Body wood

[James Banner]

Hi,

I need some simple advice on choosing a body wood for my 6 string bass I will (hopefully) soon build.

It will have a neck through construction made up of 5 pieces. The woods are maple/bubinga/maple/bubinga/maple.

Therefore the body will be made of 2 wings glued either side of the neck.

The fretboard will be either flame or regular maple.

Which would will provide a good tone whilst also being cheap(ish)? I was considering ash or alder but I have limited knowledge on this subject so I need some advice.

I am aware there are other threads with similar subjects but none with exactly what I'm looking for.

Thanks in advance.

[Musiclogic]

On a neck through, the body woos do not play a major part in the tone of the instrument, the neck will be the major effector of the tone, thus the wood is a wide open choice.

If you are planning on a natral finish(letting the woods show through) e.g. Clear or tinted clear, I would choose a wood that looks better. Ash looks better than Alder, a nice swirly Walnut would look hot, or maybe Padauk or a Mahogany. All are fairly inexpensive, and can look great. Mahogany and Walnut will help slightly to dampen the snappiness of a Bubinga/Maple neck through, so one of these might be good choice for this project, if you are looking to go all out with the bright tone, look to Soft Maple, or Ash and Alder. Alder, is a good median between Ash and Walnut.

Good Luck with it
JC

[James Banner]

Thanks I will look at some pics of wood to help decide

[ehque]

walnut is a nice looking wood that does well as body wings.