Single wood bass pros/cons

[orange joe]

I am interested in having a bass made entirely out of one type of wood.I haven't seen many basses where the neck,fretboard,and body were all the same type of wood.I'd imagine there are only a few types of wood you would be able to do this with.I've seen this with maple,wenge,purpleheart and cocobolo and it looked great.Now I dont mean one single piece of wood,just the same type of wood.I am interested in a bass made from Pau Ferro which I have seen as fretboards and some very nice tops on basses but how would it hold up as a neck and body as well??What other woods could this be done with or have you seen this done with?

 

[Hopkins]

The way I see it, if a wood is suitable for a fretboard, it will absolutely work for the rest of the bass if you can get it in pieces big enough. It may be heavy but it will work.

 

[Jazz Ad]

Here's the Leduc Pad, 100% paduk.
Even the knobs are pads.

 

[HaMMerHeD]

I've seen a solid cocobolo guitar, and a solid Gabon ebony bass. The body is generally made of something softer to save weight, but it doesn't *have* to be so.

 

[pilotjones]

All pau ferro will be very heavy. Even if you chamber the body or make it very thin, the neck will be very heavy. You will need to make the upper horn extra long to have the bass balance well and not be neck dive-y (assuming you have lightened up the body).



I've always loved the Leduc Pad and Pad-Rock.

 

[MPU]

Ovangol is used in Warwick basses on one wood basses.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

I played a 100% Wenge benevette.. Frigging awe-soome

 

[Woodpecker]

My last build was made entirely out of birch.
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[reverendrally]

Many gibsons are made mostly out of mahogany.... I'd be aiming for timber something like that. For the weight reasons mentioned above...

 

[Hopkins]

Many gibsons are made mostly out of mahogany.... I'd be aiming for timber something like that. For the weight reasons mentioned above...

Gibby fretboards are rosewood, so they aren't entirely mahogany.

 

[reverendrally]

Hence the word "mostly".

Rickenbackers are also made almost entirely out of maple. The exception there is the fingerboard again.

Your other alternative, as others have said is to get radical with the chambering. If you find my last build you can see how I have done that. It is also possible to chamber the neck. Billy Gibbons from Zztop has chambered necks on his guitars these days. I'd also think about going with 32" scale. That will mean a shorter neck, therefore less weight and chance of neck dive. Narrow spacing will also help. I routinely use 15mm spacing.

Just remember... ALL of these things will effect the sound probably as much as the timber does.