Different woods and the effects it has on tone?

[SteveCS]

OP - this thread is likely to get messy or closed - so to quickly summarize what could be the following 30 pages:

- Some people do not think wood has any noticeable effect on an amplified solid body instrument.

- There are some generalizations about wood and tone, but you get as much variation from piece to piece of the same type of wood.

- There's no consensus to your question.

- I have my own beliefs on the topic, but they are more to do with the wood used for the neck, not the body. And again, my beliefs are not generally accepted by the community as a whole.

- I've played two basses by the same company, same model, same year, same wood, and they sounded different from each other.

Personally, don't worry about it too much. The strings you use probably have a much higher effect on the tone than the body wood.

This post should be made a sticky as it is THE MODEL RESPONSE to the question.

 

[twinjet]

I guess some people hear differently. To me ash body sounded a 4th higher than the alder. The alder sounded in at roughly an F while the ash was Bflat above that. Anyone else hear it this way?

Interesting that you heard it this way as opposed to low and high. I heard an F and a D three half steps below it.

 

[beaglesandbass]

Idk can't remember, you think I'm gunna remember something I posted 7 months ago. If your not gunna help why comment and wait your time

That thread was replied to a little more than 3 months ago. In that thread you flat out stated that you didn't want to do research. People even provided you with links to click.

Can I ask what has changed in those few months?

 

[SteveCS]

Carrots for sure

But I've yet to find one long or thick enough to do it with one piece. Maybe a laminate of carrots and parsnips (with a nice woody core) would work? And I'm sure that hard skin of a butternut squash would make a great fingerboard...

 

[GMC]

In all fairness, we haven't seen this thread in at least two weeks...

Yep...all he now needs to do is ask "what compressor" should I buy and to top it off..."Tell me about overdrives for a newbie". Then the perfect three thread will have been asked again...again...again...again...

 

[guy n. cognito]

Seriously people what is the point of posting a thread and asking for help or info if I'm just gunna get my ass busted or insulted. I just can't stand it. The whole point of this website and these forums are for people who have questions and or are looking to learn about something. God forbid someone asks something the wrong way or posts something similiar to another post, you get harassed. This site has been a website for probably 20 years, I'm sure EVERY QUESTION IMAGINABLE has been asked about a bass guitar at least a few times, but who wants to search for it. If you don't like the post or have nothing to say but an insult then leave the page.

While I'd concede that just about every imaginable question has probably been asked here, it's also pretty uncommon for some to ask the same question twice in the same year, get numerous answers, yet claim he can't remember even his own thread.

 

[Susqmike]

Here's a great description of different woods and their related tone..
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[GMC]

I think there is a massive difference between tone and voicing. I think that pickup choice, string choice and the way you play have a huge influence on the general tone of a bass. I think that the wood component only influences the voice of those combinations. Things like sustain and note attack are greatly influenced by the wood choice, but its a variation on the earlier theme of how the bass sounds. The first three items are a bigger influence in my opinion, but wood choice does make a difference but it's less about bright or dark sounding...I think that's more to do with eq or pickup choice. The attack, decay and general voice are influenced more by the wood. I think the these latter influences are generally heard and felt more when played solo...in a mix then it's all lost and ground up and the earlier three elements become more apparent (PU, stings and player). But solo...the wood tends to shine a little more. But pop the bass through a big amp with a congested sound stage, then all those nuances and projections are lost and...it will sound like every other bass. Pop an Overdrive or a Envelope filter in the mix and then the bass really changes and all bets are off.

I think on a low end bass, the wood choice is largely irreverent. I don't think that bass' pickups are clear enough to let those dynamics show. But with more mid to top end basses, there's a noticeable jump in the apparent playing and tonal dynamics. They tend to sound clearer, detailed and more expansive.

My thoughts about wood also here relate to things like carbon fiber necks, through necks vs bolt on, chambered bodies as well as different species of wood. Play a Les Paul guitar made from ash and not the usual mahogany / maple combo and it just doesn't sound right.

Was I the only person who listened to the Fender Custom video and noticed that the Alder sounded duller and darker and the Ash was brighter and had way more attack...but less sustain. But the guy narrating indicated that the Alder sounded brighter and the Ash sounded darker...but for me, it was the complete opposite. Which brings me to the subject of subjectivity and relatively...it's all highly subjective and very relative.

 

[Vlad5]

Here is more info for the search engine impaired.

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Should help to understand which woods would potentially resonate and/or transfer vibrations more than others.
Assuming this actually effects tone at all, of course.

I like hardwoods myself; ovangkol, ebony, etc..

(did I just fan the coals?)

 

[TonyP-]

I think there is a massive difference between tone and voicing. I think that pickup choice, string choice and the way you play have a huge influence on the general tone of a bass. I think that the wood component only influences the voice of those combinations. Things like sustain and note attack are greatly influenced by the wood choice, but its a variation on the earlier theme of how the bass sounds. The first three items are a bigger influence in my opinion, but wood choice does make a difference but it's less about bright or dark sounding...I think that's more to do with eq or pickup choice. The attack, decay and general voice are influenced more by the wood. I think the these latter influences are generally heard and felt more when played solo...in a mix then it's all lost and ground up and the earlier three elements become more apparent (PU, stings and player). But solo...the wood tends to shine a little more. But pop the bass through a big amp with a congested sound stage, then all those nuances and projections are lost and...it will sound like every other bass. Pop an Overdrive or a Envelope filter in the mix and then the bass really changes and all bets are off.

I think on a low end bass, the wood choice is largely irreverent. I don't think that bass' pickups are clear enough to let those dynamics show. But with more mid to top end basses, there's a noticeable jump in the apparent playing and tonal dynamics. They tend to sound clearer, detailed and more expansive.

My thoughts about wood also here relate to things like carbon fiber necks, through necks vs bolt on, chambered bodies as well as different species of wood. Play a Les Paul guitar made from ash and not the usual mahogany / maple combo and it just doesn't sound right.

Was I the only person who listened to the Fender Custom video and noticed that the Alder sounded duller and darker and the Ash was brighter and had way more attack...but less sustain. But the guy narrating indicated that the Alder sounded brighter and the Ash sounded darker...but for me, it was the complete opposite. Which brings me to the subject of subjectivity and relatively...it's all highly subjective and very relative.

Great post
I'm in complete agreement.
There is a difference between the voice of the instrument and tone per say.

I think this mid understanding is what partially fuels these debates.

 

[Canadian APII]

Once the bass is plugged into the amp, the wood used doesn't matter.

Yes it does. I have Alder, Ash and Basswood basses. All go through the same amp and pickups get swapped around and new ones inserted. With many changes of pickups there are differences but consistently the Basswood bodieshave a bassier tone. Listening to them it seems the Basswood bodies lessen the brighter tones. The Ash enhances the brighter tones and Alder appears neutral.I am not saying pickups don't colour the tone, they do. I am just refuting your statement that "Once the bass is plugged into the amp, the wood used doesn't matter". I believe there is such a thing as tone blindness. Much the same way a colour blind person is functional but simply can't destinguish some colours. This is how I see people that cant enjoy the beautiful nuances created by different woods.

 

[DiMarco]

The same old discussion. Downside of forums.
Carry on.

 

[jd56hawk]

Hey, anything is possible. I used to weigh 240 pounds and my bass sounded incredible. Now, I'm down to 175 and it just doesn't sound the same.

 

[Flaked Beans]

Jaco only needed four strings!







Oh, sorry guys, wrong thread.

 

[Gorn]

You can't compare one ash bass to one alder bass. Sample sizes of one are meaningless. Take thousands of identical ash basses and compare them to thousands of identical alder basses with the same components and player and rigs and then a comparison means something and even then it's subjective. If the bass works and the player doesn't suck then the sound is good. Tone wood doesn't matter.

 

[thehornedone]

I've heard a lot of A/Bs of basses with the same electronics and different woods, and could notice hardly any difference at all. What little difference there might be would easily be equalized by a slight tweak of the tone knob or your amp's EQ. Generally pickups/electronics have by far the biggest effect on the tone of the bass, then strings, then perhaps fingerboard wood (which would be like 1% difference in tone IMO). Body wood makes no difference.

 

[hover]

Norther Ash? Southern swamp ash? EFF THAT. I use Equatorial Ash, so I can reap all the benefits of the other two.

 

[Laurent]

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I am not affiliated with Fodera whatsoever. I don't even own one of their bass.
This publication however is right on when addressing wood, finishes, pickups and other tone components.

The section devoted to wood and their tones on the Alembic site is also informative and accurate.

As I have mentioned before, hearing the tone of a wood is very dependent on what it's covered with. Don't try to dig deep in the tone of a MIM Fender. The wood is covered with so much stuff that it does not have much of an impact in the tone.

There is a terrific article in the always excellent latest version of Tom Bowlus' Bass Gear Magazine. It's Bass Gear Magazine 18, the article is page 96 and it's called Demystifying varnishes. It's written by Arnold Schnitzer. Naysayer will say the article applies to uprights but when it comes to wood, it applies across all instruments.

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[mdogs]

This is what I love about TB, so many people with so many ABSOLUTE answers about topics to which no one in the real world (read people who don't participate in TB) has ABSOLUTE answers. And now you may return to your little fantasy worlds...

 

[Flaked Beans]

My next bass will have a two piece tambootie body, one piece figured makore top, 5 piece iroko/guatambu neck, movingul fingerboard and one pice leopardwood top on the headstock! That bass will sound 100 times better than any ash or alder fender p or j !!