I'm thinking of making a bass with a purpleheart body and neck. I haven't seen anybody else do this is it a bad idea?
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Purpleheart body
- Thread starter The_Jester
- Start date
I've heard purple heart to be heavy. It is stiff, though, so there should be no structural problems with it - just comfort.
knarleybass
Commercial User
purpleheart IS heavy...and quite hard...and probably not a good choice for a neck or a body...for a fingerboard and a top, yes...and also great for neck laminates...
purpleheart doesn't "lose" it's colour, it changes...it goes from bright purple to a richer, darker brownish purple as it oxidises over time.
purpleheart doesn't "lose" it's colour, it changes...it goes from bright purple to a richer, darker brownish purple as it oxidises over time.
I thought it was no good for fretboards. I was thinking of chambering the body to keep the weight down. What kind of tone could I expect?
It's great for fingerboard. Very tough. Very heavy. It photodegrades, eventually it will turn brown if it gets too much sun.
- Jun 6, 2004
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- Owner and builder Clementbass
My Conklin Groove Tools has a Wenge/Purpleheart lam neck with a Purpleheart FB.
My custom Conklin has a Maple/Purpleheart lam neck.
I would caution against using purpleheart for the body of your bass as it is heavy... My bass has a sapele body, and it is fricking heavy... So purpleheart will be even heavier... I would pick a lighter body core and maybe use the purpleheart as a laminate top and or back... Or make the purpleheart body core hollow...
Or, if you want to use purpleheart for the whole body, I hope you have a strong back...
Or, if you want to use purpleheart for the whole body, I hope you have a strong back...
I'm using a purpleheart body in my current building, and in the state it is in right now (wings connected to partially carved neck and fingerboard) I'm looking at 7.5 pounds, so the piece I'm using isn't all the heavy, but has a very nice ring to it if I try to make it resonate, so hopefully some good will come from this...
I'll definitely let you know tone wise when I'm done though
Greg
I'll definitely let you know tone wise when I'm done though
Greg
Well you guys have talked me out of using purple heart for the body. I really shouldn't be playing heavy basses as it kills my back. Think I'm still going to use it for the neck and I might use it at a top over some ash. How does purpleheart compare in weight to padauk?
SDB Guitars
Commercial User
You could make it "neck through", with putpleheart "wings", and hollow them out with a forstner bit. This would lighten things up a bit, and still give you that look.
My favorite pre-Gibson Tobias I ever played- which if I ever find for sale I will sell my car to buy- was a signature with a purpleheart neck with maple stringers, purpleheart body and maple fingerboard. Heavy, sounded like a Spector, but was the best sounding Tobias I've ever heard. If I ever find it...
Purpleheart sounds like maple to me, just heavier. Wood characteristics are totally different, but still sounds like maple to me.
Purpleheart sounds like maple to me, just heavier. Wood characteristics are totally different, but still sounds like maple to me.
Purpleheart is heavy, but not so heavy that it cannot be used as a body or neck wood. It is comparable to bubinga, wenge or cocobolo etc
I've made several bodies from woods with similar density, and they were never unreasonably heavy basses. By using thin bodies and careful planning, a well balanced bass with reasonable weight is almost always possible.
Purpleheart is one of the greatest woods for any part of the bass IMO...I really dig how it sounds and the stiffness. The drawbacks are that it is similar to wenge in how it works...it dulls tools quickly and can be a challenge to route outside edges cleanly.
The only thing that keeps me from using it on anything and everything is the fact that it looks good with so few other woods.
I've made several bodies from woods with similar density, and they were never unreasonably heavy basses. By using thin bodies and careful planning, a well balanced bass with reasonable weight is almost always possible.
Purpleheart is one of the greatest woods for any part of the bass IMO...I really dig how it sounds and the stiffness. The drawbacks are that it is similar to wenge in how it works...it dulls tools quickly and can be a challenge to route outside edges cleanly.
The only thing that keeps me from using it on anything and everything is the fact that it looks good with so few other woods.
Here's some better pics of the legendary May Custom Pale Moon six w/purpleheart neck and body. An though it's heavier than average I guess, it is superbly balanced.
