Laminate vs. Carved

[topper]

So excuse the noob nature of this question...

I understand the difference in construction, but what's the practical difference for the player? Do they sound different? Is one harder or easierto set up and care for?

[AMJBASS]

There are quite a few threads on this topic already. Check out the "Bass Forum Links" thread above for all the information you will need!

[Gary Lynch]

A fine carved bass produces exquisite tone for advanced players, even for not so advanced players. They can crack and be damaged easier than a plywood bass from weather changes or trauma. They are more expensive but well built basses not only hold their value but usually appreciate.

A well built laminate/plywood bass can be a real workhorse without many of the same fears concerning damage as a carved bass. Much less expensive too. A well built plywood bass often has a fine 'Americana' sound when set up properly and has it's nitch among certain types of music.

Both have their place and often a player will own both for different types of venues. Also some players will not take the caved bass out during certain weather conditions and times of years, or to a venues they are not sure of what will happen. (The Rattlesnake Roundup with beer bottles flying!)

These are just a few basics and there are many other details others will add.

I own both types of construction and I am glad I do.

[drurb]

In addition to studying the newbie links, here is a nice guide from Gage's site. In addition, a search of this site will probably yield you more information on this topic than you wanted to know.

[topper]

Thanks for the link to Gage's site.

For those that are suggesting the newbie links, the only link on the newbie post that refers to laminate vs. carved deals strictly with how to tell the difference between the two if you're looking at a bass and don't know which it is.

There are comments like "You could play it. The sound is usually pretty obvious." but nothing about what that obvious difference sounds like or what the differences in care and maintenance are like (my original question).

I invite those of you who are more experienced to please add to those newbie posts with your knowledge about the actual differences in sound.

[shakernow]

One thing that can be a bit of a surprise when you directly compare laminate to carved is that laminates often have an upfront thumpy volume to the note that can make them seem louder than a carved, especially to the player, generally speaking.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by topper

The sound is usually pretty obvious." but nothing about what that obvious difference sounds like ....

I expect they meant - listen to some Bluegrass/Country if you want to hear what a laminate sounds like or listen to Jazz/Classical for a carved bass!!

[DrBassie]

Here's a (modified) post from the hybrid vs carved thread:

* Plywoods tender to have a more 'hollow' sound compared to a wood bass
* Plywoods tend to seem to amplify nicer, as they usually sound better through the amp than acoustically, and since the body is deader on the ply you usually have fewer feedback and infinite sustain problems at higher volumes.
* Plys tend to put out a lot less volume.
* Plys usually don't bow too well (sound-wise). This is where you really notice a huge difference.
* Ply basses seem to be generally set up with less tension (less string angle across the bridge) which makese them play differently.
* The dynamic range of plys tends to be a lot narrower.
* Plys tend to have a lot less clarity in tone.
* Plys tend to do better with pickups that compress a lot (i.e., the Underwood). Fishman's (Fishmen?) and pickups that try to more accurately get the bass tend to sound like butt.

[ole Jason]

Carved basses can (and will) be more expensive to take care of in the long run.

I wouldn't try to generalize too much with anything else because there is so much variation from bass to bass. I've played ply basses that sound GREAT even with the bow and some pretty horrid carved basses that couldn't get anything right.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by ole Jason

I've played ply basses that sound GREAT even with the bow and some pretty horrid carved basses that couldn't get anything right.

As I've said before, there are entry level carved basses that, from many standpoints, are far less desirable than a quality ply. Think of ply, hybrid, and carved as three overlapping distributions (skewed bell-curves, if you will), with the mean value of "quality" being lowest for the plys, intermediate for the hybrids, and highest for the carved ones. As good as ply basses can get and as appropriate as they can be in many circumstances, I've never encountered one that I thought was great instrument for the styles of music that I'm interested in playing. Still, I have encountered ply basses that sounded better than plywood ought to have a right to sound.