So if wood type makes no difference in tone...

[Erik Asma]

First of all - this is not a case of the wood - it is case of the construction technique. Totally different.

Also - Wood DOES matter, but just a little - just for your "bedroom sound" - Not audible in a gig. AND - any wood differences are negated by a touted "High Mass Bridge" that prevents the wood from vibrating. If you have a resonant piece of wood, you want the lightest possible bridge. High Mass Bridges are used now because there is less and less "Good Wood" and they help the instruments to have a more consistent sound quality as the wood varies.

Which means if you want to upgrade a cheap bass, those usually come from lesser woods.
Get a nice phat chunky bridge.

Good tip. I'll remember that.

 

[Qlanq]

My main bass has a Pine body, maple neck, rosewood board.
Nickel wound strings, Babicx bridge and some insane humbuckers.
The best bass I've ever played, also the cheapest.
It's not what you play but how you play it.

 

[Tim Skaggs]

... How come hollow bodies sound different from solid bodies? Hmmmm?

Because wood type makes some difference, & design makes some difference, & pickups make some difference, & scale length makes some difference & bridge, & strings, & tuner mass, & on & on. You are comparing two basses that have several of these differences.

 

[mcnach]

After all, wood is organic, having been a living thing,and has a cellular structure that varies from species to species.

... and between individuals of the same species. It varies a lot depending on where, when and how they grew.

I don't think many people deny that wood is a factor in the final result/sound. The question is how much, compared to other factors. That's what we generally argue about.

A luthier I befriended used to show me why he combines different cuts, not just woods but specific cuts of wood, in his instruments. He builds mostly acoustic guitars but makes all kinds of other acoustic instruments too. It made sense and the final products work the way he expected, within reason, at least with the examples he demonstrated and a couple of guitars I was able to know about from day 1, being merely sketches, to a full built working guitar.
Electric instruments don't rely on wood qualities quite as much, 'though.

 

[Lagado]

I remember that day I took a boat trip to the Isle of Skye and we were caught in a terrible squall. The boat capsized and sank to a depth of around 30 metres, resting on a sand bank. After two desperate hours of striking the ship's hull in the hope someone at the surface would hear us, we were rescued by a little fishing boat. "How on earth did you manage to hear us?" I asked. "Well, that would be down to the innate resonant acoustic properties of alder", chimed the skipper. Once again, tonewood had saved my life.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

If you want to have a good chuckle, read some of the wood descriptions on the Alembic site, gorgeous basses, but they make it sound like wine tasting, as if little strips of Vermillion accent can add amusing notes of coreander with a smooth finish. Marketing! Sometimes it’s hard to avoid “hearing” with your eyes, I’m as guilty as the next guy. Everybody raves about their new bass on TB, how it blows away any bass they ever owned....etc. Then you see it on TB classifieds months later when the minty freshness wears off. A really shiny bass just sounds better.. for a while.

 

[Luigir]

... How come hollow bodies sound different from solid bodies? Hmmmm?

This all acrylic beast sounds like a bass to me. Does it sounds slightly different from a wooden made one? Yes. Does it sound completely different? Not at all.

That's what I meant by saying that the impact of wood choice is imho not do great.