Different tone from different wood, really?

[DavC]

why do violin makers ... or classical guitar builders choose certain woods ..?? it is more than just looks ..!

or consider various wooden parts of a grand piano ... they all have a certain job and reasoning behind them ...

these things were going on long before Leo cut a slab ..!!

different grains and densities of woods vibrate differently ... vibrations = sound

 

[Two-Spirit]

There is a difference between price points just like guitar. I think priorities is the question if your on a budget. Amp then pickups with the bass itself being last. Just don't be a cheapskate.

 

[Really]

I don't need proof, it's a fact.

An awful lot of people agree with me, that's proof enough.
Look, you either take the facts as I presented them or you don't, but I'm not going to argue with you about it.

it’s as fact as your nick
Or as fake as your nick

 

[P. Aaron]

After a while, you play a bass or basses that gets you most of the way there, whether for practice, rehearsal and live.

All the features, benefits, and pretty colors & finishes notwithstanding.

A good amp & cab is important.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

The only reason stringed instruments are primarily made of wood was that when stringed instruments were developed, wood was readily available and easily fabricated into just about any shape for just about any purpose.

If there never was any wood, stringed instruments may have been made of dinosaur bones and we'd be debating What's the best dinosaur for metal?

 

[oldfretless]

Yes. wood matters. I bought a bow from Ken Smith a few years ago. He had 3 of the same bows, made of the same wood, with the same hair. They weighed a few grams different because they were carved by hand. They all sounded different! He knew that those few grams made a difference, which is why he told me to bring my bass to try the bows.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

The wood matters. Acoustic guitars built exactly the same with different woods sound drastically different. A Martin D-18 sounds very bright while the D-28 sounds very deep. Both are built the same, one with mahogany, the other with rosewood. An electric bass has pickups just below the strings, however, the entire instrument has an effect on the tone and wood affects tone no doubt.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

it’s as fact

 

[jnsnj]

Different species of wood have different densities of carrots. And as we all know carrots are the essence of tone.

 

[5StringBlues]

 

[tfer]

The wood matters. Acoustic guitars built exactly the same with different woods sound drastically different. A Martin D-18 sounds very bright while the D-28 sounds very deep. Both are built the same, one with mahogany, the other with rosewood. An electric bass has pickups just below the strings, however, the entire instrument has an effect on the tone and wood effects tone no doubt.

Before any stringed instrument is electric, it is acoustic. You can't eliminate the acoustic properties that it is built off of.

 

[JRA]

you can get most tones out of most basses.

i am guy who uses emojis

really?


tonewoods look better than they sound. i suspect that if you really like the way your instrument looks = it sounds great! however: if it looks great but sounds bad = you paid a lot for it and you wouldn't admit that your basswood instrument is a better fit!

yes there's probably a difference, no you won't hear it live or in the studio, and most importantly, who cares?

 

[Scottgun]

 

[pappabass]

I could manufacture a 2x4 piece of wood into an electric guitar and most people would not know the difference, regarding sound, between a $5k boutique vs my 2x4 guitar in a blind sound test.
Let the fireworks begin!

Just checking if you have been deleted from TB or death threats from gear snobs !!

 

[tfer]

Just checking if you have been deleted from TB or death threats from gear snobs !!

Why would anyone get mad? Plywood, cardboard, titanium, etc all have acoustical properties. Some people will like how they sound.

 

[bassliner50]

The lions share of bass tone (aside from the player and amp EQ of course) is due to the vibrating strings, the pickups and distance from strings to pickups. This assumes a perfectly ridged platform supporting the strings from the nut to bridge such as you would expect with a heavy steel platform. (just for illustration, surely steel would interact with magnetic properties). Now substitute a wood platform instead of steel. You will loose some rigidity and introduce the woods' tiny amount swell and shrink due to environment. (think of a piano sound board here). More to the point, a very small amount of the strings vibration will be countered and absorbed because of ever so slight flexibility of wood body and neck. This effect would change the higher order harmonics first which has the potential to change tone. The real question is can these very small interactions result in something which can be heard in practical usage? I tend to believe it can be heard though the resulting changes are very very subtle.

 

[tfer]

The lions share of bass tone (aside from the player and amp EQ of course) is due to the vibrating strings, the pickups and distance from strings to pickups. This assumes a perfectly ridged platform supporting the strings from the nut to bridge such as you would expect with a heavy steel platform. (just for illustration, surely steel would interact with magnetic properties). Now substitute a wood platform instead of steel. You will loose some rigidity and introduce the woods' tiny amount swell and shrink due to environment. (think of a piano sound board here). More to the point, a very small amount of the strings vibration will be countered and absorbed because of ever so slight flexibility of wood body and neck. This effect would change the higher harmonics first which has the potential to change tone. The real question is can these very small interactions result in something which can be heard in practical usage? I tend to believe it can be heard though the resulting changes are very very subtle.

I agree completely. Although, I believe that if you know what to listen for, the differences in tone can become quite apparent. However, each player has to decide for themselves how important those differences are.

 

[DigthemLows]

Man, I knew when I bought this I'd get the opportunity to post on a "sound comes from wood" thread, I just didn't realize there'd be a new on so soon ....

 

[deepestend]

Still working my way through this thread. All I can say is that if you sit in our showroom and play all of the different basses (all relatively the same quality construction: same setup, preamp, similar quality pickups, etc.) you will 100% hear the difference between an ash/maple, alder/morado, and alder/maple.

Are you going to hear the difference in an apples to oranges situation like an active Ibanez and a passive Fender squier? Probably too many variables at play.

But I know from experience that if everything else is at a certain level, you will hear the differences.

 

[pappabass]

Why would anyone get mad? Plywood, cardboard, titanium, etc all have acoustical properties. Some people will like how they sound.

His mention of his 2x4 bass sounding as good as a $5k bass!!!