What wood to build a bass ??

[tonybassplayer]

We have an old oak dining room suite that quite frankly I find bloody awful and intend replacing. My partner reckons she will get a few quid on ebay selling it which I doubt but it got me thinking

The depth of the table is very similiar to a bass ( if not thicker ) and I wondered if oak was a good material to perhaps form the basis of a little home grown bass.

Any thoughts guys ??

Tony

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='tonybassplayer' post='620213' date='Oct 8 2009, 07:22 AM']We have an old oak dining room suite that quite frankly I find bloody awful and intend replacing. My partner reckons she will get a few quid on ebay selling it which I doubt but it got me thinking

The depth of the table is very similiar to a bass ( if not thicker ) and I wondered if oak was a good material to perhaps form the basis of a little home grown bass.

Any thoughts guys ??

Tony[/quote]

The problem with oak is that it is very dense (which may be good for tone) - but for a bass, it is very heavy and hard to work. Ideally, you want something like swamp ash.

[henry norton]

The other problem with oak is that it's quite acid, so you'll need all brass or stainless screws. The weight might not be such an issue if you chambered it.

[tischbein]

Oak is as good as any other wood for a homegrown project.... just remember the hardware issue, otherwise you´ll have dark staining around any iron hardware... aluminium, brass, stainless steel is fine.

[Prosebass]

Oak is similar in weight / density to Zebrano.
I have recently built 2 basses with European Oak tops and it is a lovely wood to work with hand tools such as rasp files and a spokeshave but be careful of grain tear-out. It smells lovely as well.
I would suggest a mahogany back to temper the tone a little but see no reason why you cannot use just oak providing you don't mind that bit of extra weight.
It does contain tannic acid that will attack iron and leave blue/green stains. Provided you use brass or chrome plated hardware and screws you should not have a problem. I always use plastic cased humbuckers that are fully potted / sealed when using oak.



Paul

[tischbein]

Beautiful....

[Count Bassy]

[quote name='henry norton' post='620242' date='Oct 8 2009, 08:41 AM']The other problem with oak is that it's quite acid, so you'll need all brass or stainless screws.[/quote]

I agree, but why would you use anything else on a bass anyway?

[RhysP]

The reason oak doesn't get used for guitar building is that it isn't classed as a "tonewood".
Here's a brief quote from a guitar builder (can't remember who it was though):

"Certain types of wood work well in stringed instruments. Aside from possessing the strength necessary to support the tension of four to 12 strings, "tonewoods" have a tendency to resonate at frequencies sympathetic to the pitch of the note or chords played. Oak, for example, is very strong, but does not have this resonant quality. Therefore, you wouldn't want to make a guitar out of oak... you'd save it for your dresser."

[henry norton]

[quote name='Count Bassy' post='620830' date='Oct 8 2009, 07:17 PM']I agree, but why would you use anything else on a bass anyway?[/quote]
Respect due to Prosebass but I personally wouldn't use plated steel, even chrome plated steel will eventually get attacked by the acid in the oak - in a pretty short time too. (I love the shape of that BTW)

Hardware wise, looking at my Precision, machines, bridge, scratchplate screws, strap buttons & pickup screws are all nickel plated mild steel, which can't even deal with the sweat from my fingers, let alone oak. Depends on what's being built I suppose, if it's a couple more quid for a box of brass screws then it's probably money well spent

As far as tonewoods go...

[url="http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-76499.html"]oak guitars[/url]

Edited October 8, 2009 by henry norton

[Prosebass]

There are a lot of variables involved as to how much tannic acid staining involving ferrous metals and oak will be prevalent.
Moisture needs to be present, bare metal, and a wood with high tannic acids ie Green Oak and Redwoods used in buildings mainly. They retain a higher moisture content than oak used for furniture. I have no problem using kiln dryed European Oak and using coated or brass screws. Also most proprietry oils will also offer protection against the wood reacting by not allowing ingress of water. Mahogany and Walnut also contain high levels of Tannic acid.

Oak not being seen as a 'tonewood' is due to it not being used much in the production of acoustic instruments. although some builders have used it. Unlike Sitka Spruce , Oak does not have much strength when used in very thin section due to the vessels (open pockets) in its structure. This does not apply if used in a solid body electric instrument and indeed gives oak its distinctive look.

In the workshop Oak is very similar to Ash in the way it behaves when machined with power or hand tools and has a very similar grain structure.