Do older basses sound significantly better?

[-Asdfgh-]

I don't know a single builder that doesn't use fully dry wood. It's a myth that wood continues to only lose moisture as it ages. It also gains moisture.

It was a bit more complicated - he maintained that the moisture lost/gained was in balance with respect to climactic conditions in a way he could completely rely on for wood that had been in the country for a decently long period, that aromatic compounds (see early post I made) had evaporated to the maximum degree, and that using old stocks he could be absolutely sure that none was from continued over logging of forests.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

I don't know a single builder that doesn't use fully dry wood. It's a myth that wood continues to only lose moisture as it ages. It also gains moisture.

Also lemon oil or any fingerboard potion does not add moisture to wood. Funny how dry wood is a plus everywhere except the fingerboard where it needs to be fed water by adding a thin coating of oil.

Some oils are polymerizing so over time could stiffen the neck but since fingerboards are very thin I can't see it making much difference. I have used such oils on rosewood fretless fingerboards and it seems to harden them a bit. I first tried this many years ago based on the fact that people oil cricket bats (insert bat based sport of your locality).