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Forbidden Wood Combinations

Smallmouth_Bass

Smallmouth_Bass

Dec 29, 2005
8,024
6,061
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
#1
Okay, I know it is all personal preference, but you often see many standard wood combinations on basses (body/fingerboard), the most popular being ash/maple and alder/rosewood.

Is there anything wrong with swapping those (ash/rosewood and alder/maple) and what is your experience with these or other alternates? Are these combinations the most common because they are tried and true? Or are they popular because that's what we've come to know?
 
#5
If you really mean FINGERBOARD and not neck, the thing is that you want a really dense, hard wood for your fingerboard. Maple is about as soft as you would want to go for that, with rosewood and ebony being denser still. An ash or mahogany NECK can be OK, but I don't think a fingerboard made out of either wood would wear very well. Maple is the one wood I know that could be a good body, neck, OR fretboard.
 
#9
Comment on rosewood got me thinking.

Warmoth has a rosewood/rosewood J neck for less than a finished rosewood/maple neck and it needs no finish for warranty.

Pairing that with the heaviest ash body they have to counterbalance is on my list for potential next bass.

I saw a guitar once that was a neck-through made from a single piece of ebony with something dark and heavy for the wings. It weighed a ton. If a big enough ebony log even existed I would imagine making a bass that way would result in something almost unplayable without a winch.
 
#10
Smallmouth_Bass said:
Are these combinations the most common because they are tried and true? Or are they popular because that's what we've come to know?
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IMO, pretty much yes to both. I can't think of any combination that would be forbidden, but there are certainly some woods that would not work well for certain things. A basswood fretboard, for example, is probably not a good idea. Not a real good choice for a neck, either; but for a body? Works fine. If you're willing to pay for the experiment, of course you can have anything you want. ;)
 
#11
I think they should outlaw figured maple bass bodies but that's just because I have the modesty and good taste that most middle-aged bass players with a good salary seem to lack.

Staining them turquoise and putting gold hardware on them should probably be punishable by death. OK maybe I'm being too harsh. Quick and painless death. I am nothing if not a merciful despot.
 
#12
As long as we are getting into forbidden combinations, drinking beer with barbequed pork is a known way to get very sick in Paraguay. In other parts of the world, NOT drinking beer when you have barbequed pork is a known character flaw. So, what's taboo in one place might be manditory somewhere else. Out there, somewhere, there's a beautiful bass guitar with a knotty pine fretboard...
 
#13
PazzoBasso said:
lots of ash/rosewood - all my stingrays are a/r
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Of course… I knew that! In fact, I swapped a couple and have (what appears to be) an alder/maple combo. I can't say I notice a huge difference.

Overall, I would say I generally prefer the aesthetics of a rosewood or darker fingerboard.

Yes, MusicMan has also offered special edition rosewood necked instruments.
 
#16
Sid Fang said:
If you really mean FINGERBOARD and not neck, the thing is that you want a really dense, hard wood for your fingerboard. Maple is about as soft as you would want to go for that, with rosewood and ebony being denser still. An ash or mahogany NECK can be OK, but I don't think a fingerboard made out of either wood would wear very well. Maple is the one wood I know that could be a good body, neck, OR fretboard.
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that (most) maple is quite hard and dense. It grows slowly around here, so you would think that it was.
 
#17
kevteop said:
I think they should outlaw figured maple bass bodies but that's just because I have the modesty and good taste that most middle-aged bass players with a good salary seem to lack.

Staining them turquoise and putting gold hardware on them should probably be punishable by death. OK maybe I'm being too harsh. Quick and painless death. I am nothing if not a merciful despot.
Click to expand...

Don't understand this. I love stained figured maple tops.
 

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