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how bass parts affect your sound?

#21
Thanx guys, some really interesting comments!

I completely agree on the technique comments and the pickup placement issue, but luckily only I will be playing the bass, and I have already chosen a pickup placement and type (single jazz at the neck and humbucker at the bridge)

now it comes down to a matter of pickup and preamp brands, body and neck woods and bridge & nut choices...

This is where it becomes difficult, because I think the type of woods chosen will probably affect the pickup and preamp brands I would choose due to their voicing, or would it be the other way round?
 
#28
Bass said:
Let's consider how sound is produced. The pickup generates a magnetic field, and as the metal string vibrates it disrupts the field producing an electrical current in the pickup coil, and the current is sent to the amp. The string is suspended between the frets and the bridge for all notes except open notes, where the string is suspended by the nut.

So based on the above, I would place the components affecting sound in the following order:

1. Pickups;
2. Strings;
3. Bridge; and,
4. Frets / nut.

I wonder why metal nuts of a similar material to frets aren't more common? I didn't comment on the pre-amp because I've never used one.

In my opinion wood doesn't affect the sound as much as the above components. I just don't see how wood can affect the magnetic field. I suppose the resonant frequency of the wood may affect the string vibration, but wouldn't this be moreso on an acoustic? I'm sure that others more knowledgeable and experienced than me would disagree.
Click to expand...

This is true to some extent, but I would diagree with how important wood choice really is. First and foremost your bass is really an acoustic instument. Hence, if it sounds like crap unplugged when you put your ear aginst it, any type of preamp or pick up is just going to amplify that sound. Put a nice preamp and some nice PU's in a 2x4 and you'll have an aplified 2x4. If wood doesn't matter that much it should sound killer, right?
 
#29
Son of Bovril said:
This is where it becomes difficult, because I think the type of woods chosen will probably affect the pickup and preamp brands I would choose due to their voicing, or would it be the other way round?
Click to expand...

I would say that, assuming you're using decent quality wood (i.e. not a 2x4), preamp and pickup brands are going to matter more to the overall sound of the bass than wood choices. I would probably decide what kind of sound I was looking for first, then pick appropriate preamp and pickups for that sound, and then choose woods that would compliment those electronics well. I am of course assuming that aesthetics (quilted/spalted, etc.) is not more important to you than sound.
 
#30
jwbassman said:
This is true to some extent, but I would diagree with how important wood choice really is. First and foremost your bass is really an acoustic instument. Hence, if it sounds like crap unplugged when you put your ear aginst it, any type of preamp or pick up is just going to amplify that sound. Put a nice preamp and some nice PU's in a 2x4 and you'll have an aplified 2x4. If wood doesn't matter that much it should sound killer, right?
Click to expand...

I really wish I had some spare bass parts around so I could test this theory. It would be funny to make a total POS 2x4 bass with the very best electronics, hardware, and fretboard. One would have to make sure that the 2x4 wasn't made out of wood that was too soft and would warp.

Neck would be kind of chunky, though. :p
 
#31
BartmanPDX said:
I really wish I had some spare bass parts around so I could test this theory. It would be funny to make a total POS 2x4 bass with the very best electronics, hardware, and fretboard. One would have to make sure that the 2x4 wasn't made out of wood that was too soft and would warp.

Neck would be kind of chunky, though. :p
Click to expand...

Would be kind of cool to see what it would sound like. :hmm:

A good example of how wood tone affects sound are MTD Basses. All the same hardware and electronics. if you get the chance, play a few differnt wood combinations if and see how different each bass sounds. Same basic bass, Same electronics and PU's, different woods = completely different tone.
 
#32
jwbassman said:
A good example of how wood tone affects sound are MTD Basses. All the same hardware and electronics. if you get the chance, play a few differnt wood combinations if and see how different each bass sounds. Same basic bass, Same electronics and PU's, different woods = completely different tone.
Click to expand...
Right. When all else is equal, changing materials can make a big difference in tone. But hearing the tonal effect of the pickups is as simple as panning from the neck pickup to the bridge pickup. Regardless of the woods, an MTD with the neck pickup soloed will sound very different from one with the bridge pickup soloed.

If you take an MTD and equip it with MusicMan Stingray pickup (in the MM location) and electronics, it'll sound more like a Stingray than an MTD (note: I said more like, not exactly like).
 
#34
Fuzzbass:

Couldn't agree with you more. The point I was trying to stress is that wood selction definately sets the "True" Tone, if you will, of the insturment. I feel that it is a very important part of establishing the fundamental way a bass will sound. This can obiviously be amplified and changed through pick ups and eq. So in short I would rate my list something like this:

1) Wood Selction of Bass (including Body, Top, Neck and Fretboard)

2) Pick Ups / EQ (Which dramatically color, or alter natural tone of wood)

3) Strings

4) Bridge

5) Nut
 
#36
Fuzzbass said:
Right. When all else is equal, changing materials can make a big difference in tone. But hearing the tonal effect of the pickups is as simple as panning from the neck pickup to the bridge pickup. Regardless of the woods, an MTD with the neck pickup soloed will sound very different from one with the bridge pickup soloed.
Click to expand...

But of course a big reason for the difference in tone in this example is the different placement of the pickups. Two identical pickups, one at the neck and one at the bridge, will sound very different. Or is that what you are saying?
 
#38
jwbassman said:
Put a nice preamp and some nice PU's in a 2x4 and you'll have an aplified 2x4. If wood doesn't matter that much it should sound killer, right?
Click to expand...
Try it, it does sound killer. I've clamped a bridge and strings to a workbench and it sounded great, open strings only as I didn't fret the workbench.
 
#39
jwbassman said:
Would be kind of cool to see what it would sound like. :hmm:

A good example of how wood tone affects sound are MTD Basses. All the same hardware and electronics. if you get the chance, play a few differnt wood combinations if and see how different each bass sounds. Same basic bass, Same electronics and PU's, different woods = completely different tone.
Click to expand...
You can also get that effect from basses made with the same woods, many people here have two basses made with the same wood and electronics but claim a very different sound. If the wood was that definitive you wouldn't see a variation among the same model with the same specs.
 

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