Most of my collection is alder-maple. That includes the Sadowsky P5 in my avatar, which is my favorite! That said, I also love my other two Sadowskys: an alder-Brazilian P5 and alder-ebony "MM5".
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Agree, but one for me. I think it may have been more "norm" years ago, but I like how bright it is. I don't love it for every setting, but I do really like it. To your second question, I have an ash/pau ferro Fender Jazz, and 1:1 with the Geddy, it is so much warmer. Warmer than my ash / maple sadowsky (with rounds) too, and similar but not as versatile (IMHO) as a walnut / maple Ric, which can be both mellower and clankier, IMO, depending on a number of factors. (But Ric...)
The alder/maple bass combo has a history going back to c.1957. My understanding is that Fender’s supply of ash at that point was inconsistent, and alder was easier to work and more readily available. I don’t think the choice back then was about tone, but the result speaks for itself. Love that sound. And of course Roger and crew improved the design exponentially. Since coming on board with Sadowsky, my Fenders sit mostly idle.
From what I understand, we’re in a similar situation today:
Climate Change Hits Rock and Roll as Prized Guitar Wood Shortage Looms
Climate Change Hits Rock and Roll as Prized Guitar Wood Shortage Looms
For several years, my main player was the Carl Pedigo build showing in my avatar. Light ash body, rosewood board, birdseye maple neck. I was looking for a deep, rich native timbre, and this delivers. Have returned to Sadowsky based on love for the preamp, particularly in the Will Lee mode, and enjoying a WL5 morado/alder Metro that features more punch. But over the years ash has become my favorite body wood, which is a deep migration given my general lack of love for the maple/ash combinations. Other than that WL Metro, my mainest basses are the ash/rosewood Carlo, and an ash/ebony Xotic XB-2, and I'm thinking of an NYC build...ash/ebony WL5...
My most recent acquisition on the left (ash/ebony UV J)...love it! (The alder/br on the right, ain’t bad either
)...
none darker. all 3 of those look fantastic
I've had a lot of basses built and ash body with a nice Ebony fretboard is by far my favorite combo. To me it gives and more aggressive attack with clarity and snap that cut's through a live band mix better than any combination of woods I've tried.
off the ash alder discourse, well I do have an ash amazon redwood NYC J 5, and an ash ebony Warmoth 4, both strung with D'Addario tapes. The acoustic tone of the Warmoth is super warm and colorful...
back to the original content of this post
Thinking of ordering a matte black PG for this - what's the collective thought?
back to the original content of this post
Thinking of ordering a matte black PG for this - what's the collective thought?
Hey brother, how you been?
Would you be so kind and post photo of your choice?
Btw, put LaBella tapes on this - do not do this! They are terrible strings, the texture is slick but they are sloppy like a rubber noodle.
Oh, I see. So it matches the blocks.
I’d still try cream. I had a metallic orange bike with the same color scheme that I struggled with when kitting it out. I ended up using cream as a counterpoint.
Here’s some inspiration:
Attachments
Last edited:
I like black pg’s (obviously, ^^^^
)... but since that fb has pearloid blocks, I think it looks best with the current pg (but I get periodically wanting to change things up a bit...
)
Last edited:
