Roasted Bodies: What Do You Think?

[Smallmouth_Bass]

So, we have seen a lot of roasted necks in the past little while, but you do not hear to much about roasted bodies. Is there an advantage to getting a roasted body? Do you have a bass (or had a bass) with a roasted body and do you think it makes a difference?

The one advantage I could think of is that it removes all the moisture so would likely be lighter. More resonant? I don't know, I have never tried one.

 

[Moving Pictures]

I have two roasted pine Am Pro II jazz basses, a 4-string and a 5-string. I love them. Light, resonant, a bit deeper sounding than my other jazz, and most importantly, I really like playing them. I’d love to get a roasted body Precision. Fender isn’t making those those (yet).

 

[Moving Pictures]

 

[Sharko]

Roast the whole bass, I want to see roasted hardware and electronics. Melted pickup covers and rusted bridges.

 

[Thud Staff]

Fully roasted:

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Fully roasted:

View attachment 4904722

That might be a little more than I would willing to go for!

 

[kodiakblair]

Do you have a bass (or had a bass) with a roasted body and do you think it makes a difference?

Built a single coil P-bass using torrefied Obeche. Sounds little different from my other single coil builds, Pine/Mahogany/Poplar/Ash/Alder/Lime. Obeche is light at the best of times so I had concerns about neck dive, nipped it in the bud by going headless

The Obeche was a freebie from my local timber merchant looking to expand his product range, he sold a few blanks to Scandinavia but never restocked; I wouldn't use it again. Though based on only this one experience ,to my mind, roasted bodies along with roasted maple for necks are companies looking at another angle to "justify" price hikes for materials

 

[lomo]

I like the aesthetics of roasted wood. I do not believe it offers any particular sonic flavour. I had a Fender USA roasted pine J5....bought online......the weight was a full 1.5 lbs heavier than published and the neck had multiple, structurally unacceptable knots, so it failed to make the cut. It sounded exactly ilke other recent USA J5s I have played.

 

[bucephylus]

My Sadowsky NYC has both roasted neck and alder body. It’s a gem.

Speaking as a Materials Scientist, we know that heat treating can improve the properties of the wood, when properly done, stabilizing the structure against moisture, increasing stiffness, and reducing weight. All desirable aspects.

How much that matters for the body of an electric bass guitar is a matter of opinion. Obviously can’t hurt; but whether the gain is worth the cost is viewer dependent.

The instrument above was my once-in-a-lifetime Jazz Bass commission, pulling out all the stops. It is a magnificent instrument. It does go out on gigs. I doubt anyone can tell the difference between it and my parts Jazz Bass, which has similarly configured electronics. Of course, I can tell the difference - about 2 pounds on the shoulder for one thing.

YMMV

 

[HardNHeavy]

Fully roasted:

View attachment 4904722

lol at the thumbrest...and from the words of Metallica, that bass "jumped in the Fire"

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

I like the aesthetics of roasted wood. I do not believe it offers any particular sonic flavour. I had a Fender USA roasted pine J5....bought online......the weight was a full 1.5 lbs heavier than published and the neck had multiple, structurally unacceptable knots, so it failed to make the cut. It sounded exactly ilke other recent USA J5s I have played.

Now that would piss me off. 1.5 lbs over what they listed? Automatic return!

 

[JC BASS 91]

Personally, I don't like roasted anything. All these instruments with roasted maple necks just don't appeal to me at all. Don't care for the idea of roasted bodies either.

 

[micguy]

Roasted neck, roasted body:

It's a 5'er that weighs 7.2 pounds (the body was 3.25), and balances beautifully on a strap. The thing rings like a bell when you tap on it - on a stage with a big PA, the thing really comes alive when I have a FOH person that has a low end lead foot. Do my other basses do that? OK, they do, but they also have roasted necks and (with one exception) roasted bodies. The all also have aluminum hardware - tuners, bridges, neck mounting plates, even the stinkin' knobs are aluminum - taking metal weight off the thing, so it can be mostly wood seems to help.

A roasted neck is most of the advantage, as far as i can tell. It's lighter and stiffer, and has less damping - the "area of reduced sustain" (It's too minor to be called a dead spot, but every bass has one if you know how to listen for it) is moved up the neck a couple of frets and is well mannered. A roasted body seems to be a minor improvement (aside from the weight, where it helps a bunch), but....if you're gonna go, why not go all the way?

 

[13bass]

Haven't built a roasted bodied bass....YET, but have roasted swamp ash bodied tele with a roasted maple neck, sounds and plays great, and came in at 7.4 lb. The body itself was 3 lb 12 oz.
Actually planning on selling it as I play bass over guitar about 95% - 5% so thinning the herd a bit.

 

[lomo]

Now that would piss me off. 1.5 lbs over what they listed? Automatic return!

Between the hassle and expense of cross border shipping and the fact that local resale value N of the border was much higher the little money lost was no biggie, but I won’t buy from that Reverb seller again.

 

[SLO Surfer]

Fender had a limited run fully roasted (maple neck and ash body) American Precision bass out about 4-5 years ago. It was beautiful and I almost got one.

 

[Killing Floor]

Roasted neck, roasted body:

View attachment 4904954

It's a 5'er that weighs 7.2 pounds (the body was 3.25), and balances beautifully on a strap. The thing rings like a bell when you tap on it - on a stage with a big PA, the thing really comes alive when I have a FOH person that has a low end lead foot. Do my other basses do that? OK, they do, but they also have roasted necks and (with one exception) roasted bodies. The all also have aluminum hardware - tuners, bridges, neck mounting plates, even the stinkin' knobs are aluminum - taking metal weight off the thing, so it can be mostly wood seems to help.

A roasted neck is most of the advantage, as far as i can tell. It's lighter and stiffer, and has less damping - the "area of reduced sustain" (It's too minor to be called a dead spot, but every bass has one if you know how to listen for it) is moved up the neck a couple of frets and is well mannered. A roasted body seems to be a minor improvement (aside from the weight, where it helps a bunch), but....if you're gonna go, why not go all the way?

Cool headstock shape.

 

[TyBo]

I generally like the look of roasted woods. I put together a Warmoth guitar, with roasted body and neck. Pretty light, plays nice, I like it.
Fire 'em up!

 

[Freekmagnet]

I think the virtues of roasted woods are more esthetic than they are technical. For the most part, it’s a way for builders to charge more for the same old thing. There are some advantages in terms of weight, resonance or stability, but they rank higher on the scale of negligible than the scale of miraculous.

 

[Ostie]

I have a Dean Martin Celebrity Roasted guitar. It’s only available on TV.