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Agathis: Bad or Good
- Thread starter Mud Flaps
- Start date
Heres what the tonewood guide says about agathis:
Well, I do like Mahogony. So I'm actually going to vote "Yes go for it". My first bass was made of Agathis. Its very low mid sounding. I personally prefer Mahogony as my tone wood, but if agathis is kind of a "close enough" thing.
Edit: Damn necro.
Well, I do like Mahogony. So I'm actually going to vote "Yes go for it". My first bass was made of Agathis. Its very low mid sounding. I personally prefer Mahogony as my tone wood, but if agathis is kind of a "close enough" thing.
Edit: Damn necro.
I'm kind of neutral about such things, although I will admit that I deliberately try to stick to classic woods (Alder or Ash, etc) whenever possible - I see it as part of the "classic recipe" of certain basses & their tones. But I won't rule out anything as long as I can play it first - if it sounds - it is good. I would think any wood would benefit from being properly cured to remove excess water content so as to be resonant & to reduce weight. I think if the manufacturer's drying/aging process is up to standard, it will benefit the end result of most any wood used.
My Squier VM 70's P-Bass is made of agathis and it sounds amazing with good highs, mids and bottom and I was lucky and got a very light, resonant body. The whole bass weighs 7 lbs. 5 oz. )-(
Who said there was anything wrong with basswood?
Less expensive does not automatically equal worse sounding. A solid gold bass would probably sound like crap. Price has far more to do with the supply of the wood available, etc.
Blast from the past!
Agathis should have hired a team like served the Patagonian Toothfish.
It was a junk fish no one wanted until they cleverly thought to rename it with the word "bass" in it. (Chilean Sea Bass)
It's a shame the word "basswood" is already taken
Agathis should have hired a team like served the Patagonian Toothfish.
It was a junk fish no one wanted until they cleverly thought to rename it with the word "bass" in it. (Chilean Sea Bass)
It's a shame the word "basswood" is already taken
Dude, get into the sound!! Bass woods are mostly for the spec comparison guys who compare everything before buying...
I had an Ibanez agathis in my beginning stages and it sounded fine....on a 6 string...probably good too, if even just to have an ultra light weight 6 string...
I don't buy into the different woods that much....
Even the US made Musicman Bongo basses are made from "cheap" basswood, and those are not cheap...
do you like the tone??? then buy!!!
I had an Ibanez agathis in my beginning stages and it sounded fine....on a 6 string...probably good too, if even just to have an ultra light weight 6 string...
I don't buy into the different woods that much....
Even the US made Musicman Bongo basses are made from "cheap" basswood, and those are not cheap...
do you like the tone??? then buy!!!
i used to buy into the wood thing and thought pickups were meaningless but i don't anymore since i transformed my wimpy sounding p lyte into a big fat tone monster with qp's.
I'd vote no if poll ws still open, so long as its qaulity agathis rather then cheapo version. It tends to be darker then most, near to mahogany but with more edge to the treble. Its not going to be as smooth in the top end as mahogany. That can be good or meh depending on the pups used. Id avoid pups that tend to accent the upper treble much since agathis can lend some harshness to that range. Not all agathis is equal. If inferior its gonna be like basswood in that it has less detail in the sound then mahogany, alder, and ash. If superior peice will have the detail of mahogany but be a bit more trebly then mahogany. Impressions are mainly based on comparing BC Rich imports useing mahogany to ones with agathis body instead. While I love the stock BC Rich pups on my Eagle with mahogany body, those same pups tend to bring out a bit too much treble on my warlock with agathis body. So I switched its P pups for Dimarzio P's. To both lessen the treble a little and to lend a little smoother sound to the treble content. Except for shape the two are indentical otherwise. Same preamp, hardware, and neck woods. With the right pups harshness can be tamed into a more edgy sound. The mahogany bodied eagles voice has a bit more drive to its voice with the bc rich P pups. But those pups in the warlock where a little to trebly. With the dimarzios in the warlock theres a little more crank in its sound. If it had been mahogany to include qaulity nato mahogany Id of left the BC Rich pups in it.
I hear big differences between body woods, but it's not just about what the wood is called.
The properties of a given type of tonewood will vary a lot from one tree to the next. Also, the lumber industry plays games with names these days. For example, a heavy piece of dark, old-growth Honduran mahogany will have vastly different tonal properties than a particularly soft piece of pale "Philipine mahogany".
What's best? That depends on what neck and pickups it's paired with, and what tone you're after. Do you want bright or dark? Sustaining? Punchy?
That's why there's no substitute for getting out there and playing lots of basses, even within a particular model line. The variations from one instrument to the next are particularly wide at the low end of the price scale, because the makers can't afford to put as much time into lumber selection.
The properties of a given type of tonewood will vary a lot from one tree to the next. Also, the lumber industry plays games with names these days. For example, a heavy piece of dark, old-growth Honduran mahogany will have vastly different tonal properties than a particularly soft piece of pale "Philipine mahogany".
What's best? That depends on what neck and pickups it's paired with, and what tone you're after. Do you want bright or dark? Sustaining? Punchy?
That's why there's no substitute for getting out there and playing lots of basses, even within a particular model line. The variations from one instrument to the next are particularly wide at the low end of the price scale, because the makers can't afford to put as much time into lumber selection.
Not only that, I've noticed differences in two bodies cut from the same plank (using the same neck, hardware, pickups, and strings).
lol! well that's the acid test...how it sounds in bc rich basses
It works real well on ashbory's too
My agathis body ESP was light weight, dark tone and little punch.
Maybe yours was cut from the tree next to the one used for mine.
I was thinking about this question today, as I've been helping a couple of friends with electric guitar building projects, and one of them dropped by for advice.
They each bought African Mahogany body blanks from different lumber yards. The first one had a rich ribbon figure, and reminded me of a medium-density piece of Honduran.
The one I saw today, had an indistinct grain structure that made me think of chocolate fudge. It was brutally dense and heavy, and had an oily, resinous feel.
Without the neck or any hardware on it, the second body weighed a LOT more than my entire PRS McCarty, which is no flyweight itself. I advised him to thin the body and shape it more aggressively, in order to keep the weight down and hopefully make the finished product sound and feel more lively.
Given the major differences between the body blanks, there is no way that the two guitars would have a similar feel or tone, if they were built to the same specs.
All of this to say that I wonder if the question "is Agathis any good?", should be re-phrased, to ask "for a given piece of Agathis, what changes would need to be made in order to achieve a comfortable weight, and arrive at the tonal balance that the player is looking for?"
They each bought African Mahogany body blanks from different lumber yards. The first one had a rich ribbon figure, and reminded me of a medium-density piece of Honduran.
The one I saw today, had an indistinct grain structure that made me think of chocolate fudge. It was brutally dense and heavy, and had an oily, resinous feel.
Without the neck or any hardware on it, the second body weighed a LOT more than my entire PRS McCarty, which is no flyweight itself. I advised him to thin the body and shape it more aggressively, in order to keep the weight down and hopefully make the finished product sound and feel more lively.
Given the major differences between the body blanks, there is no way that the two guitars would have a similar feel or tone, if they were built to the same specs.
All of this to say that I wonder if the question "is Agathis any good?", should be re-phrased, to ask "for a given piece of Agathis, what changes would need to be made in order to achieve a comfortable weight, and arrive at the tonal balance that the player is looking for?"
