the tonal consequences of woods and matrerials and what-not

J-B'ass · #1 08-21-2008, 06:42 AM

dam i forgot my question..........
oh yeah! I was wondering to myself the other day, I'm ot a particularly tech savvy bass player, I fid it hard to shop for gear because I don't know how different makes, woods, strings, materials etc. effect the sound of a bass. How much does it really matter what kind of wood your fingerboard is or whether your strings are steel or nickel? Surely the difference these kinds of things make to your sound would be eclipsed by a nudge of your eq settings? and also, how much does one need to know to make an informed choice when gear shopping?

lomo · #2 08-22-2008, 09:07 AM

Do a search in the Basses section and you'll find infinite banter on this topic.

Joel S. · #3 08-22-2008, 02:00 PM

There's a very loooong thread in the luthier's forum about this as well.

Joel S. · #4 08-22-2008, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J-B'ass

how much does one need to know to make an informed choice when gear shopping?

You should know what you're looking for.

DocBop · #5 08-22-2008, 02:27 PM

You main sound comes from your hands. As you practice and get your technique together you will of tried a lot of basses and have an idea of what best getr your sound out.

These days I pick a bass by if I like the way it plays that is all that is important. If I like the way a bass plays and after a few months I feel it's a keeper then I will change PUPs or whatever to make sound they way I want.

mambo4 · #6 08-22-2008, 02:28 PM

13 years ago, I used to pay attention to the wood as a factor in tone. But today the only thing the wood affects that I really care about is the weight of the instrument...So many factors go into the ultimate tone of your instrument that I think of wood choice as fairly marginal in that respect. Strings, pickups, pre-amps, amps, and cabs all have a much more significant effect on tone in my opinion. Frankly, I would not worry about what kind of wood to get....

>how much does one need to know to make an informed choice when gear shopping?

Just bring your ears, shop for what sounds good to you. I suppose it would help to know what to expect from the more common styles of instrument :P-basses vs J-basses vs. Stingrays or Ricks...you'd need to spend some time researching how they sound I guess.

::::BASSIST:::: · #7 08-22-2008, 02:29 PM

Just do yourself a favour and make sure the neck is wenge. Nothing feels better IMO/IME.

Martin Bormann · #8 08-22-2008, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J-B'ass

dam i forgot my question..........
oh yeah! I was wondering to myself the other day, I'm ot a particularly tech savvy bass player, I fid it hard to shop for gear because I don't know how different makes, woods, strings, materials etc. effect the sound of a bass. How much does it really matter what kind of wood your fingerboard is or whether your strings are steel or nickel? Surely the difference these kinds of things make to your sound would be eclipsed by a nudge of your eq settings? and also, how much does one need to know to make an informed choice when gear shopping?

Well most likely since you're asking this your ear probably won't notice the difference.

But really woods that are harder and the rings are closer together tend to sound a lot more bright. They also have a longer release in the sound envelope (some people will say they have sustain, but unless you're using a bow, a stringed instrument cannot have a sustain). These woods will have a brighter sound because they will transfer more of the higher harmonics across the board and dampen it less. (because the particles in the wood have less distance to travel to transfer their energy). Similar things happen with the strings as well. Nickel is a bit more dense, so it's easier for the higher frequencies to travel across it. This will give you a more Bright sound (bright timbres are because of more higher pitched harmonics and darker timbres are because of fewer harmonics over the fundamental).

That isn't even going to scratch the surface, but hopefully it'll give you an idea. of how the sound is affected.

Billy Low · #9 08-24-2008, 06:20 PM

IMHO the most important factor in a bass is the feel. The darn thing could have the Holy Grail of tones, if it's not comfortable to play, I won't play it. I find myself playing more, practicing more, experimenting more with an instrument that feels comfortable. Then I move on to more tone shaping elements of the bass.

**bassybill** · #10 08-25-2008, 02:23 AM

To be a bassist, you don't actually need to know a whole lot about the things you're asking. You can go into the store, try basses out and decide which ones you like the feel and sound of. In the process, you're also likely to learn something about what makes you prefer a bass - like the type of strings, the feel of the finish on the neck, pickup brands that maek the sort of tone you want, et cetera. But you don't really need to know how a particualr piece of wood might affect the tone of a bass. You only need to know that you like the sound/feel - if you do, then what it's made of doesn't really matter. You may even be in a better position as a buyer if don't have preconceptions. And your ears stand as good a chance as anyone else's of hearing the differences, even if you couldn't attribute them to specifics of construction. I don't agree that it's the case that not being an expert on woods and hardware means they'll all sound the same to you. Unless we sometimes see the details first and then the basses sound how we expect them to...

For a builder, on the other hand, knowing these things obviously becomes important if they want to make an instrument that has a good chance of turning out the way they planned it.