Neck wood and lamination

[umberto]

What's the reason of assembling a neck (-through body) [and a body] with more than one kind of wood.
Is the 3 or five pices of wood lamination useful or just smartlooking?
I know that to enforce the neck it's possible to fit in one or more graphite bar. Do the other kinds of wood assembled in the neck provide the same result?


P.S.
I.ve tried to find the answer with Search function, but... sorry: didn't manage .

[PasdaBeer]

diffrent tone woods.....diff sound,

also some real hard stable woods do the same purpose as graphite ( ie purple heart )

[Suburban]

Inserting material with different materials makes for a truly different composite.

When we are talking wood, you get:
- changed stiffness
- changed weight
- less warp (is properly done)

And the stiffness/weight proportion is the backbone of the sound, whereas avoiding warp is keeping an instrument useful.

And it might look and feel rather nice, too.

[PasdaBeer]

sub, those basses ya got are wicked looking!

[umberto]

Then which solution do you raccommend to increase the sound warmth of a 4 string electric bass: how many kinds of wood assembled in the neck, and what do you consider the warmer ones?

[PasdaBeer]

ash, alder, mahogony are usually considered "warmer" woods

http://www.rampartguitars.com/Tonewoods.htm


good explination of tonewoods.

[tjclem]

I have used and liked Bubinga, Wenge and Ipe as stiffining/contrasting stripes in necks. Tom

[Suburban]

Originally Posted by umberto

Then which solution do you raccommend to increase the sound warmth of a 4 string electric bass: how many kinds of wood assembled in the neck, and what do you consider the warmer ones?

Well, what is "Warm tone"???
What you should aim for is maximum flat response, and do any "tone fix" with the elctronics. See, if the instrument is mechanically neutral, you can do whatever with the electronics!

How to get such a response: low weight x high stiffnes = high resonance frequence
Resonance frequency above 8000 Hz takes away most dead spots and similar fenomena.

A neck, laminated ortogonally to the fingerboard, could consist of maple or black walnut, with purpleheart, wenge or pau ferro stringers. I would also consider a couple of stright through (visible) graphite stringers.
If the neck is laminated the other way, parallel to fingerboard, an interesting combo would be two thin wafers of pau ferro and a spruce core.

[Suburban]

Originally Posted by PasdaBeer

sub, those basses ya got are wicked looking!

Might do so, but they are really nice!

[umberto]

Is it possible to outline a proportion between the neck/body/fretboard capability to affect the sound?
I think that fretboard doesn't play tha major role in this proportion. Does it?

[tjclem]

if it is a fretless the fingerboard makes a big difference...T

[Suburban]

Originally Posted by umberto

Is it possible to outline a proportion between the neck/body/fretboard capability to affect the sound?
I think that fretboard doesn't play tha major role in this proportion. Does it?

No, it has a minor impact on tone, that is true. Even on a fretless!!

Actually, it is not possible to make such an outline you ask for.
Simply because of the differnt shapes you will use. It is a matter of mass and stiffness distribution.

However....
The structural properties of the backbone (i.e. what keeps the upper string anchorage and teh lower ditto together) joins with electronics as the major factors of the instruments tone. And then we have the fingers of the player....