Maple vs. Poplar

[Cairobill]

The luthier Paul Bryant (www.bryantbasses.co.uk) is a great fan of poplar for backs and ribs. He uses it for the tonal qualities, which he prefers. It is softer though, and he reinforces the back accordingly. Have a look at his site...C

[DaveAceofBass]

Originally Posted by Cairobill

The luthier Paul Bryant (www.bryantbasses.co.uk) is a great fan of poplar for backs and ribs. He uses it for the tonal qualities, which he prefers. It is softer though, and he reinforces the back accordingly. Have a look at his site...C

I've seen his site before. Not keen on his aesthetics, but they seem like good quality. I wonder if Kolstein reinforces the poplar any different. I'm not sure which one I'll prefer. Rabbath's bass is maple, and the Laborie/Quenoil basses he plays are designed to be very light weight for more resonance....

[Cairobill]

I own one of his basses - the solo model. It's drop-dead gorgeous - very much in his English style. Very well made but not heavy - my solo bass has a very 'singing' tone and it is still very young. Mine has a maple back though, not the usual poplar, so I can't comment directly on how the poplar back affects the tone.

C

[STRONGBOW]

Originally Posted by arnoldschnitzer

Paul Toenniges made a bunch of terrific basses from Canadian-grown Yellow Birch. He started using this wood when European tonewood was difficult to get around WW2. I've worked on one and it seemed both stable and sonorous...

I'd love to take a look at just one of the Toenniges basses. I've never seen one, lots less play one, but they are from all reports something really special. I recall that back in an earlier era when finding ANY literature on double basses was nearly impossible that Raymond Elgar's trilogy was about all we had as a reference tool. And Elgar mentioned Toenniges as (I think) the ONLY American maker of any consequence at that time (1960s).

[Steve Swan]

I have a couple of Poplar basses from different makers in the shop. There is a rich, warm quality to each of them that is really appealing.

The Gill Ceruti model is a carved back instrument with medium 3/4 dimensions and a fairly short 3/4 string length. I feel that the Poplar back and sides give it an emphasis in the lower registers that make it seem much larger and older than it is. The back doesn't have any interior reinforcement studs.

The Kolstein Botti model with Poplar back and sides is one that I can compare directly to an identical Botti model made with Maple. Allowing for slight potential differences in the tops, The Poplar seems to color and center the voice more toward the lower midrange and bottom end compared to the Maple version. Like the Gill bass, the Poplar Botti has a more mature sound with a richness that I associate more with basses that have been played in for a while.

Under an oil varnish finish the poplar can look a little like Walnut. My friend Alex Friedman has in storage a couple of sets of European Poplar for future instruments. I'm interested in hearing how they compare to his Maple basses. Has anyone seen examples of the same model from a maker that compare Poplar and Willow?

Steve Swan

[Don Higdon]

Originally Posted by STRONGBOW

I'd love to take a look at just one of the Toenniges basses. I've never seen one, lots less play one, but they are from all reports something really special. I recall that back in an earlier era when finding ANY literature on double basses was nearly impossible that Raymond Elgar's trilogy was about all we had as a reference tool. And Elgar mentioned Toenniges as (I think) the ONLY American maker of any consequence at that time (1960s).

Toenniges had established himself as a bass maker by his early 30's. Paul Cannon's Toenniges was owned by two symphony players, was made in 1936 when Toenniges was 28 years old.
The basses with the diamond cutouts in the C bout were made before there were bass amps. John Feeney played one as guest soloist with my orchestra. The tone and projection were awesome.
Ready for this?:
Looking at a discography of Ann-Margret, listed in the credits, right after "Buddy Collette, saxophone", is "Paul Toenniges, bass" !!!!

[bassist14]

here:
http://www.veniceresearch.com/strum/35/stru35.htm
is a bass with a poplar back.
i like it...

[KSB - Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by bassist14

here:
http://www.veniceresearch.com/strum/35/stru35.htm
is a bass with a poplar back.
i like it...

The last time I spoke with Pio (the dealer with that Bass), it was not 'yet' for sale as he was doing research with it and a matching Cello he also has ( http://www.veniceresearch.com/strum/28/stru28.htm ). The price for that Bass is most likely more than my house but if you guys really need to know, I can ask him as we are in touch with each other on occassion.

[DaveAceofBass]

Merry Christmas to all...

This holiday I have just returned from NYC with a gorgeous new Kolstein Guarneri. I picked the poplar over the maple for the tonal qualities...but it was a tough decision.

Barrie is great to deal with, and I have a Rabbath-esque bass set up for jazz and classical. Merry Christmas me!

[Silversorcerer]

Just a tidbit I can add on the wood. The tulip tree is an American magnolia often referred to as yellow poplar. Poplars in Europe (several varieties) are true poplars. True American poplars are the aspen and the cottonwood. To complicate matters these all have hybidized now. I have a North American flute made of poplar that is multicolored with the dark purple to light olive coloring. While it isn't a bass, it still has a very mellow tone compared to similar flutes made of harder wood. Yellow poplar is much much softer than maple. My guess would be that when any European luthier is talking about poplar, it is one of the true European varieties, usually black poplar also called Lombardy poplar.