A Guitar made of basswood
- Thread starter Dills
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bvc310
New member
Re: A Guitar made of basswood
Basswood is a relatively light weight wood, which has tonal characteristics in between alder and mahogany. The main con with basswood is its ease to dent. The wood is soft enough to dent or ding with your fingernail. That being said, i really do like the tone of a basswood gutar and many high quality guitars are made with it (peavey wolfgang for one). I am currently building a parts strat out of basswood.
Basswood is a relatively light weight wood, which has tonal characteristics in between alder and mahogany. The main con with basswood is its ease to dent. The wood is soft enough to dent or ding with your fingernail. That being said, i really do like the tone of a basswood gutar and many high quality guitars are made with it (peavey wolfgang for one). I am currently building a parts strat out of basswood.
RGN
New member
Re: A Guitar made of basswood
I am not exactly sure about the cost but it isn't an expensive wood like KOA or something. It is probably the lightest wood for guitars. I have a basswood super-strat and use a JB. It sounds very good for heavy music.
I remember reading in the 80s that Wayne Charvel or Grover Jackson (can't remember which one) worked with Allan Holdsworth to determine the "best sounding" wood for guitars. At the end, after trying every wood, they decided basswood sounded the best.
Yea, my basswood guitar has a lot of little dings but a heavy clear coat and finish made it more resistant to dents.
I am not exactly sure about the cost but it isn't an expensive wood like KOA or something. It is probably the lightest wood for guitars. I have a basswood super-strat and use a JB. It sounds very good for heavy music.
I remember reading in the 80s that Wayne Charvel or Grover Jackson (can't remember which one) worked with Allan Holdsworth to determine the "best sounding" wood for guitars. At the end, after trying every wood, they decided basswood sounded the best.
Yea, my basswood guitar has a lot of little dings but a heavy clear coat and finish made it more resistant to dents.
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3
3 cent hero
Guest
Re: A Guitar made of basswood
Dimarzios sound best in basswood, IMO.
Dimarzios sound best in basswood, IMO.
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Re: A Guitar made of basswood
Cause I have a Gibson sg copy (essex) which I think is basswood in terms of the description? but im not sure it is? its a pretty heavy peice of wood and it sounded crap with duncans (to shrill) but with dimarzios amazing. And im still trying to figure it out ever since i bought it. Its my first guitar and ive always liked the feel of the neck. Mahogany has a kind of hairy grain look which is quite detailed and kind of like looks like the grains in a banana whereas this guitar is different.
Cause I have a Gibson sg copy (essex) which I think is basswood in terms of the description? but im not sure it is? its a pretty heavy peice of wood and it sounded crap with duncans (to shrill) but with dimarzios amazing. And im still trying to figure it out ever since i bought it. Its my first guitar and ive always liked the feel of the neck. Mahogany has a kind of hairy grain look which is quite detailed and kind of like looks like the grains in a banana whereas this guitar is different.
bvc310
New member
Re: A Guitar made of basswood
The guitar may be made of agathis which is a wood commonly used in cheaper guitars. I doubt the wood is basswood if it is too heavey or shrill. The guitar may also be made from plywood which can be shrill and is often very heavy and terrible sounding. If the essex guitar is the one i am thinking of SX from www.rondomusic.bigstep.com , it is made of mahogany. Goto that website and see if you can find your guitar there. It has what wood, all the guitars are made of in their descriptions.
Good luck,
Brian
The guitar may be made of agathis which is a wood commonly used in cheaper guitars. I doubt the wood is basswood if it is too heavey or shrill. The guitar may also be made from plywood which can be shrill and is often very heavy and terrible sounding. If the essex guitar is the one i am thinking of SX from www.rondomusic.bigstep.com , it is made of mahogany. Goto that website and see if you can find your guitar there. It has what wood, all the guitars are made of in their descriptions.
Good luck,
Brian
some_dude
Raging BB Gunologist
Re: A Guitar made of basswood
I have a Basswood Strat with a DiMarzio Super Distortion in the bridge. I find it makes a really good metal or punk guitar.
It's not quite as thick sounding as a Les Paul, nor as brite as a normal Strat. I find it's more agressive sounding than an LP and heavier (tone wise) than a normal Strat.
I hate using descriptors like that, but it's hard to put sound and attack/sustain charicteristics into words....
I have a Basswood Strat with a DiMarzio Super Distortion in the bridge. I find it makes a really good metal or punk guitar.
It's not quite as thick sounding as a Les Paul, nor as brite as a normal Strat. I find it's more agressive sounding than an LP and heavier (tone wise) than a normal Strat.
I hate using descriptors like that, but it's hard to put sound and attack/sustain charicteristics into words....
Re: A Guitar made of basswood
Well when i bought it the guy said it was mahogany, and by the way i cant find it on rondo's music site anymore they put a whole lot of new models in there and i remember going back in the day and it was there (the exact same model) SSG STD or something like that. On my receipt when i bought it it had mahogany sg so maybe its just a heavy piece of mahogany. Cause when i bought it i was tossing up between that and a epiphone sg 400 which had the pickups on mounting rigs instead of the pickguard and it was a lighter red and seemed RIDICULOUSLY lite which put me off. It was also 300 dollars more expensive. Thats why i bought the essex. I cant find my guitar on any site at all except the reviews on harmony central here it is, if anyone has this guitar or seen it anywhere please let me know.
http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data4/SX/SSG-STD-01.html
Well when i bought it the guy said it was mahogany, and by the way i cant find it on rondo's music site anymore they put a whole lot of new models in there and i remember going back in the day and it was there (the exact same model) SSG STD or something like that. On my receipt when i bought it it had mahogany sg so maybe its just a heavy piece of mahogany. Cause when i bought it i was tossing up between that and a epiphone sg 400 which had the pickups on mounting rigs instead of the pickguard and it was a lighter red and seemed RIDICULOUSLY lite which put me off. It was also 300 dollars more expensive. Thats why i bought the essex. I cant find my guitar on any site at all except the reviews on harmony central here it is, if anyone has this guitar or seen it anywhere please let me know.
http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data4/SX/SSG-STD-01.html
bvc310
New member
Re: A Guitar made of basswood
Later,
Brian
I would belive it is probably mahogany, which is a very heavy wood anyway. Im have no idea why you could not get a good tone out of duncans, my bet is that you were using too thin of pickups with not enough bass response such as the JB. While the JB is perfect for some people, it and its likes can be very shrill in the hands of another player. I suggest trying a bassier duncan if you are set on them, but if the current dimarzios sing, leave em in.\Dills said:
Later,
Brian
rspst14
Tone Cat
Re: A Guitar made of basswood
Basswood gets a bad rap sometimes, just because it's cheaper (in terms of cost) than some other wood types. It's not quite as warm as mahogany, but it seems to have a pretty even tone, not too bright or too warm. It is fairly easy to dent compared to some other wood types, but it is lightweight and very resonant.
Ryan
Basswood gets a bad rap sometimes, just because it's cheaper (in terms of cost) than some other wood types. It's not quite as warm as mahogany, but it seems to have a pretty even tone, not too bright or too warm. It is fairly easy to dent compared to some other wood types, but it is lightweight and very resonant.
Ryan
drew_half_empty
Looking for Real Life
Re: A Guitar made of basswood
basswood is, well, i think its pretty versatile, it gives you a thick warm sound
true, if you want bright cleans, go with alder, and if you want punchy distortion, go with mahogany, but basswood has an overally pretty sound, its not shrill or bright at all, sort of a nice sound. But with some heavy sounding pups and good distortion, you can get an awesome metal sound
basswood is, well, i think its pretty versatile, it gives you a thick warm sound
true, if you want bright cleans, go with alder, and if you want punchy distortion, go with mahogany, but basswood has an overally pretty sound, its not shrill or bright at all, sort of a nice sound. But with some heavy sounding pups and good distortion, you can get an awesome metal sound
F
Forbes
Guest
Re: A Guitar made of basswood
I would agree, my basswood RG also comes in somewhere between strat and les paul, is very light but does dent rediculously easily, ive come to accept that this guitar (as its my main one) will get covered in dents and scratches, but the first time it was dented (day after i got it!), i felt terrible.
I would agree, my basswood RG also comes in somewhere between strat and les paul, is very light but does dent rediculously easily, ive come to accept that this guitar (as its my main one) will get covered in dents and scratches, but the first time it was dented (day after i got it!), i felt terrible.
Re: A Guitar made of basswood
Its not that I don’t like duncans I have a duncan custom in my other all mahogany PRS its a nice pickup for live situations where you need to cut thru and it sounds great. Iv’e just found duncans to sound utterly crap through that sg (lacking mids very trebly and no fullness just shrill) mainly in the bridge position where its so close to the bridge this I find I have the most problems with in all my guitars. Ive found it hard to find a duncan that sounds big and full with that gat because of the lack of mids and too much treble and not enough bass. Lots of dimarzio’s seemed to be voiced more in the mids and less on the treble that is what made me curious about them. (I don’t like the look of them and how they’re built as much tho).
Its not that I don’t like duncans I have a duncan custom in my other all mahogany PRS its a nice pickup for live situations where you need to cut thru and it sounds great. Iv’e just found duncans to sound utterly crap through that sg (lacking mids very trebly and no fullness just shrill) mainly in the bridge position where its so close to the bridge this I find I have the most problems with in all my guitars. Ive found it hard to find a duncan that sounds big and full with that gat because of the lack of mids and too much treble and not enough bass. Lots of dimarzio’s seemed to be voiced more in the mids and less on the treble that is what made me curious about them. (I don’t like the look of them and how they’re built as much tho).
