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Acacia? Tulipwood?

Discussion in 'Basses [BG]' started by Jsonnenblick, Oct 21, 2001.

  1. Oct 21, 2001 #1
    Jsonnenblick

    Jsonnenblick

    Apr 7, 2000
    Bethlehem, PA
    Hi. I am trading a bass I have for a tulipwood Acacia 5-string with Lane Poor soapbars and a J-retro preamp.

    It's a long-distance trade, so I'm wondering if anyone can give me feedback on Acacia basses, Tulipwood as a bass material, or the pu's and electronics.

    Of course, I'll post a review once the bass gets to me, but in the meantime, I'm dying for info!
     
  2. Oct 21, 2001 #2
    Chris_Brunhaver

    Chris_Brunhaver

    May 4, 2001
    Puyallup, WA
    I have heard very good things about the woodworking skills of Matt Freidman at Acacia. In the Bass Player ultimate 5-string shootout they thought that the Acacia bass sounded woody and a bit compressed. That may be in part to the bassive lane poors in that bass as they are very low output passive. The east preamp and lane poors should be great. The lane poors tend to have a lot of sheen and have a very modern tone. You might be using the passive tone knob on the preamp to cut highs depending on what kind of vibe you are going for. There is a ton of flexibility in the preamp and you have plenty of usable tones. Tulipwood is just another name for poplar. It sounds more exotic that way :) Anyway, MTD and Hanewinkel "tulipwood" quite a bit as well. IMO, it is a good wood for bass with as it is light with a snappy sound. It isn't the prettiest wood in the woorld but usualy looks good. Somtimes it has green mineraly streaks and some figuring too. BTW, what are you trading for that bass?

    -Chris
     
  3. Oct 21, 2001 #3
    Jsonnenblick

    Jsonnenblick

    Apr 7, 2000
    Bethlehem, PA
    I'm trading a gorgeous transparent red-over-flame Pedulla T-bolt 6. The Pedulla is awesome-sounding in its own right, but I have a T-bolt 5 too, and one of them had to go. . .
     
  4. Oct 21, 2001 #4
    mikezimmerman

    mikezimmerman Supporting Member

    Apr 29, 2001
    Omaha, Nebraska
    There are actually a couple of different woods which get called "tulipwood". One, which MTD, Elrick, and Hanewickel use for body cores, is an American wood that's also called "yellow poplar", I believe--it's quite plain to look at.

    The other "Dalbergia Frutescens", which is a South American wood used by Alembic, Acacia, and others for facings. It tends to have a stripey reddish grain to it, and is very attractive. According to Acacia, the grain and sonic qualites are similar to Gaboon ebony.

    If this is the same Acacia bass I've seen online, though, I suspect the wenge in the neck and the gloss finish will have more sonic impact than the tulipwwod facings. I haven't played that paricular bas, but the other Acacias I've played have been very nice instruments, comfortable, with marvelous attention to detail. I hope you enjoy it.

    Mike