Hi everyone im getting a new custom bass soon and need help deciding on a top wood. Right now the bass is a 6 string with a walnut body, 5 piece ash/wenge neck, honduran rosewood board, nordstrand dual coils, and a mike pope pre-amp. I thought about doing it with a figured koa top and maccassar ebony back. Any opinions on what that would sound like? Also what is everyone's opininos on koa and maccassar as top wood.
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Help with tone wood!
- Thread starter greg
- Start date
The top wood will have no significant effect on the tone. The body and neck woods along with the fretboard determine the tone.The top wood is for aesthetics and you can pick whatever you like. Personally, I love purpleheart.... 
I beg to differ - the top wood does have a significant effect on sound.
The top wood (on the face of the instrument) generally colors the attack of the note. For example, if all other components of a two mahogany bodied basses are the same, a bass with a mahogany body and a maple cap will have a sharper attack than a bass that has a body which is just mahogany (with no cap).
LL
The top wood (on the face of the instrument) generally colors the attack of the note. For example, if all other components of a two mahogany bodied basses are the same, a bass with a mahogany body and a maple cap will have a sharper attack than a bass that has a body which is just mahogany (with no cap).
LL
Raven said:The top wood will have no significant effect on the tone. The body and neck woods along with the fretboard determine the tone.The top wood is for aesthetics and you can pick whatever you like. Personally, I love purpleheart....
The only way a top wood laminate would have no significant effect on tone is if it's literally paper thin. My personal feeling is that top wood laminates do add something to the sound, espeially the more dense woods.
As far as your choice of woods, Koa and Mac Ebony, you're picking two of my favorite woods for your top and back, so to me, the tougher question would be which to put where. I think that overall, I would give the nod to putting the Mac Ebony on top. That wood just looks so classy!
