Contribution to the tonewood debate - a unique take (Bacci)

[Bagman]

5 hours ago, Hellzero said:

I guess you mean wenge neck and/or fingerboard as a full wenge instrument would be so heavy...

 

That said, I'm with you concerning tonewood. 😉

yeah mate, Wenge fingerboard and  the Warwick is neck and fingerboard 

[jd56hawk]

Too bad the worms didn't finish the job.

[jazzyvee]

On 28/04/2025 at 14:12, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

I wonder whether they are specially bred toneworms?

Hopefully they are organically bred.🫣🤨

[Hellzero]

After the snake oil, the vitamin Q for capacitor. 🤦🏻🤔🫨

 

While correcting all the electronic mess in a bass I acquired recently, I noticed this...

 

 

[Mykesbass]

Vitamin Qué?

[Doctor J]

What else do you expect Mojo toneworms to survive on?

[TheGhostofJaco]

On 03/05/2025 at 07:51, Hellzero said:

I guess you mean wenge neck and/or fingerboard as a full wenge instrument would be so heavy...

 

That said, I'm with you concerning tonewood. 😉

 

Same, I have owned way too many basses and spoken to so many engineers on this topic. Ken Smith, Sadowsky, Moollon..about every luthiers build foundation is based on wood selection. That said, for the people who think it is BS, that is fine. Though instead of telling everyone it is in a condescending manner, they should simply just buy all the poplar basses out there instead of the boutiques and vintage options, so the market can drop a little and they can save thousands of dollars as well. It's a win/win, but yet it doesn't seem to happen.

[Hellzero]

Well said @TheGhostofJaco, I can't agree more.

 

Another thing I'd like to see is the hearing test of those anti-tonewood persons: mine at (soon) 60 years old is still perfect and according to the ENT specialist I see each year I won't be wearing hearing aids before 25 to 30 years, so almost never...

[snorkie635]

2 hours ago, Hellzero said:

Well said @TheGhostofJaco, I can't agree more.

 

Another thing I'd like to see is the hearing test of those anti-tonewood persons: mine at (soon) 60 years old is still perfect and according to the ENT specialist I see each year I won't be wearing hearing aids before 25 to 30 years, so almost never...

Pardon?

[Doctor J]

Happy to provide audio samples for anyone who wants to call out the wood types in a blind listening test 🙂

[TheGhostofJaco]

Blind tests prioritize immediate and isolated perception. Which is why they don’t really work as well to prove anything as some people think they do. 
 

if you are experienced and have done a lot of session work, then you know that your best worn in p or j bass is not always the best bass for the particular song. But if you go through a log of say, 50 sessions, then it’s probably going to be on the majority of them. Same with preamps and about every other piece of gear. It’s why I personally don’t judge someone else’s isolated recording as a benchmark of tonal superiority. 

 

[Doctor J]

Nothing to do with tonal superiority, just addressing the perception that different woods have recognisable tonal characteristics.

[TheGhostofJaco]

29 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

Nothing to do with tonal superiority, just addressing the perception that different woods have recognisable tonal characteristics.

You aren’t addressing it. You think you are but you actually are not. That was my point. 

[neepheid]

You're all as bad as each other.

[Doctor J]

1 hour ago, TheGhostofJaco said:

You aren’t addressing it. You think you are but you actually are not. That was my point. 

 

 

To be honest, I'm lost at this stage. If the tonewood thing isn't that a wood has a recogniseable tone though audio alone, then I don't know what it is.

But, sure, I'll sleep soundly either way.

[TheGhostofJaco]

2 hours ago, Doctor J said:

 

 

To be honest, I'm lost at this stage. If the tonewood thing isn't that a wood has a recogniseable tone though audio alone, then I don't know what it is.

But, sure, I'll sleep soundly either way.

 

Tonewood actually is one contributor to a tone, its the sum of all parts in an instrument that make the sound. I could ask you to identify a model of pickup and its brand in a blind test and it would yield the same result. We see blind tests of pickups all the time and people are wrong all the time. That does not mean that pickups do not contribute to the sound, of course they do.

 

I think we will all sleep soundly, its not a major issue, just a discussion where both parties can be correct about subjective things such as this. Like I said, the more people who don't care about tonewood, the better. Hopefully it will drive down the vintage and boutique instrument market, which has gotten absolutely insane.

[Doctor J]

The prices have little to do with tone or a perception of tonewood.