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Maple body basses - why there's not that many?
- Thread starter jg42
- Start date
No doubt. Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I thought there is something wrong with it. Godin does such a nice job making guitars that if they use silver maple, I trust that it works well. I have a fairly cheap SD electric guitar, and the body is silver maple. Super workmanship, I think. The Godin I was thinking of was the 5th Avenue, which looks like a really nice guitar.
I've got a Warwick with an all maple body and it's pretty light compared to other Warwick models. It looks great and the wood does a superb job of resisting scratches and dinfs. The only downside of Maple is that it's brighter sound.
Maples a pretty broad set of woods, even within a species there's a lot of variation just like with ash (which can be super heavy or super light too). I'd say the reason the more conventional woods are used more frequently is just that they're more conventional. I dont put a ton of stock in tonewoods for solid body electric instruments but if alder, basswood, ash, and mahogany work for probably 50-60% of us there's probably a good ol reason.
I have two Gibson Victory Standard's - each is about 14 lbs. I love the sound they make, and I am firmly convinced that the heavy maple body is a significant contributor to that sound. They retain a nice high-end "sizzle" even when strung with flatwounds. No lightweight Fender Precision bass has ever given me that sound.
One of the most satisfying things about my Gibson Victory's is that they sound pretty much identical. By comparison, every Fender Precision bass that I have ever owned or played has been significantly lighter, and every one has sounded different. I expect that at least some of this variability is due to the variable density in the ash / alder used for the body. Whatever the reason, I really don't like the inconsistency.
Besides, to me it just feels wrong playing rock and roll on a $1500 MIA Fender Precision that feels like a fragile piece of balsa wood.
OTOH, I do like nice lightweight ash / alder Jazz-style basses. That's because I use them for a different style of music.
One of the most satisfying things about my Gibson Victory's is that they sound pretty much identical. By comparison, every Fender Precision bass that I have ever owned or played has been significantly lighter, and every one has sounded different. I expect that at least some of this variability is due to the variable density in the ash / alder used for the body. Whatever the reason, I really don't like the inconsistency.
Besides, to me it just feels wrong playing rock and roll on a $1500 MIA Fender Precision that feels like a fragile piece of balsa wood.
OTOH, I do like nice lightweight ash / alder Jazz-style basses. That's because I use them for a different style of music.
Yup.. I have a neckthrough Carvin icon with maple/mahogany neck and mahogany wings. Nice tone. Somehow carvin doesn't offer that many varieties of woods for the neck. I would have gotten wenge if I had that option.
Variation includes tonality, weight, appearance, strength, and more. Am always intrigued by the blanket assessment statements/stereotypes/myths like those promulgated/expressed in this thread and others. I play two maple body/neck 5ers that are 8-9 lbs. They are complex and balanced tonally, and ergonomic.
However, woods were hand chosen by the builder. Maybe this is the crucial element in the discussion of wood species tone, weight, and appearance (re: care and skill in wood selection/use/build vs tossing whatever lumber comes off a skid into a CNC mill).
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I am always baffled by threads where people talk about how they need to have a mahogany body for "growl" with a wenge neck for "focused mids" and a bubinga fingerboard for "warmth" and on and on and on. I'd be willing to bet that upwards of 95% of electric basses built with "tonewood" will only ever be heard through headphones.
Yes - you can turn the treble down (I have 3 band EQ on the bass). However, part of the brightness is that the maple body doesn't have the solid fundamental lows that other tone woods have.
My bass.... flamed maple body. Invalid Link Removed
Did the price include fundamental lows?!? 6 strings, no frets...in my hands, that would be a complete and total trainwreck.
Riis
You'd be fine..... it just takes some practice/adjustment time
... the middle 4 strings are just a normal 4 string, which is pretty much where most of the action takes place anyways.
It looks way more intimidating than it is.
It's got lots of bottom end. I have it set flat on the OPB-3 preamp... and on my amp everything is flat, with just some cut on 340 hz.
Real tight and punchy.
Zon Sonus has a maple body (with a fancier veneer maple top). The body is a little smaller than most.
It's my heaviest bass, but I don't have numbers -- definitely heavier than the G&L's in ash.
I may be off in my thinking, but I somehow think the ability of that bass to just accept 5 string sets with consistent tone and sustain across the fretboard has something to do with that maple body.
It's my heaviest bass, but I don't have numbers -- definitely heavier than the G&L's in ash.
I may be off in my thinking, but I somehow think the ability of that bass to just accept 5 string sets with consistent tone and sustain across the fretboard has something to do with that maple body.
Too true! My flame maple wasn't the easiest to plane either, even with a big commercial planer. If I went too fast, or tried to take too big a bite, it felt like hitting a series of small speed bumps!
Doner Designs
Steve Doner
- Jun 2, 2012
- 5,784
- 6,819
- Disclosures
- Doner Designs is an alias for Steve Doner
