Do solid body basses break in over time?

[sixway]

Regardless of what I believe, or do not believe(I do not, FWIW, belive in this), I can quite honestly say, I'd prefer to buy a bass that sounds good today, not one that would need three to ten years to get sounding good.

That's the way wines are made today. Only ten to thirty years ago wines were made to lay down and mature for at least five-to-ten years so they could acquire a three dimensional drinkability. Now the science if wine making allows vintners to blend wines that taste as good as the wines of old, but are drinkable within one-to-two years of bottling, which means as soon as they hit your favorite store, and they taste great!

As for basses, if it sounds good to you now, it's going to sound great to you in the years to come, partly because of aging, but greatly due to your getting to know the bass, and making its mojo speak.

 

[Matthijs]

This subject has been beaten to death in so many ways, still I'd like to try my hand at this:

To my understanding the aging effect of a well played acoustic instrument is no myth. The theory behind it is a lot more clear cut than "aligning fibers". The top wood in ie a URB gets bend as it resonates. Those movements are not random, at certain points and at certain frequencies the curvature of those bends is stronger. Over time this will cause something like 'wood fatigue'. At those points the wood becomes more flexible and the mechanics in the instrument change. The result is the instrument will respond better to certain frequencies. On a good instrument this will be a good thing, because it's part of the design. On other instruments it can also be a bad thing and create irritating resonances. In theory this might also hold true for electric instruments, although the effect would probably be much less. Although I like the 'neck theory', the role off the neck isn't that much different in an electric instrument.
Next to this theory: wood does change with age. It doesn't get drier, in most cases it does get harder. This differs for different kinds of wood and might even take up to 50 years ore more for it to change the physical properties, compared to a relatively new, but well dried, good quality piece of wood. And the same thing applies: the effect might go both ways, good and bad.

That said, these effects are hardly backed by substantial scientific research, and more importantly heavily clouded by mumbo jumbo and placebo effects. I think a lot of people overrate those effects, for the same reasons as some people believe 120€ cables sound better and homeopathy works (and there are a whole lot more cans of worms I can open if you like).
In the DB forum there was a thread on how much playing in your DB before a gig had an effect on the sound of the instrument. I know to me it certainly feels that way, my DB sounds better after being played for a while. Someone made a very good case as to the main cause for this is the warming up of your own hands, body and ears. It's really obvious, still your mind hears something else.
I really was convinced that after a long period on not playing on my URB, after a 4 week holiday, it would sound bad for a week and needed heavy plying to get into shape. I own a EUB now and after a 4 week trip, taking the EUB with me, my acoustic DB still sounds as good as the day I left: it's in my hands, not in the bass.
These are effects over a short period of time with a instrument where the role of wood in the sound is much bigger. So I don't think anyone can honestly compare the sound of any instrument over a period of 15 years and then contribute the differences to wood or paint.

So IMHO: yes, electric basses can break in over time, but it's not certain if that's for better or worse and I seriously doubt the effect is larger than all the psychological factors, your own development, personal taste and the effect of better instruments selecting themselves out over time. I'd like to see a experiment that will rule out those factors.

 

[ehque]

Vibrations opening up acoustic instruments? Granted.

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Not exactly sure on the solid-bodies though. To me, if the vibrations are strong enough to vibrate that much wood into new alignments, you'd notice yourself going deaf.

 

[cnltb]

My bass has improved over time.
No doubt.

 

[lousybassplayer]

Entropy is the process of the informational content being spread out evenly over the whole system, thus turning the information to noise. Wood will eventually decompose of course, and then all the structural information is gone. In the meantime though, if you are injecting information in the form of bass notes and vibration, perhaps the structure will reorganize as it is shaken in particular patterns. It certainly won't prevent the wood from rotting, but it may change the sound. Or not...

I like the thought of the molecules in the wood realigning themselves in response to the vibrating strings, it makes it seem as if the bass is a living thing, responding to my touch. I think I'll go right on believing/pretending that, no matter what the science says. It makes the world seem a bit more magical.

IT seems we actually do agree, but it typical spacebox innernet forum fashion it takes 3 posts to figure it out. I won't argue that perhaps a bunch of structural changes occur over the period that the bass exists, but at the end of its system or at any point along it I dont think it will "improve" so much as just change. AS for liking the idea of the fibers of wood doing little jigs everytime I play, I never gave it much thought. The world is more magical when you accept the possibilites of reality. My bass is populated by a chorus of gnomes who sing at my behest, thus creating my incredible tone. Period. Wood fibers! MOlecules? Not lilkely. INcidentally this is why nitro is better than poly. Lets the gnomes breathe so they can sing better.

 

[Toastfuzz]

I didnt read thru all the posts so this may have been mentioned, but I find that when I first got either of my 2 basses, I played them differently than 6 and 12 months after I got them, and got different sounds/tones/uses. So I broke in to the bass, rather than the bass breaking in.

Both active basses, so as I got a feel for how tone controls shaped sound, as well as how touchy the pickups are/where I pluck strings and how hard. As well as what type of strings, as I got a very different (preferable) sound when I converted both of them to light gauge.

 

[mongo2]

If a solid body bass changes over time, whether that change is good or bad is up to the perceptions and prejudices of the listener.

 

[lomo]

I see many assertions here, with not a shred of evidence (the desire for evidence.....an inconvenient truth?). I know 2 excellent luthiers (one nationally renowned whose acoustic guitars go for 25-50K a pop) who both disagree with your opinion. BTW your opinion is fine, but your assertion that the other side is wrong does not hold water, logically speaking. I understand you believe you can hear the difference; good for you. Now, I have some really old wood to sell you

Inspite of your personal cynicism, it happens, has been noted in the field of luthery for centuries, and it happens in solid body instruments as well, it just takes longer and is perhaps too subtle for you to catch. As the instrument is played, it gets better - period. Just like a baseball glove gets 'broken in', and works better because of it, so does a wood instrument. Do you think all those vibrations travelling through the porous woods have NO effect...?





Some old instruments are...



Brilliant description...



It is at the heart of the art of lutherie. Violin builders have known it for centuries. Why would a larger, thicker piece of wood not be susceptible to it? It is just a little too subtle for some people to pick up on, likely the same players who are allergic to 'treble', because it is in the high frequencies that the most notable change takes place. The bass is affected, as well, but it is much more subtle. If you play your bass from 2-10 hours a day like I do, you'll notice the gradual changes in your instrument.



You have every right to stand up and defend your own ignorance, if you like; if not, these links might help you get started on the path to knowledge:

http://www.luth.org/
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One quote from a prominent luthier, regarding classical guitars:

"Each instrument I build takes its own way, its own life. Its maturing process is defined a great deal by the person playing it. For some, the growth of sound is very rapid- they know how to articulate their lines and bring out the full sound of the instrument- these guitars will mature more quickly; In any case, it takes one to two years for a guitar to mature to its full sonority."

At least. Some classical guitars are 'spent' after ten years - all of their 'good sound' is gone, most notably those with Cedar tops. Spruce tops take many years to develope.

The same process happens in a well-made electric bass; it is subtle, and takes a long time, but it happens.




Nope. You are simply wrong. The process happens with silver and gold flutes, with brass trumpets, with pianos, with violins, guitars, acoustic basses, pipas, er-hu's, and it happens with electric basses. At some level, our instrument IS an acoustic instrument, it is just a very quiet one.

I practice all my scales and technique acoustically every day. And hour or two at LEAST, with my instrument unplugged. It's quite easy to notice the differences this way. Those differences translate when you plug it in. And those differences greatly diminish with the amounts of goopey, shiny crap applied to the body and neck, which is why finishes on acoustic instruments have been experimented with and studied for CENTURIES.

THE leading exponent of these ancient practices as they apply to the field of electric bass is Michael Tobias, whose instruments sound AS CLOSE to an acoustic instrument as you can get. His instruments let the woods speak, because of his wood choices, the thicknesses, and what he finishes them with. If you put a thick coat of car paint on them, all chances of any changes taking place are ruined.

I can tell this thread will get increasingly boneheaded and cynical, so I'm outta here.

Good luck,
Cameron

 

[Southpaw5]

It does really exist - but it's purely psychological.

But here's another one: the belly of the bass player sits firmly against the body of the instrument (unless you hang the thing down by your knees). Surely that has an impact on the wood's resonance.

So - innie or outtie?

Years of playing bass has turned my innie into an outie