BODY WOOD THICKNESS?

HARD HAT · #1 05-18-2006, 06:39 PM

I HAVE JUST ASSEMBLED MY WOOD FOR MY FIRST HOME- BREW NECK-THRU BASS PROJECT. I AM USING BLACK LIMBA FOR THE BODY WITH A SPALTED MAPLE TOP AND A STRIPE OF PURPLEHEART UNDER THE MAPLE. IS THERE A PREFERED THICKNESS TO MAINTAIN FOR MY BODY WOOD TO FULLY UTILIZE THE ACUSTIC PROPERTIES OF THE BLACK LIMBA. I WOULD LIKE TO KEEP AS MUCH THICKNESS AS I CAN ON THE MAPLE, BUT DON'T WANT TO HURT THE SOUND. I'M GOING FOR A TOTAL THICKNESS OF 1-3/4" AND MY MAPLE IS 9/16".
THANKS FOR ANY DIRECTION YOU GUYS CAN GIVE ME.

Geoff St. Germaine · #2 05-18-2006, 06:52 PM

First off, welcome to Talkbass. Second, you should do away with the caps lock. It is annoying to read and it is interpreted as yelling.

First off, IMO, the acoustic properties of black limba will be largely lost on an electric instrument. Anyway, I would recommend going with a 1.5" body or thicker. This gives enough depth for the electronics cavity. I've seen one bass that I think had a 1.25" thick body, which is probably pushing the lower limit of how thin the body can be and still mount normal pots in the electronics cavity. As for an upper limit, I've seen bodies up to 3" thick. You're probably safe with 1.75".

HARD HAT · #3 05-19-2006, 11:13 AM

Sorry about the caps lock-I'm kinda new to this stuff. Thanks for setting me straight.

Thanks for the input, I am going to go with an overall thickness of 1-3/4", but I was really wondering how much of that thickness needs to be a body "tone wood" and not a thin veneer for looks. Also, at the start of your reply it sounds like you are telling me that the wood for the body wings doesn't really effect the tone that much on a neck-thru. I guess by "acustic properties", I really mean tone. Can you clarify that for me. Thanks

Geoff St. Germaine · #4 05-19-2006, 11:34 AM

I'm not saying the the wood for the wing doesn't affect the tone on a neck-thru, I'm just saying that IMO it is questionable to attempt to build a bass to a specific sound based on that one factor alone. Also, if the thickness does affect the tone, then who is to say that thicker or thinner is better. IME, I can't say that either is better or even very different.

As far as the top thickness goes, I would say that a 1/4" top on top of a 1.5" thick body will have little effect on the resonance of the body unless the two woods have extremely different properties. I don't think that a 1/4" spalted maple top on black limba is going to affect things very much if at all.

HARD HAT · #5 05-19-2006, 12:03 PM

Thanks Geoff, I just didn't want to thickness all my wood, glue it up, and shape it, and then find out there was some secret formula of body wood to veneer I should have followed.
I have a 5 piece, Maple and Purpleheart neck - is that the area that really gives me my tone ( I've have heard Mahogany - darker, deeper; Maple - brighter, more spank )

Geoff St. Germaine · #6 05-19-2006, 12:49 PM

The tone is a combination of all the things on the bass including the strings, electronics, woods and hardware. IME, the strings and electronics have the largest impact on the tone. A string switch between roundwounds and flatwounds or between very different pickups yields the largest difference in tone. I have noticed woods affecting subtle nuances of the tone (ie maple fretboards sound brighter to me) but overall I classify the differences between suitable, quality woods to be somewhat small and also hard to predict/design for.

HARD HAT · #7 05-19-2006, 01:08 PM

Thanks for the help and advise. I will keep trudging ahead
and hope for the best.
I have a Pau Fero fret board and I'm going to use Bartollini pups and electronics so it should come out pretty good in the end.

wdinc01 · #8 05-19-2006, 02:54 PM

Yeah I think it's more of electronics and strings. Not that I have too much experience between different woods and stuff, but I always see it as "Well pick ups are basically magnets, and strings are magnetic, so that'll effect the tone". I never really thought of how wood could, except maybe the fretboard, but again, I don't have too much experience.

And to support my string theory a bit, I have an acoustic guitar, and I kept the stock strings on there for a few months since I didn't need to change them. They ended up sounding flat and terrible (although it's like a cheap $100 Epiphone). Then I went out and got some D'Addario's on there, and it totally changed the tone. Maybe it was because they were new, but the strings that sounded flat before (basically low E and A) kinda had a bit of a metallic sound. So yeah, big difference.

I realize that the woods on an acoustic guitar probably effect it alot, but my point is strings can make a big difference, and so can pick ups. Wood, I don't really think so.

Anyway, welcome to TalkBass. Where did you get your wood, by the way? I live in Jacksonville, Florida (as you can tell) and I was gonna build a bass, and was hoping to find a supplier nearby. First I was gonna build a prototype with whatever I can get my hands on (maybe pine...), then hopefully have a working on by the end of summer.

Geoff St. Germaine · #9 05-19-2006, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wdinc01

Yeah I think it's more of electronics and strings. Not that I have too much experience between different woods and stuff, but I always see it as "Well pick ups are basically magnets, and strings are magnetic, so that'll effect the tone". I never really thought of how wood could, except maybe the fretboard, but again, I don't have too much experience.

Well the wood can affect the vibrations of the strings because the strings are coupled to the body through the nut, bridge and headstock. If you pluck a string on a stringed instrument you'll notice that the body vibrates as well as the string. This is how the wood can affect tone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wdinc01

And to support my string theory a bit, I have an acoustic guitar, and I kept the stock strings on there for a few months since I didn't need to change them. They ended up sounding flat and terrible (although it's like a cheap $100 Epiphone). Then I went out and got some D'Addario's on there, and it totally changed the tone. Maybe it was because they were new, but the strings that sounded flat before (basically low E and A) kinda had a bit of a metallic sound. So yeah, big difference.

I realize that the woods on an acoustic guitar probably effect it alot, but my point is strings can make a big difference, and so can pick ups. Wood, I don't really think so.

Anyway, welcome to TalkBass. Where did you get your wood, by the way? I live in Jacksonville, Florida (as you can tell) and I was gonna build a bass, and was hoping to find a supplier nearby. First I was gonna build a prototype with whatever I can get my hands on (maybe pine...), then hopefully have a working on by the end of summer.

HARD HAT · #10 05-20-2006, 09:00 AM

I couldn't find any good (and I mean industry standard ) guitar hardwood suppliers locally at all. By local I mean Fl, Al, and Ga. I ended up going to places like Gallery, Durawood, and Springer's. I did a full size mock up of the shape, once I was sure of what I wanted, out of 1/4" plywood to make sure nothing was going to bug me when I was holding it in playing position. I also checked for cutaway clearance on the lower horn since it's a 24 fret-just in case I ever want to get up there. Maybe I'll post some pictures if it turns out like I hope. Do you know how hard it is to come up w/ a body shape that you like and think is original without finding almost the exact same thing in a picture within a day or two. It'll drive you nutz.
Headstock design is the same way - there's only so many workable shapes out there. I just wanted something to call my own. Is that too much to ask?