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basswood body
- Thread starter Delapaz
- Start date
Rickett Customs
Commercial User
I just got a 1991 Heartfield Prophecy I bass with a basswood body so I will let you know how it sounds. The other basses I have that are basswood sound pretty good. They are the lower priced basses. I have a Fender Prophecy I that is basswood and sounds good to me.
Agreed.
Play my Bongo and tell me that basswood sucks.
This is part of the basswood catch. Bongos DO sound great! But on the other hand my opinion of basswood comes from a direct A:B Comparison of my Tribute L2500 in swamp ash and a basswood body version. In passive mode the tone of the basswood was dull, rolled off, and what I termed "foofy". Also basswood is soft, dents easily, and has no wood grain worth writing home about.
BUT Basswood is VERY light weight and bass weight is very important to some players. If your bass is painted then wood grain does not matter and a decent tough finish helps protect against dents.
And the Bongo catch is that if a bass is active, it is possible to EQ the "foof" out of the basswood and the bass is then very light and also awesome as is the Bongo case.
Hence the TB basswood rule is : It depends.
Ok just got the Heartfield Prophecy I with a basswood body and I really like the sound of it. It sounds different than any other bass I have, I describe it as a growly sound, I like it. Super light weight, dinged up pretty good but for $178.00 from ebay what do you want.
My first bass is a basswood Yamaha RBX 250. Total dent magnet, but it's a resonant wood that even sounds good acoustically and it's lightweight - the whole bass is a touch under 8lbs in total, with stock hardware.
Basswood is a subject that comes up pretty frequently, as you'll see if you do a search here. But, to answer your questions...
- How does it sound? The Warmoth wood guide describes it as "a growley, warm tone with good mids". Which, IMO, is a pretty good description. As a tone wood - strictly as a tone wood - basswood is a good choice. As others have pointed out, some rather expensive basses are made out of it; as well as an awful lot of not-so-expensive basses, too. It's inexpensive; easy to finish; and very easy on machine tools - all of which, companies really, really like...
- How will it work with a maple neck and rosewood fretboard? Well..
Here's my Eastwood Magnum bass. Basswood body; Maple neck; and rosewood fretboard. I'd say it works pretty well.However, Basswood does have some drawbacks.
-As others have said, Basswood is a pretty soft wood. No, it doesn't hold on to screws well (as any of the online wood guides will tell you), and unless you cover it with a thick, hard finish, it will dent like crazy - unless you're very careful with it.
- It isn't exactly the prettiest wood in the world. You can get pieces of Basswood with a decent grain pattern; but don't hold your breath. The great majority of Basswood instruments have a painted solid finish - for good reasons.
Personally, I have three instruments with Basswood bodies, all Eastwoods. The Magnum Bass; a Flying Vee Bass; and a Sidejack Baritone guitar. They're all well made; and they all sound good. But, I'm careful when I play them, and try hard not to bump into anything with them. And, I never mess with the screws, unless absolutely necessary...
I really like Basswood bodied basses. I remember reading about a study where they found that Basswood tone "improved" MUCH quicker than other woods when subjected to those acoustic machines that attempt to help "season" the wood with tons of loud vibrations. I wish I could remember the source of that article.
I have a Music Man Bongo 6 HS made out of Basswood that sounds GREAT with a growly midrange. I think I would agree that the lows are not huge, and the highs not super pronounced--but it has a wonderful speaking voice and a very pretty yet funky sound. With the EQ onboard the Bongo, and the high output neodymium pickups, it's a sweet recipe.
I HATE full mahogany bodied basses. So dull and lifeless. No highs. No lows. Kinda low middy muddy. Dead and dark and boring. HATE them. Rant over!!! I'm sure that could be overcome somewhat with other woods, like a maple top, or an ebony fingerboard. But for the main body wood, and in general, I just SKIP mahogany immediately. Some may love it. I like bright, cutting, articulate, and growly sounds.
I will say that I prefer Alder, Ash, and even Poplar (I have that on an MTD American 7 string bass with a maple top and wenge neck and fingerboard; greatest sounding bass I have EVER heard...I've tried to sell it a few times but the SOUND-----OMG it's a freaking Strad--it's the whole RECIPE though; woods, pickups, build quality, etc etc.).
Basswood is nice, pretty sounding, a bit middy, and growly; not my FIRST choice, though I do like it.
Alder-Articulate, balanced, most "traditional" versatility.
Ash--more Growly than Alder, a bit less traditional sounding. Aggressive and funky. Possibly my favorite when coupled with a maple top.
Poplar--Punchy. Probably improved with a maple top.
If it sounds good, buy it!
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If you love bright, cutting, articulate, and growly sounds you'd love my full mahogany Guild Pilot with a rosewood board.
That’s cool, I’ll have to check out that “recipe”. I just never had any luck with mahogany.
You should try the Yamaha TRBX504/505 , they has full mahogany body but they sound bright ,clear and open tone , plus the Low B on 505 are great for it 34 scale.
Thank you for sharing. I guess I need more experience with mahogany!
FYI - 95% of a solid body electric bass sound comes from the electronics. I'll enjoy my popcorn whilst you all debate the pros and cons of something that has less than a 5% effect on sound.
Do you believe that the PV 63 pickups sound different on Avri 63 pbass vs Squier CV60 Pbass with same fender vintage threatsaddle bridge and same stock string through same Amplifier ?
To me, beside the body wood resonance, the different neck profile are second factor.
My2cents
I think the neck and fingerboard construction and composition matters more than the body wood actually, but altogether the tonal effect of the wood, IMO, is indeed small compared to the electronics. I’d put it more at 15-20%, which matters a lot to me. Not trying to start a debate. Bass on!
No, it doesn't. If it did, everyone would be buying $200 SX basses made out of plywood, swapping pickup and electronics and having killer basses on the cheap instead of paying thousands for Fenders, EBMM and others.
Also, those saying that the Bongo basses use basswood too, so it must be good...please understand. The difference between the quality of basswood on a $2400 Bongo bass is a hell of a lot different than the basswood used on a $300 Squier. Night and day.
Can you tell us more about this difference? Because if you worked in the wood industry you would know it's simply not true. But it is what people want to believe. What are these night and day differences and how are they selected and who sells the good stuff?
