Basswood?

[Jay2U]

The first time I remove screws from a bass, no matter the wood, I try to remember to put a couple of droplets of super-glue down the hole, give them a few seconds to set up, then invert the bass and tap out the glue. Once hardened, the remaining glue protects the soft hole threads.

Exactly!
That's what I've been doing for a long time. Same procedure for screw holes in outdoor woodwork.

 

[Skillet]

Basswood and Empress (paulownia) together would be an interesting and very light build.

 

[Jay2U]

Yeah, you tend to strip more screws on basswood than most others. It is softer. My old bass has three strap holes in the back end because of that.

If a screw hole is screwed up the hole can be filled with polyurethane glue, before inserting the screw. Make sure the screw stays in place for the next 24 hours. Also, prevent the glue from spilling onto the instrument.

 

[KevinOn10]

I personally love basswood. I just came into the possession of a half finished build, 32.5" scale bass using basswood. Super light, and it'll definitely make a great fretless.

 

[lz4005]

I believe that’s the bassist from the Clash, and if you really want to blame somebody, it’s Hendrix and Towshend who started the guitar bashing fad. Watch a few videos of Towshend bashing guitars to bits, Entwhistle always well in the background protectively cradling his bass. Man after my own heart.

Guitar smashing really took off when Jeff Beck did it in the 1966 movie Blowup. Not the first time other people got credit for something he did first.

As for Entwhistle "always" protecting his bass...not always.

Smashed because it was cutting out on stage.

 

[Canadian APII]

So...Basswood seems to get a pretty bad rap amongst bassistsand guitarists.

Well...I was at the plant of a very well respected organ builder this week (my son-in-law's church is getting their organ rebuilt by this company).

The owner / founder was saying that he ONLY uses basswood for certain parts of an organ which need to be "stable for 100 years or more"...

He loves the stability and consistency in characteristics of basswood

So.. Why does basswood get such a bad rep?

The owner even said it does effect sound in a good way.

Just curious why and how basswood gets such a bad wrap for guitars and basses?

In my opinion. I find it amazing for tone. Very deep and resonant. It is softer but with the fad of roadworn basses I wonder when people will want basses that pick up roadwear quicker so the bass can be theirs. In 85 I made a bass from one slab of a basswood marine beam. I was totally blown away by the tone.

 

[birminghambass]

I've owned a few, maybe 6 or so basswood instruments. Dent too easily and won't hold screws (not really an issue unless you swap parts like me). I'll take ash or alder any day.

 

[TinIndian]

Only issue I've ever had with it is it seems fairly soft and dings easily. Beyond that I think its just fine.

 

[58kites]

Stripped screws very rarely have anything to do with the wood.

I would put a lot of cash down that those were caused by people not knowing what they are doing.

Lots of people strip screws in all kinds of wood...
Basswood is very soft and has more issues with screws than Alder and Poplar which are both relatively cheap choices that are a bit harder and more practical in the long run.
I would bet money that most folks cannot hear the difference between Poplar/Alder/Basswood basses in a blind test.
But after three owners change pickguards or bridges or remove battery covers screwed into the Basswood body, it is by far the most likely to have thread problems and dents.

 

[BobDeRosa]

He's wrong on the hardness. Here is a hardness chart for most major woods...

Invalid Link Removed

Alder didn't make the chart?

 

[2saddleslab]

Here's my basswood contribution. Light, resonant, and a dent magnet. In fact, another dent was added just mentioning it here. Well worth a few dings.

 

[Fender_Bender]

Thx.

The organ builder said it was pretty hard and stable... So I'm even more confused...

Like all woods there are variables in weight,density and hardness from tree to tree. Believe it or not you can get “hard” balsa wood that is noticeably harder than the other stuff you can easily squeeze dents into with your bare hands.

 

[basspraiser]

some cats just prefer playing their coffee tables.

I've got a couple of those myself

 

[bdplaid]

Any experiences with screws not holding in basswood? Or is this a myth?

I've had screws not hold in walnut nor maple, so yeah, I there are times when screws won't hold in basswood either.
But as a woodworker, IMO basswood doesn't hold a small screw as well as other woods can. Use a threaded insert or harden the hole with something like CA glue.

 

[bdplaid]

Glad someone brought up paulownia, the "other" balsa. It's my favorite tonewood, sounds a good bit like swamp ash; very resonant. And about as soft as basswood.
I'm about to work on a new build with a swamp ash core and paulownia wings. Very light, but with a SA tone block.

 

[BassinCT]

As a solid body material, I think it is a good, workable choice. It is very easy to carve and is generally lightweight. I owned a basswood Ibanez SR800 in the early 1990's and I liked it. As stated by many others, its surface is relatively soft and will dent easily without a hard finish.

 

[funkinbottom]

I'll throw in my .02.... My Spector Q4 is basswood body and sounds wonderful. As others have posted, fairly light, no stripped screws or any other issues.

 

[Silky Johnson]

I'm sure a good piece of basswood is great, and a crap piece of basswood sure sucks! Most noticable to me in regards to grades of wood is various different maple necks, the variance in hardness and tone is shocking.

 

[honeyiscool]

Basswood has a very consistent composition, you can see how it looks completely plain a lot of the time, no grain to it. I'd imagine this makes it really great for certain construction where you need that consistency. But people hear with their eyes and they think, no flame, can't put a natural finish on it, and must have no tone.

A lot of boutique builders use a maple cap or veneer on basswood, then you get something that works visually, too.

 

[BassBeginer64]

Bass Wood ?