body woods + thickness?

rorydude · #1 10-13-2007, 03:42 PM

im going to build my first bass in the near future, and i was wondering about some stuff.
first, what do you prefer as body wood?
second, what does body thickness do to the sound?
thanks
rory

cricketfever32 · #2 10-13-2007, 07:18 PM

ok, this is very a general post, so what tone do you want from your bass, and ususally weight doesn't do much unless its a specific type of wood (i.e. ovangkol, or zebrawood)

MNbassist · #3 10-13-2007, 09:10 PM

The thicker the body the more the wood will resonate. If you get a hard wood like maple the sound will be punchy, aka the harder the wood the punchier the sound. Warmer sounding woods would be somethign like mahogony (dont you dare think about pine, not a tone wood) work from there.

SDB Guitars · #4 10-13-2007, 09:38 PM

My preferred body wood at the moment is Spanish cedar... it's very *VERY* soft, so you have to be careful, and a hard finish is recommended, but it is so lightweight and resonant, that I just love it. I generally make my bodies 1 5/8" thick, give or take 1/8"... 1 3/4" is the standard that Fender set out years ago, because that was a dimensioned 2" board, and was easy to acquire from nearly any wood supplier. This figure has sort-of stuck with the industry... which is hilarious, as Leo Fender wasn't a musician, he was an engineer.

You know, I've actually seen a few people on the MIMF who have made instruments with some form of pine as the body wood, and although it is very soft, they seemed to have decent results with it. The main issue is that it can "leak" sap for quite a while, which isn't condusive to some finishes, and it is so soft that it takes dents practically just by looking at it.

I've heard decent things tone-wise about it... also, I know a guy who made a 5-string upright bass, and used knotty pine as the top. It sounds decent. Very mellow, but not in a bad way.

I guess the point is, that "tone wood" is a misleading term. I have heard guitars that sounded great that ended up having plywood bodies... the electronics made up for it... I've also heard instruments constructed with top notch materials that still sounded like crap. Soundness of design and construction is as important as materials...

rorydude · #5 10-13-2007, 10:43 PM

thanks guys. id like it to sound warm and punchy... dont know if thats really possible. also, its going to be frettless.

is it difficult to make necks? you know where i can get an already made neck that isn't a fender replacement?

rorydude · #6 10-13-2007, 10:48 PM

oh, and i know there are different kinds of ebony, but would a solid ebony body sound good?

SDB Guitars · #7 10-13-2007, 11:00 PM

A solid ebony body would *sound* fine, if maybe a bit bright... it would weigh in like a boat anchor, and would probably cost you a fortune, as ebony ain't cheap... *I* wouldn't want to play something like that standing up, as my back wouldn't take that for any length of time.

dblbass · #8 10-13-2007, 11:07 PM

a solid ebony body will weigh a ton so i wouldnt suggest it. Mahogony is great, poplar is a good choice too. I like mahogony better but that is from a looks standpoint. As for body thickness, you could make it about 1 1/4 and that would be fine. the only down side to making a body so thin is that you cant use some pots (push pull or stacked) and also you might need to raise the input jack if you mount it on top or put it on the side. Hope this helps.

ehque · #9 10-13-2007, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rorydude

oh, and i know there are different kinds of ebony, but would a solid ebony body sound good?

Ebony isn't really stable humidity wise (or was it temperature wise?) Anyhoo, its not THAT stable. And it IS expensive. And it doesn't usually come in chunks so big, so it'll be REALLY expensive.

If you want the dark/black look, go for wenge. Warwick uses/used it. It's heavy too, so you got heavy/dark covered.

**Rodent** · #10 10-14-2007, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MNbassist

(dont you dare think about pine, not a tone wood)

if you use the proper finish, there is nothing wrong with pine. it may not be a traditional body wood, but it will work just fine if you work within its properties.

the whole concept of "tonewood" is related to acoustic instruments, not solid bodies. many people incorrectly apply the nomenclature

all the best,

R

waseok · #11 10-14-2007, 03:28 PM

Quote:

The main issue is that it can "leak" sap for quite a while, which isn't condusive to some finishes, and it is so soft that it takes dents practically just by looking at it.

damn i was really lol when i read this..rofl
ahaha

T2W · #12 10-14-2007, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodent

the whole concept of "tonewood" is related to acoustic instruments, not solid bodies. many people incorrectly apply the nomenclature

exactly, no one could have said it better. Ive said it before, and Ill say it again, the choice of woods used for a solid bodied instrument is irrelevant (to a certain extent) when you got 18v drivin a preamp with monster pickups, and to top it off, you usually get a 2 band (at least) EQ to twitch your sound as you wish, so a bright this and a warm that doesnt make much sense to me. On acoustic guitars however...... different story.

Greenman · #13 10-14-2007, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rorydude

im going to build my first bass in the near future, and i was wondering about some stuff.
first, what do you prefer as body wood?
second, what does body thickness do to the sound?
thanks
rory

Dude
Grab what you can locally and give it a shot. Your first build won't be your best but it will be the best to learn. Go cheap and catch the bug. After that your addicted and on your own.

PaleMelanesian · #14 10-15-2007, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ehque

Ebony isn't really stable humidity wise (or was it temperature wise?) Anyhoo, its not THAT stable. And it IS expensive. And it doesn't usually come in chunks so big, so it'll be REALLY expensive.

If you want the dark/black look, go for wenge. Warwick uses/used it. It's heavy too, so you got heavy/dark covered.

Agreed on the ebony. My ebony-board fretless shifts back and forth with the seasons. It's as predictable as a thermometer. It's not a serious problem, but it's something to be aware of.

Suburban · #15 10-23-2007, 03:54 AM

Light weight is my take.
Spruce and pine are fine (even for acoustics), as well as cedar, poplar, aspen, sallow, willow and of course alder.
they are all soft, so I'd wafer them in some harder, and probably more figured

wood.

Tone wood is a wood that returns a tone when excited.

NOT

AT ALL