Does Wood Grain Affect Anything?

[James Mobius]

Originally Posted by meatwad

You've never encountered a dead spot ever? Or in that position?

I think only on 2 basses. one back in the 80's a very cheap Global copy of a Gibson (double cutaway), and one of my custom fretless basses, the whole G string just doesn't seem to sustain very well at all, (when fretted) the fingerboard on it is solid epoxy. brass nut, ebony saddles on an otherwise brass bridge, body is maple and cherry. I've helped people buy instruments, basses and guitars, always play every single note first even ones you're unlikely to use, (upper register on lower strings).

[SurferJoe46]

^^^ I'd run out and buy lottery tickets then.

[dmusic148]

I've rolled a bunch of necks on and off of one particular body/electronics package and can say for sure that the neck wood/mass/density/stiffness or whatever affects tone in a significant way. The body? Eh. The body doesn't flex like the neck does.

[James Mobius]

Originally Posted by SurferJoe46

^^^ I'd run out and buy lottery tickets then.

I bought one tonight for tomorrow, its over 425 million bucks, that's a lot of strings. I'll gamble $2 for that.

[James Mobius]

re 7th fret dead notes. just picked up one of my mid 60's Hagstroms, you know the 7th fret on the G string actually does kinda die off faster than the 5th or 9th fret, or the 7th on the D string. goldang. I wouldn't call it a "dead note" but it didn't seem to sustain as long. spooky!

[meatwad]

Originally Posted by James Mobius

re 7th fret dead notes. just picked up one of my mid 60's Hagstroms, you know the 7th fret on the G string actually does kinda die off faster than the 5th or 9th fret, or the 7th on the D string. goldang. I wouldn't call it a "dead note" but it didn't seem to sustain as long. spooky!

Yep, that's a dead spot.

[chadds]

Originally Posted by FrednBass

It's a matter of mass, and not type of wood or grain.

Mass? Then you do agree wood matters. All anyone said was they heard a difference. No one said it was the only cause. There is quite a difference in mass between wood from the same tree as well as from different species.
Walnut & basswood for example.

This is becoming suspiciously like arguing on the Internet. I come here open to new ideas and more science to explain my experiences. I've found great gear and have mostly enjoyed the discourse. When it comes down to something that I can use science to explain, I wish to help. When the discussion just shows an unyielding opinion I wonder why and soldier on.
Conversely when science isn't yet up to the task and the scientists are stuck in old provable results, or only test in one dimension, I wonder how we discover anything new and implement it.

Now I'm weary and I could be making beautiful music. Thanks for being here.

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by meatwad

My original point was, IMO strings alone are the greatest factor in tone.

Absurd. It's pickups and electronics. No IMO necessary here, I have over 28,000 posts.

[Lackey]

Everytime I encounter arguments that "wood doesn't matter", I think they should build a bass out of balsa wood and see if it sounds the same as an alder body. Assuming the neck could handle the tension, which it couldn't... Anyways.

Grain pattern probably does matter a bit, I KNOW it matters if its not oriented correctly, thats a basic structural principle for lumber. Knots are a major weak spot too. Bear in mind I'm not a luthier by any means but I have taken a number of structures classes, hehe. Still, the grain in bass / guitar necks always runs parallel to the neck.

[James Mobius]

I hear dead notes. @_@

[James Mobius]

Originally Posted by meatwad

Yep, that's a dead spot.

"dead" sounds a bit extreme. checked out my Tune VI, the effect is there, tho less noticable than on the Hagstrom. and not on the high C string. my 2 string slide bass however seems immune. 4 of my basses are in my drummer's studio, and I'd have to clean the office to reach the others. d:

[mongo2]

Originally Posted by James Mobius

"dead" sounds a bit extreme.

"Dead" is just that it's called. The effect varies from a note with slightly decreased volume or sustain to a note that's basically a thunk lasting a very short time.

[jmclearnon]

The OP was asking about does grain affect anything.

The short answer is yes...

For other stringed instruments especially violins/cellos etc it makes a BIG difference.

The grain patterns can create weaker tonal areas on the instrument and interestingly 1 piece backed cellos/violins have much better sustain then book-matched, that is to do with physics and the consistency of the wood vibrating without any artificial changes.

Dead notes/wolf notes can happen due to inconsistencies in the wood, this is what makes every instrument completely unique, listen to the Stradivarius cellos, they are all made by a very good luthier, yet they sound completely different, regardless of player. YoYo Ma has played several. Even with the same woods...

This is why people are saying about their Foderas sounding different even though they are made with the same woods....

Sound is affected by many things. Playing a sound through metal and wood would change the sound in a different way, if you listen to the people talking about the physics of sound, they are correct.

What effects tone, filters, passing sound through concrete or glass will filter out certain frequencies.

So to answer the question, yes it does BUT....

There many be small differences which are not discernible but to say they don't exist is false.

[tabdog]

Originally Posted by SoVeryTired

I'm not sure where you
got my spelling mistake from
as it wasn't in my post and
I haven't edited it.

But I'll never be as cool as
me either.

Cool is fine, but spelling and denial are
just too funny.

Thanks for the laugh.

Go back and read your post. I didn't
edit it either,

Tabdog

[meatwad]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

Absurd. It's pickups and electronics. No IMO necessary here, I have over 28,000 posts.

You also have one of the sweetest basses of all basses (white Sadowsky), so no IMO is expected of you anywhoo.

[VinKreepo]

I've tried putting the same electronics, bridge, and strings on an Ibanez K5 (SR 1305 equivalent) and an Ibanez SR 305. The former has a Padouk over Mahogany body and a Wenge/Bubinga neck with an Indian Rosewood fretboard, while the latter has an Agathis (Chinese wood similar to pine) body and a Maple neck with a Pau Ferro Fretboard.

Nuts are both composite.

Bridge was brass.

Frets are both nickel.

Strings were Elixir round-wounds I do believe (tossed away since then, cores broke on some).

Necks tightened down with the same material used for shimming.

The tone was certainly different (sorry naysayers) with the SR 305 giving a crisp, thinner tone while the K5 had a low, rounded off tone.

The biggest surprise was the attack/punch/whatever you want to call it of each note. The SR 305, with its considerably lighter composition, gave each note a vivid, dynamic decay while the heavier K5 felt like a brick that sustained a heavily compressed note for quite some time.

It was easier to get an over-driven tone from the SR 305 than the K5, but the K5 was much more consistent in tone and sustain.

However, most of the naysayers limit their knowledge to the effects of wood type on just a few popular models.

To be quite honest, the P bass isn't affected nearly as much as an Ibanez. This is because my Ibanez and Bartolini pickups aren't nearly as 'hot'/driven as P pickups and are therefore more affected by wood, bridge/nut material, etc. So when naysayers say that a Squier and MIA P bass differ in tone mainly because of quality and not Agathis vs. Alder bodies, that seems to be a reasonable conclusion.

Go look in the Broke Bassists Club thread or the more recent Trashiest Basses thread. My 'ho-bo bass' is there is simply several pieces of wood screwed together to somewhat resemble a typical body shape in place of a bass body I accidentally ruined. Neck is the exact same. The pickups are a really hot generic set I found off eBay wired directly to the jack. There was hardly a difference in tone.

Moreover, adding an active system to a bass dampens the effect wood has on tone considerably due to the same driven vs. quiet issue. The difference in tone between my basses with a Bartolini "The Chip" installed was far less than with a passive system.

Therefore, I'll stand by my conclusion that wood does affect tone. However, the stronger and more driven your electronics/signal are, the less one can tell a difference. Hence, many boutique bass builders say wood affects tone in their gorgeous Bart/Aguilar equipped basses while the majority of P/J bass/MM bass/Warwick/etc. lovers say they are full of it.

EDIT: Sorry for such an off topic post, but I wanted to end the wood/tone argument before it gets out of hand. Yes, grain does affect tone. when the wood vibrates, it flexes and compresses tens, hundreds, even thousands of times a second. The grain pattern will either dampen or enhance this contracting, and thus, either kill or enhance your sustain and crisp highs.

[mongo2]

Originally Posted by VinKreepo

.

EDIT: Sorry for such an off topic post, but I wanted to end the wood/tone argument before it gets out of hand.

LOL...G'luck widdat.

[hdracer]

Originally Posted by meatwad

You also have one of the sweetest basses of all basses (white Sadowsky), so no IMO is expected of you anywhoo.

Don't you mean his pink one?
That's the nicest Sad on TB

[meatwad]

Originally Posted by hdracer

Don't you mean his pink one?
That's the nicest Sad on TB

It is/was a white Modern with a matching headstock, IIRC.

[wolfmancharlie]

Grain matters, especially Tennessee Grain. Structurally and tone , Yes.IMHO.