basswood vs. poplar

[Raulplaysbass]

I choose Rainbow poplar.
View attachment 2973032





Basswood is kinda bland.
View attachment 2973033

Broccoli on the other hand....View attachment 2973049

Nice! Whatcha building?

I just completed a basswood bass (Ha!). And I’m not happy how soft it is with a thin nitro finish. It is definitely thin but it sucked up A Lot of Shoreline Gold lacquer. Poly paint probably would have been better for durability because you look at it wrong and “SheeshamofoDamit”....A new ding! It was frustrating to paint. I kept finding new little dings. I felt like I was in a race to finish! I have to fix the back strap button because it’s stripping...

I’ve read that very light woods and good electronics are a good recipe. Maybe doesn’t color the electronics? She cuts through the mix nicely and with authority. So that’s kinda cool, but really not a good practical instrument wood for a working player IMHO.

Just picked up a very nice poplar p body. Very slight green, purple or black and the builder nailed the grain pattern. Before I found it I planned on a solid black because of the poplar colorings but am considering butterscotch now.

I’m a big fan of string-thru bridges to improve a bass. Any bass. I’ve modified a few of my basses. A particular 2 were a 93’ EB MM Stingray (Ash not swamp ash) and a 2000 something Indonesian Basswood Squire P. All were equally dramatic upgrades. I mean completely different instruments (all of them). To my ears everything about the tone, sustain and volume were just waaaay better and louder! To my ears, better than a pick up upgrade. Kinda like having an amp with a lot headroom vs and under powered one. Just sounds better! Makes sense right. A more intimate sonic transfer of the strings thru the wood. My favorite string-thru furells are the Fender Japan 51 P Bass style. Looking for a modern version of them for this new bass build if anyone knows of a source, I would appreciate a contact. Thanks

All the best with your build,
Cheers!

 

[Watchootognbout]

Nice! Whatcha building?

I just completed a basswood bass (Ha!) and am not happy how soft it is with a thin nitro finish. It is definitely thin but it sucked up A Lot of Shoreline Gold lacquer. Poly paint probably would have been better for durability because you look at it wrong and “SheeshamofoDamit”....A new ding! It was frustrating to paint. I kept finding new dings. I felt like I was in a race to finish! I’ve read that very light woods and good electronics are a good recipe. She cuts through the mix nicely and with authority.

View attachment 2976946

Just pick up a very nice poplar p body. Very slight green, purple or black and the builder nailed the grain pattern IMO. I planned on a solid black on poplar because of the colorings but am considering butterscotch now.

View attachment 2976943

I’m a big fan of string-thru bridges to improve a basses tone. I’ve modified 2 of my basses, a 93’ EB MM Ash Stingray and a 200? Indonesian Squire P and both were equally dramatic upgrades. I mean completely different instruments. To my ears it seemed like everything about the tone, sustain and volume were just waaaay better and louder! My favorite string-thru furells are the Fender Japan 51 P Bass style.

All the best with your build,
Cheers!

I'm not building anything.
I just would choose Rainbow poplar over basswood.