Finishing a bass..

[dpbass66]

I am refinishing a stripped old J bass. It is Ash, and quite porous. My question ...if I want to do a linseed finish, what is the conventional wisdom on leaving the wood porous, versus filling it in? What effect does porosity have on sound? Also, since this bass was originally "vanilla" (painted), the body has a seam where two pieces of wood were joined to create the body. Will an oil finish accentuate this seam? Sorry for all the questions, but I couldnt get real clear answers in my research to some of these questions.

[SurferJoe46]

Depends how thirsty the wood is after you stripped it.

If it sucks in great amounts of sealer or tint, then it might indeed deeply color the joint - or not.

It's gonna be a crapshoot to prophesy this situation. That's the beauty of wood - there are few rules and most of them have exceptions like conjugating verbs in English.

As far as killing or accentuating the timber or voice - another great big guess.

I think if you applied kitty fur, you'd prolly hear a deeper and less glassy sound. But that is up to argument and suggestions too.

You are dealing with wood - your musical ear - and grandiose expectations - none of which may be met or you can exceed all expectations and get it exactly like you want.

< cue Willy Wonka >