Are you saying there are not different grades and qualities of woods? Of course there are and everything from higher end guitars to tables and chairs use better cuts of wood than the low end stuff.
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basswood body
- Thread starter Delapaz
- Start date
Are you saying there are not different grades and qualities of woods? Of course there are and everything from higher end guitars to tables and chairs use better cuts of wood than the low end stuff.
Basswood gets a bad rap, maybe somewhat deserved because it can strip out screws over time with use. Plus "entry" level guitars sometimes use it, leading to its perceived cheapness.
Tone wise it is warm, good mids and is light weight. The light weight 'may' not be a benefit if it is paired with a heavy neck. It could have neck dive.
But hey it's "BASS"wood, so it must be great for basses, right?
Tone wise it is warm, good mids and is light weight. The light weight 'may' not be a benefit if it is paired with a heavy neck. It could have neck dive.
But hey it's "BASS"wood, so it must be great for basses, right?
No, that would be a silly false dichotomy. I'm saying you don't have any idea what they are and what anybody uses and are just using a circular argument that more expensive guitars use more expensive woods. That's why I asked for any details of any kind to back up your statement of what they are and how they affect tone and how they are selected.
It's my understanding that the MTD Kingston Artist (MIK) I just bought, is basswood. Here is what it looks like in translucent blue.
One of my best sounding Franken-Fender P builds has a lightweight basswood body coupled to an American P neck. It is one of my regular go-to basses because of it's sound and it's weight at just 7.5 pounds. Of course the GZR pickups aren't too shabby either.
Ever taken the finish off a $200 guitar or bass vs a $2k one and stripped it down to just the wood? I have. Do it and believe me, you'll see a difference. Hell, you can flip over a Squier and see the difference even thru the finish. You typically get 4-5 piece bodies whereas a MIA Fender uses only 2, sometimes one. I think anyone who knows guitars knows that they use a cheaper quality and cut of wood on a $200 guitar vs a $2k guitar.
So no clue eh? A 5 piece body means it's a different grade of wood? Why doesn't my basswood OLP I paid $115 for new have these issues?
Hmmm... I stripped an Affinity J and it was 3 pieces, stripped an MIM P that looked like a chopping block, at least 8 pieces of wood glued together. I think you may be over generalising. If you think you're paying more money for better wood, it's more likely to be labour cost differences.
Just got this solid one piece walnut precision style body,and MIM Fender precision neck. Just got it put together,and like the wood grain with undercoat French Polish(shellac,hand applied) with 5 very thin coats of polyurethane,semi-gloss. Weighed 6.2lbs unloaded. After neck was attached,now weighs 9.8lbs. Weight is no problem for me,I always sit down when playing. Been playing it quite a bit,and sounding good,IMO. Like it mostly for the uniqueness,with the solid one piece walnut body,and the MIM Fender neck. Body according to previous owner,was from Doug Thimm Victor's Guitar.
Nice looking walnut! Moon Guitars did a bunch of walnut bodies in the '80s. As heavy as they were beautiful.
I just don't want a basswood body. My subjective opinion. It's not what the basses (Fender) to which I am drawn are made of.
Aren't wood grades more about the appearance of the grain rather than any tonal differences? I have 1 basswood (MIJ 60's midnight) and it does sound different from my other basses. All of my basses have a different sound. That is why I have 4 different basses so that I have four different tones. Tone is subjective just as looks are subjective. All four are also made of different woods. I have two Gibson's that have the same pup configuration but one is solid body and has rounds and one has a semi=hollow body and has flats. More colors for the palate is a good thing.
That and size & structural issues. But in the guitar world everything eventually becomes about tone.
Interestingly export grade woods can be very high quality and those cheap Asian guitars will often have excellent grade woods.
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I have an early Indonesian SUB finished in Walnut with a deep finish and nice grain . I installed a GFS pickup and Seymour Duncan stack . Sounds great with flats. What is considered light for basswood? Mine weighs in at 9 lbs 6 oz which I don't consider light. Any thoughts?
So: is basswood considered so soft that a bridge swap is unsafe? Have been thinking about a high-mass bridge for my Glarry.
