Ideal Wood for a Bass?

[Heretic]

What is the most recommended wood for the body of a bass guitar? I mean something that would yield a clear, boomy sound without mud. Suggestions for neck and fingerboard wood as well, please.

Thanks!

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: Ideal Wood for a Bass?

Ma fav is both alder or ash for a body, maple for neck and rosewood for fingerboard.

 

[The Owl]

Re: Ideal Wood for a Bass?

Alder and ash are excellent woods for a body, rosewood for fingerboard and maple for neck, a very solid combination. A maple top will give you a little extra high-end bite. Mahogany can sound really nice too.

The thing I'd avoid is instruments that try to put as many exotic hardwoods together as possible just because they can. They make an impressive looking and expensive coffee table but tonally, completely SUCK!!!! The problem is, all that glue and not consdiering the resonant properties of certain woods cuts your resonance. Alembic and Fodera seem to have a good grasp on woods that work, but not everyone does, so you wind up with these $5000+ museum pieces that sound like complete CRAP!

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Ideal Wood for a Bass?

Alder and ash are excellent woods for a body, rosewood for fingerboard and maple for neck, a very solid combination. A maple top will give you a little extra high-end bite. Mahogany can sound really nice too.

The thing I'd avoid is instruments that try to put as many exotic hardwoods together as possible just because they can. They make an impressive looking and expensive coffee table but tonally, completely SUCK!!!! The problem is, all that glue and not consdiering the resonant properties of certain woods cuts your resonance. Alembic and Fodera seem to have a good grasp on woods that work, but not everyone does, so you wind up with these $5000+ museum pieces that sound like complete CRAP!

I think that holds true for guitars...but Basses seem to be a differant animal.

I've played some exotic basses made from hard heavy woods like ash, maple, etc. that sounded extremely deep and seemed to ring for days!

I'd never make a guitar out of heavy dense wood like that....but in a bass it seems to work better.

That said, my favorite bass is the early 60's Fender P-Bass or Jazz bass with lightweight alder body, maple neck and Brazilian Rosewood fingernoard.

Lew

 

[Thurisarz]

Re: Ideal Wood for a Bass?

Walnut seems to be a very popular wood besides the famous Alder, Ash and Maple. I'm saving up to buy an Warmoth, and so long i have only planed the neck, it will be Wenge neck AND Fretboard, after so many "bedroom reviews" i've read it seems to be the wood for me :smoker:

Some exotic woods get's pretty heavy when made into a bass so that is one big issue with exotics.

 

[fusion101]

Re: Ideal Wood for a Bass?

Maple neckthrough with figured claro(walnut) wood wings and ebony fretboards

 

[Stirt]

Re: Ideal Wood for a Bass?

We get rave reviews from customers putting Wenge necks and Bubinga bodies together. Kind of heavy, but a power house of thump and clarity. I've got a Wenge Strat neck with and Ebony board and that thing howls for sure. A very focused rich strong tone. I really love it for guitar and can certainly understand why bass players are drawn to it!

Gregg-
Warmoth

 

[Boston Joe]

Re: Ideal Wood for a Bass?

I 've been using a bass with basswood for the body. The tone is similar to ash/alder, and the lightness of the wood adds a nice soft 70's bass tone. Very resonant-- sometimes sounds like an upright.

 

[Pandemonium]

Re: Ideal Wood for a Bass?

Oil finished walnut with an ebony fretboard.

 

[casblah]

Re: Ideal Wood for a Bass?

I've got a Warwick Streamer with a solid maple body and a wenge neck. The sound is tight and focused with good projection. Since basses operate in a lower register anyways, the "brightness" of a good hardwood...i.e. maple, bubinga, walnut, etc. can give you the added punch and clarity you may need to cut thru the mix. Although ash, alder and other body woods are commonly used, they seem to have a "thud" like sound, without good projection. I'm a fan of both old-school basses, as well as newer styles; but the current technology of basses seems to give the best of all worlds, IMO.

 

[iDunnoMang]

Re: Ideal Wood for a Bass?

Oil finished walnut with an ebony fretboard.

+1 :32:

*cough CARVIN cough*

:dance:

 

[Sprinter]

Re: Ideal Wood for a Bass?

Mahogany

 

[RatPoison]

Re: Ideal Wood for a Bass?

I've got a Warwick Streamer with a solid maple body and a wenge neck. The sound is tight and focused with good projection. Since basses operate in a lower register anyways, the "brightness" of a good hardwood...i.e. maple, bubinga, walnut, etc. can give you the added punch and clarity you may need to cut thru the mix. Although ash, alder and other body woods are commonly used, they seem to have a "thud" like sound, without good projection. I'm a fan of both old-school basses, as well as newer styles; but the current technology of basses seems to give the best of all worlds, IMO.

Agreed - I prefer a really hard wood in my bass. I figure that it's a bass, it has enough lows on its own...I prefer a bright bass and using the EQ to get lows.

 

[Loserchief]

Re: Ideal Wood for a Bass?

my bass is a 7-piece maple/rosewood neckthrou with walnut wings and rosewood fretboard. The overall sound is rather bright but this thing rings like crazy and works great for adding clarity to the low b and brilliance to the high c(it's a six-string).
Hard woods definitely work better for basses, the real drawback is the weight which can become quite enormous.

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Ideal Wood for a Bass?

I think that holds true for guitars...but Basses seem to be a differant animal.

I've played some exotic basses made from hard heavy woods like ash, maple, etc. that sounded extremely deep and seemed to ring for days!

I'd never make a guitar out of heavy dense wood like that....but in a bass it seems to work better.

That said, my favorite bass is the early 60's Fender P-Bass or Jazz bass with lightweight alder body, maple neck and Brazilian Rosewood fingernoard.

Lew

I concur with this. Hard dense woods seem to work better for bass, moreso than guitars. The typical guitar woods for warm, fat, guitar sounds, sometimes make a muddy, inarticulate, sounding bass. Some of the best sounding basses I've heard, are Warwick and Alembic, with plenty of wenge, bubinga, maple, ebony...ect... A local guy around here builds his own bass guitars from scratch, and they are fantastic. He likes wenge for neck stocks, usually with neck through design.

Alder, and especially Ash, are probably articulate enough body materials for a bolt on bass, particulary were hard rock maple is used for the neck.

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: Ideal Wood for a Bass?

Jemsite Guitar Wood FAQ Frankfalbo (SD forum member) wrote this content, and according to this, if you want great extended lows (bass and low overtones), think Lacewood. However, just look at Musiciansfriend's highest customer rated basses and look at their construction, which is another thing I did when I was researching stuff for guitars. Also, according to Warmoth:

Generally speaking, the heavier woods sustain well and have a bright and articulate sound which are all good attributes for a bass guitar.

Bubinga (Guibourtia demeusei):
A very strong stiff wood used primarily for bass necks and in laminations.

Koa (Acacia koa):
This very beautiful wood comes exclusively from Hawaii making supply very limited. Its weight varies somewhat from medium to heavy and is an excellent tone wood for bass guitar bodies.

Wenge:
This is a popular wood for boutique bass builders and its tonal reputation is impressive.

 

[big_black]

Re: Ideal Wood for a Bass?

...just look at Musiciansfriend's highest customer rated basses and look at their construction, which is another thing I did when I was researching stuff for guitars.

LMAO :laugh2:

You may as well browse HC.

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: Ideal Wood for a Bass?

LMAO :laugh2:
You may as well browse HC.

Doesn't matter: pickup combinations and wood combinations influence tone. Just do a search (like I did) for Seymour Duncan, sort by customer rating, page down until you find a guitar within your price range, read customer feedback, etc. A lot of stuff goes into guitars. My 2 cents FWIW.

 

[big_black]

Re: Ideal Wood for a Bass?

Doesn't matter: pickup combinations and wood combinations influence tone. Just do a search (like I did) for Seymour Duncan, sort by customer rating, page down until you find a guitar within your price range, read customer feedback, etc. A lot of stuff goes into guitars. My 2 cents FWIW.

Those reviews are even more useless than HC. They stack their reviews.

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: Ideal Wood for a Bass?

Those reviews are even more useless than HC. They stack their reviews.

I think not. I accidentally once double-reviewed the same item, but when the review finally posted (at MF), they deleted my old one. However, FWIW, I already posted a lot of very good info. I'm just listing MF as another resource that's available.