Favorite figured top wood?

[WoodyG3]

What goes all the way through to the back.

I won't buy a furniture bass.

Really? You've never seen furniture made of alder, ash, maple, mahogany or rosewood?

Anyway, I love koa, either regular or flamed. And, making furniture out of koa is just silly. Think how many instruments you could build with the wood in a koa coffee table.

 

[Munjibunga]

Really? You've never seen furniture made of alder, ash, maple, mahogany or rosewood?

Anyway, I love koa, either regular or flamed. And, making furniture out of koa is just silly. Think how many instruments you could build with the wood in a koa coffee table.

You would be bummed out if you stayed at the Grand Hyatt Kauai. Koa patio furniture, koa paneling, koa everything. Even a store where everything is koa.

 

[bassteban]

You would be bummed out if you stayed at the Grand Hyatt Kauai. Koa patio furniture, koa paneling, koa everything. Even a store where everything is koa.

Oh that is simply ABSURD. I will NOT stay in some Podunk hotel that looks like one of Munji's POF(Piece Of Furniture)basses

 

[Modern Growl]

Maple without a doubt.

Flame, Burl & Spalted. Really depends on the type of finish though.... love Spalted in a 59' Burst. Flame in Natural. Burl can be burst or natural.

 

[DwaynieAD]

Birdseye maple.

add an awesome colored stain and sign me up

 

[fivestringgecko]

So far my fav is myrtlewood (but I'm biased). Buckeye burl and spalt maple are very close seconds... the more diseased and crazy looking, the better. Lately though, I've been thinking my next bass will have a crazy walnut top.

5sg.

 

[fivestringgecko]

I fell in love with this bass at first sight... buckeye burl, the kind of crazy diseased goodness I'm talking about.

5sg.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[cfsporn]

Quilted maple, quilted ash, birds eye maple, wenge, ebony, and and claro walnut.

 

[Munjibunga]

Here's a pair with spalted maple and buckeye burl.

 

[Bongolation]

Really? You've never seen furniture made of alder, ash, maple, mahogany or rosewood?

Furniture instrument = fancy, paper-thin veneer over firewood body.

Just like a Walmart coffee table with veneer over MDF.

For every pricey custom bass with decorative topwood of mildewed deadfall, there were a few thousand crappy Asian imports with veneer concealing glued-up, scrapwood cores of random burn-pile bits of bottom-grade agathis, basswood, nato or other marginal woods.

After about fifteen continuous years of this nonsense, one can't help immediately associating topwood with trashy instruments.

Adding a bunch of glue and veneer does nothing (0) positive for the bass as an instrument. It's just geeky pimp trim.

To the extent l care about about body wood, all I want to see is a matched, quality-grade two- or three-piece body off the same plank, all the way through. If it's an attractive grain, that's just a bonus.

 

[Munjibunga]

Quilted maple, quilted ash, birds eye maple, wenge, ebony, and and claro walnut.

This reminds me of my dog's favorite thing.

Going to the park - her favorite thing.

Getting a bath - her favorite thing.

Getting her tummy scratched - her favorite thing.

Chasing her ball - her favorite thing.

Getting fed - her favorite thing.

 

[Munjibunga]

Furniture instrument = fancy, paper-thin veneer over firewood body.

Just like a Walmart coffee table with veneer over MDF.

For every pricey custom bass with decorative topwood of mildewed deadfall, there were a few thousand crappy Asian imports with veneer concealing glued-up, scrapwood cores of random burn-pile bits of bottom-grade agathis, basswood, nato or other marginal woods.

After about fifteen continuous years of this nonsense, one can't help immediately associating topwood with trashy instruments.

Adding a bunch of glue and veneer does nothing (0) positive for the bass as an instrument. It's just geeky pimp trim.

To the extent l care about about body wood, all I want to see is a matched, quality-grade two- or three-piece body off the same plank, all the way through. If it's an attractive grain, that's just a bonus.

Kinda like those F Basses up there.

 

[M.R. Ogle]

Furniture instrument = fancy, paper-thin veneer over firewood body.

Just like a Walmart coffee table with veneer over MDF.

For every pricey custom bass with decorative topwood of mildewed deadfall, there were a few thousand crappy Asian imports with veneer concealing glued-up, scrapwood cores of random burn-pile bits of bottom-grade agathis, basswood, nato or other marginal woods.

After about fifteen continuous years of this nonsense, one can't help immediately associating topwood with trashy instruments.

Adding a bunch of glue and veneer does nothing (0) positive for the bass as an instrument. It's just geeky pimp trim.

To the extent l care about about body wood, all I want to see is a matched, quality-grade two- or three-piece body off the same plank, all the way through. If it's an attractive grain, that's just a bonus.

Harsh. Funny as heck, but harsh.

 

[Bongolation]

Harsh. Funny as heck, but harsh.

I have to admit they've gotten really good at this stuff, putting laminates around compound curves, etc., but it's still bunk.

A couple of years ago, I got some new ATK basses to flip that had exotic topwood. The laminates were in three (3) layers -- the fancy paper-thin topwood, a contrasting layer of light wood, a contrasting layer of dark wood, and then the natural ash body.

I looked at this and said to myself, "Well, you finally did it. You've bought a plywood bass."

[edit] I just looked at some pictures. It was FOUR layers.

Nothing says magical tone like gourmet pLyWoOd, huh?

 

[bootsox]

I've got a birch plywood bass with a trans brown finish that looks pretty cool. Anything can look fantastic with the right hardware and pickup covers and pickguard on the right player.

 

[QweziRider]

Non-book matched quilted maple. I love asymmetry.

 

[chaosmic]

Bubinga, Cocobolo and Koa are my favorites. I also love the look of burls in other species.

 

[Mr. Majestic]

I love my basses with their tops. I truly believe, without a doubt that wood has some effects on basses.......maybe not tone, but definitely sustain.

 

[bootsox]

I love my basses with their tops. I truly believe, without a doubt that wood has some effects on basses.......maybe not tone, but definitely sustain.

The whole point of tops is for when you like the tonal qualities of one wood and the appearance of another. If someone likes the appearance of quilted maple but wants to EQ his tone in from a flat starting point, than a quilted top over a basswood body is the answer for that person. I personally would rather work the appearance around the wood personally. Tops aren't for me

 

[fivestringgecko]

I love my basses with their tops. I truly believe, without a doubt that wood has some effects on basses.......maybe not tone, but definitely sustain.

+1

Regardless of whether a top has an effect on sound or not (I also think it does), my Stambaugh has a killer sound and looks like a million bucks. If it's a one of a kind custom, why shouldn't it have a stunning top to match? It may be classified as a furniture bass (which I've even called it on occasion ), but it's definitely not a paper thin veneer on a firewood body (1/4" myrtlewood over mahogany), and definitely not a trashy instrument. I personally love a stunning looking top... Munji, those Fbasses are absolutely lust-worthy.

Kinda seems like this thread is starting to degrade into the typical effects forum discussion where there's always someone who feels the need to post about "I don't use effects."

5sg.