Maple body basses - why there's not that many?

[jg42]

I happen to have one maple body bass, Ibanez SR370F, but none of my other basses have maple bodies (aside from veneer). I though that maple was quite a common wood, why not that many basses with maple bodies while majority is alder, basswood, ash, mahogany? Pricing, availability, historical reasons, something else?

 

[Obese Chess]

Maple is really, really, heavy.
Go find one of the all-maple Peavey T-40s or T-45s and get back to me.

 

[20db pad]

Lots of older Spectors have soft maple sides on a neck-through body. However, the industry standard - like it or not -is either alder or ash, started by Fender of course.

Leo Fender didn't choose those woods for tone or mojo or vibe, or anything like that. They were inexpensive, finished well, and got the job done. We only started getting overly romantic about woods after the fact.

 

[Camaro69]

2 words

Boat anchor



I do have 1 maple body, actually one of my favorite. Has a crisp sound

 

[Petethebassman]

I earlier had a Carvin 6-string bass which was all maple, maple neck-through with maple body wings. It wasn't a boat anchor due to small size body, my current #1 bass - a '75 ash body Fender P - weighs more.

 

[Doctor J]

Weight. Some of my favourite sounding basses have maple bodies - Warwick Streamer SS1, Rickenbacker 4003 - but I'd balk at the propect of my shoulder supporting a full sized, full width maple body for a long set.

 

[Brendan]

You see more maple bodies crop up on bodies that are on the smaller side. Fer instance, Spector and Pedulla use maple bodies, and they're average-ish weigh; when you get up to a Fender sized bass, like a Gibson Grabber or Victory, and more often than not, they end up boat anchors.

 

[Batmensch]

Rare? I dunno, I have two, both VM Squiers.

 

[Eilif]

Maple is really, really, heavy.
Go find one of the all-maple Peavey T-40s or T-45s and get back to me.

Except for the necks, t-40's aren't maple. They're heavy ash. For more info, see my sig.

As to the OP, I think the relative lack simply has alot to do with it being a very heavy wood.

 

[Betrayer_Bass]

Spectors have a Maple neck through design with alder wings, not entirely maple but it's in there.. And they're not the lightest of basses.

 

[bholder]

Maple is really, really, heavy.
Go find one of the all-maple Peavey T-40s or T-45s and get back to me.

An all maple Gibson RD will put a groove in one's shoulder as well.

 

[bassman10096]

I always expected an all maple body to be heavy and have smooth lows overwhelmed by sharp highs and high mids. No so. My Gibson G3 is all maple and just has a very nice punch with even tone through the range. Funny that nobody's mentioned the all-icon: Rickenbacker. Range is very wide (Chris Squire to Paul McCartney). Maple is definitely underappreciated.

Leo Fender didn't choose those woods for tone or mojo or vibe, or anything like that. They were inexpensive, finished well, and got the job done. We only started getting overly romantic about woods after the fact.

Leo went with alder because in the post-war US, it was considered box wood and could be had for next to nothing.

 

[Double Agent]

Spectors have a Maple neck through design with alder wings, not entirely maple but it's in there.. And they're not the lightest of basses.

Current US Spectors and older Euros are entirely maple. And they are some of the heaviest basses out there. My old NS5CRFM had solid maple wings and was over 11.5 lbs.

 

[Betrayer_Bass]

Yeh the USA ones are entirely Maple, don't quote me on my info though. They are on the heavy side but they sound amazing. I think the alder wings helps a bit with the weight though.

 

[kkaarrll]

all maple body has always intrigued me

 

[Watchootognbout]

Maple is really, really, heavy.
Go find one of the all-maple Peavey T-40s or T-45s and get back to me.

So is walnut,but there seem to be more walnut basses than maple.

And concerning the T-40.How much do they weigh?All I ever hear is "They're heavy.They're heavy"without an actual weight in pounds.
I have a neck-through walnut bass that weighs 13 lbs.How much does a T40 weigh in comparison?

 

[Brendan]

So is walnut,but there are more walnut basses than maple.
And concerning the T-40.How much do they weigh?All I ever hear is "They're heavy.They're heavy"without an actual weight in pounds.

I think they average around 12lbs. Some are "only" 11, some get north of 14.

 

[crucislancer]

I had a Hohner 5 string that was all maple neck-thru, about 20 years ago. It was actually quite light, though I never weighed the thing. It was lighter than the other bass I had at the time, which was a '72 Ric 4001.

 

[vmabus]

I have three Ibanez Srs from the mid-90s that are all maple. The brochures state that they are "Light American Maple." They don't seem heavier than the basswood or mahogany bodies, but the attack and sustain are much better.

 

[JustForSport]

My Hohner B-Bass VI is only 10.5#, not bad for all maple, neck-thru 6 string.
And the '96 Ibanez SR506, all maple, bolt-on 6 string is 10#.
The Godin BG5 is all maple, bolt-on and only 7.2#
Lots of 'famous-maker' 4 strings are more than that.