sharing an opinion or their experience, but to imply they do have experience. Weird!

 

As bass player committed to (or should that be "for") playing Warwicks, I too and convinced the wood has an effect on the sound. I'm not sure the body wood has as much an effect as the neck, because the neck has more chance to resonate than the body, because the neck is thinner, so more inclined to bend.

The type of wood, I believe also has an effect, but it's impossible to prove. The density of the wood, any wood, varies. This isn't variance from tree to tree, but from branch to branch. There too is a variance between wood on the outside sap wood of the trunk to the timber taken near the pith in the centre of the trunk. Then there's the moisture content. This too has an effect. Yes the wood is seasoned, but if you season wood, then put it in a different environment with a different ambient humidity, the wood will absorb moisture. This is why, you need to set the neck up again when the weather changes with the seasons.

This is why you can set up to really "normal" basses with any-type of wood body, straight from the factory won't ever sound the same. So even 2 Fender P Basses, from the factory on the same day, same everything won't ever sound the same. So when you buy your bass, ordering anything without trying is like buying a raffle ticket. You win sometimes, you lose others and no 2 "identical" basses will ever sound the same. Even the same bass will sound different in a different environment.

And when all's said, as @Happy Jack said at the top of this thread, stick these 2 basses in a band on stage and it's a bass thud, nobody in the room cares except you. I only notice because I play on my own in my lounge and I'm anal about the sound. But when I do play in a band, I take the most basic bass I have cos even I won't notice the difference.

PS. my other hobby is woodturning on a lathe. So drying and seasoning wood is something I do.

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On 19/04/2021 at 11:11, linear said:

Just wanted to check: I haven't read a single post in this thread, but I assume the conclusion was that tone definitely doesn't come from wood?   I mean, anyone who has spent more than three minutes of never ending research with a bass guitar would have to be pretty daft to think otherwise, right?

The definitive conclusion has been that tone doesn’t come from wood, except on those occasions when it does. Or it might have been the other way around.

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  • Hellzero changed the title to The heretic thread approved by Roger Sadowsky or For those who pretend tone doesn't come from wood...

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