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Best sounding wood

J

jackson_bass

Mar 9, 2005
208
4
Dyersburg, TN
jm-guitars.50megs.com
#1
What wood did you use for the best sounding guitar that you have made? I recently made a 4-string that sounds really good. I cannot find a real problem with dead spots, and it growls. I used a wood that I did not have any idea would sound good, but I acquired this marine grade plywood and decided to use it. The bass was fitted with a three band active EQ, and the mids, highs and especially the lows really sound good. I was very surprised, and so are people when I tell them it is my "plywood" bass. Are there any other woods or combinations that surprised you with how good (or bad) they sounded?
 
#2
I was kinda hesitant in getting the MIJ P that I have because the body is made of basswood. I really love it though, its got a really deep tone and makes the entire bass sound allot more mellow, soul type sound. Still sounds great for rock music too.

As a side not, after playing a few different variants of a Jazz at a shop I really cant hear a different between fretboard types :confused:
 
#3
jackson_bass said:
What wood did you use for the best sounding guitar that you have made? I recently made a 4-string that sounds really good. I cannot find a real problem with dead spots, and it growls. I used a wood that I did not have any idea would sound good, but I acquired this marine grade plywood and decided to use it. The bass was fitted with a three band active EQ, and the mids, highs and especially the lows really sound good. I was very surprised, and so are people when I tell them it is my "plywood" bass. Are there any other woods or combinations that surprised you with how good (or bad) they sounded?
Click to expand...

you don't say! :D
 
#4
jackson_bass said:
What wood did you use for the best sounding guitar that you have made? I recently made a 4-string that sounds really good. I cannot find a real problem with dead spots, and it growls. I used a wood that I did not have any idea would sound good, but I acquired this marine grade plywood and decided to use it. The bass was fitted with a three band active EQ, and the mids, highs and especially the lows really sound good. I was very surprised, and so are people when I tell them it is my "plywood" bass. Are there any other woods or combinations that surprised you with how good (or bad) they sounded?
Click to expand...

A few months back Kevin finally completed something he'd been talking about for quite a while... he made a bass out of laminate countertop. Turned out surprisingly well. For grins he built a butcher block neck to go on it.
 
#7
Does Kevin have a web page for the contertop guitar? Try to get him to put one up if he has not. I'd love to read it and it would help many of us who prefer not to draw out the process of wood selection with lengthy conversations on tone.
 
#8
FBB Custom said:
Does Kevin have a web page for the contertop guitar? Try to get him to put one up if he has not. I'd love to read it and it would help many of us who prefer not to draw out the process of wood selection with lengthy conversations on tone.
Click to expand...

Aren't you in Hyattsville? I've been trying to hook up with you for a while.

I can get the bass and let you see it if you want.

Basically he took Formica (IIRC) countertop from Home Depot, using two pieces, one for the front, one for the back. Glued them together after doing the routing for the bolt-thru neck, sealed the edges and it turned out surprisingly well. You end up with an MDF body with Formica facings. Looks nice by all accounts. It sounds very good but it also sounds different from other basses he's built. I don't have any pics but I've taken it out a few times, down to Atomic and Jivesound.
 
#9
Hey! MORE MD-NoVA builders. Cool!

Is it just me, or is this part of the country particularly thick with luthiers? As Paul from Kent Is. is fond of saying...it must be the very stable climate we have here. :eyebrow:

I've also toyed with the idea of a MDF instrument; in what way is the tone "different" would you say?
 
#15
erikbojerik said:
Hey! MORE MD-NoVA builders. Cool!

Is it just me, or is this part of the country particularly thick with luthiers? As Paul from Kent Is. is fond of saying...it must be the very stable climate we have here. :eyebrow:

I've also toyed with the idea of a MDF instrument; in what way is the tone "different" would you say?
Click to expand...

it would be:
"punchy with sparkly highs, solid well defined low end and with a slightly pronouced mid hump"


BOO-YAH!! :help:
 
#17
erikbojerik said:
Hey! MORE MD-NoVA builders. Cool!

Is it just me, or is this part of the country particularly thick with luthiers? As Paul from Kent Is. is fond of saying...it must be the very stable climate we have here. :eyebrow:

I've also toyed with the idea of a MDF instrument; in what way is the tone "different" would you say?
Click to expand...

Hard to describe. It didn't sound like any of the Ash, Spanish Cedar or Maple bodied basses on hand. It had a pretty good generic kind of sound, for lack of a better description.
 

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