huge difference on an acoustic, near zero on an electric. Never seen one shred of convincing evidence otherwise.
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Do you think finish thickness affects tone?
- Thread starter Engle
- Start date
Can we all agree that wood is dead cellulose that does not "breathe'? It can absorb or expire water vapor, as any porous material can. By that definition, the concrete in your house foundation "breathes" too. Bolt a bass neck to your foundation and marvel at the sustain.
I have a 89/90 MIJ P that has a poly finish thickness of close to 1/16”. I was astounded when I dropped it and a chunk that thick blew off the lower bout.
Sounds like a P bass.
Sounds like a P bass.
Billy Gibbons and Matt Sorum playing cardboard instruments - check out the tones:
In a way this might provide an oblique answer to the poll question...
In a way this might provide an oblique answer to the poll question...
Billy can pull a tone out of anything! Don't spill your beer on it though...
I couldn't say in an actual numerical measurement, but it was not thin. If there was an issue with the poly finish, they would destroy the body rather than attempt to refinish it.
I was going to say pretty much the same thing; I think the feel will affect the player so that they will play differently and that may change the tone somewhat.
Yes, there is no difference to none of the finishes if they are not done in poly or nitro. I can’t be any more clear.
Many years ago I had a black Fender bass and I thought I wanted the "all natural" look so I sanded off the finish. The output of the bass didn't change, but the tone definitely changed.
drumvsbass
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Anything that affects the vibration of the strings can effect tone. Finish is not likely to have any noticeable effect on string vibration unless the finish was so thick, it added significant mass to the body &/or neck. Body & neck mass / density and the hardware attached to the body & neck can affect how the strings vibrate, at least changing sustain if nothing else.
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Only if the finish in question affects the structural rigidity of the instrument. Parker guitars ,for example, used to use softwoods for the body and wrap them in carbon fiber so the whole instrument was structurally similar to an M&M candy. Which, I guess you could say, the carbon fiber was more a part of the finish rather than the body. That's a rather unique example, but it illustrates the theory on how something can be applied to an instrument to make it stronger overall..
^Tim is right. Since we are talking about electric instruments it's all about the manner in which the string vibrates as the pickups can only sense the string vibration. The things that have the biggest impact on that is the magnets in the pickups themselves, and how little mechanical energy is lost between how all the parts and hardware connect. Finish is not likely to be a significant factor in that.
^Tim is right. Since we are talking about electric instruments it's all about the manner in which the string vibrates as the pickups can only sense the string vibration. The things that have the biggest impact on that is the magnets in the pickups themselves, and how little mechanical energy is lost between how all the parts and hardware connect. Finish is not likely to be a significant factor in that.
I wanted my bass to breathe but I realized it’s just dead wood so I sprayed it with krylon.
