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Mahogany vs. Ash

Which would you prefer? Mahogany or Ash?

  • Mahogany

    Votes: 82 48.2%

  • Swamp Ash

    Votes: 88 51.8%
  • Total voters
    170
#21
Hey Everyone,

Not to add to the confusion, but a neck thru will have different results with body "wings" than a bolt on with a "core" in terms of sonic differences. It's hard to nail exactly or even remotely sometimes due to different cuts (sections from same tree) of a given wood + factor in electronics etc & you have a "Russian Roulette" love/hate it outcome as the final product...


later,
Satan
 
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#23
Originally posted by DEVILMAN
Hey Everyone,

Not to add to the confusion, but a neck thru will have different results with body "wings" than a bolt on with a "core" in terms of sonic differences. It's hard to nail exactly or even remotely sometimes due to different cuts (sections from same tree) of a given wood + factor in electronics etc & you have a "Russian Roulette" love/hate it outcome as the final product...


later,
Satan
Click to expand...
True. I isolated it somewhat, though, in my trials, when I played the somewhat famous Stambaugh twins.

stambaugh_twins_thumb.jpg


For those who don't know, one's a bolt-on, the other's a neck-through.:D
 
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#24
I have alder and mahogany MTDs, and I had a swamp ash one for a year. The ash one was too brittle and fizzy for my style, but it sounded great in the hands of my slap player friends.

Both the alder and mahogany are voiced deeper, more to my liking. The mahogany has more mids, and is superb as a fretless. It accentuates the mwah, and has very strong harmonics.

The alder is rounder and deeper, with maximum bottom.

To get a tone similar to the mahogany bass, I have to cut a bit of bass and add a bit of treble and mids on the alder bass. On the Ash, I would have to cut a bit of treble and add a lot of bass.

The mahogany has the most interesting personality to me, and cuts the best.

Aloha,

Jonathan
 
#26
The following is from Warmoth's Website:

Invalid Link Removed

Swamp Ash is a prized wood for many reasons. It is a very musical wood offering a very nice balance of brightness and warmth with a lot of "pop".

Mahogany is a fine grained wood with good musical properties. The tone is warm and full with good sustain.

The following URL has some more information:

http://www.kensmithbasses.com/woodpages/woodpagecontents.html
 
#30
Originally posted by Tecx
swamp ash

4. Greater tonal posabilities (mahogany has a very distinctive sound, little can change it...)

Alex
Click to expand...

The information given for the tonal qualities of Mahogany by Ken Smith's website sounds like it indicates the opposite of the above opinion: "True Even Tone, Compliments its Laminates."

"Compliments its laminates" would mean that its sound takes on the additional attributes of laminates used with it. Which means that the overall tone can be modified to a certain extent by using other woods together with it.
 
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#32
I agree with lo-freq in the point of Mahogany complimenting its laminates. A mahogany body with a bubinga top will sound DEEP and even more warm, while a flamed maple top will be a little more even.

Ash has some bass, but little mids, and a BUTTLOAD of snap on the high end IME. Another example: If you have a laminated, let's say 7-pc, mahogany neck on a 4-string neck through, and a walnut body, you are going to get more warmth that you can possibly do with. However, If you switch to a wenge/purpleheart neck, and ebony fretboard, and a brighter-sounding top, the bass will sound totally different.

Mahogany is the #1 wood for guitar bodies IMO, with Korina sounding even better but being noticeably rarer.




But, I will add Brad Johnson's profile quote to all of the above information: "As always, I could be wrong."
 
#33
one bass that is currently being built for me has a maple core and Claro walnut top.

another bass being built by me is having a mohagany core and a claro top.

i like the warmth for pizzicato playing. FWIW
 
#34
i have a mahogany neck through with a maple strip in the middle about 1/2" thick
the top is flamed maple..
i get good bass and always a bright top end but the middle is missing a bit
the board is ebony and it used to be fretless and i suspect that is why its so dull in the middle
i have bartolini jazz pups passive and schaller bridge.
i am considering a s-d mm replacement and getting a three band eq if my other bass Maple/alder bolt on) sells before this one and the £ come in.
so by default my vote is for the ash.
really good thread.
:)
 
#35
Originally posted by Jeff Rader
So, am I hearing mahogany is better for fingerstyle?
Click to expand...

Maybe. You know it can't be that easy;)

I'll add to the confusion.

Generally speaking I agree with what RAM said Mahogany. I have a couple of Mahogany basses and they are indeed full sounding. I have several Ash basses and they do tend to lend themselves towards a great slap sound IMO. Then there's the Elricks... one Ash bass is big and warm, the other bright AND punchy. My Ash Brubaker is very open sounding, bright and punchy.

Like JimS said, there are other things that can weigh heavily in the final sound. If you're going for a great fingerstyle sound, IME Mahogany, Alder and woods of that type might be a good starting point. OTOH I know how important the whole process is so I'd recommend talking to a builder first and getting inside his head.

It's all theoretical until the finish dries;)

If I were commissioning a killer fingerstyle bass I'd probably look into having a chambered body made, among other things. I'd use electronics that would give me the punch I wanted. Neck joint? Probably bolt-on.
 
#37
Originally posted by mrcrowUK
i have a mahogany neck through with a maple strip in the middle about 1/2" thick
the top is flamed maple..
i get good bass and always a bright top end but the middle is missing a bit
the board is ebony and it used to be fretless and i suspect that is why its so dull in the middle
i have bartolini jazz pups passive and schaller bridge.
i am considering a s-d mm replacement and getting a three band eq if my other bass Maple/alder bolt on) sells before this one and the £ come in.
so by default my vote is for the ash.
really good thread.
:)
Click to expand...

A question and a couple of unsolicited suggestions...

Got pics?

Even with an all-Maple body I've gotten great mids with Bart J pickups. Before I'd put Duncans in I'd try the preamp. There's a Bart preamp with three band switchable mids that's great for dialing in what you might want.

The second thing is, if you're doing serious tweaking at the amp, try it set flat and turn the volume up. Works wonders IME.
 
#38
Originally posted by Chris Brodowski
Mahogany is the #1 wood for guitar bodies IMO, with Korina sounding even better but being noticeably rarer.
Click to expand...
For set-neck Les Paul type guitars (PRS, many Hamer) that is true.

For most bolt-on neck-body guitars mahogany is not preferred. The more common woods for bodies for such construction is alder, swamp ash, or basswood*: Sadowsky, Fender, G&L, Anderson, Suhr, Melancon, etc.

*Pun unintended
 
#40
Last week there was a thread on the type of woods used to make Musicman basses. My Stingray is black, so I figured it was poplar rather than ash.
I went to the EB site, and they state in their FAQ section that they use ash over 90% of the time even on the opaque finishes. This blew my mind since my 'Ray is a pretty warm sounding bass. :confused: It's about 2/3 way down the page.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I also have an old Ibanez Musician bass, a 900 model. If you look at the tech sheet (very hard to read) you can see that it's an ash/mahogany laminate. Although this bass has a ton of mids (almost too much) it's a very balanced sounding instrument unplugged. Invalid Link Removed

If I had to pick just one wood for fingerstyle, I'd go with mahogany.

Mike
 

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