Sound/Tonality of various woods

[brlottermann]

Sorry, did not mean to offend you.

 

[Hopkins]

Hello,
I'm looking into buying a custom bass and I've been doing some research on TB, Warmoth, and elsewhere on the many different woods available for bass guitars. Personally, I am looking for a deep, beefy tone with strong lows and low-mids with a nice high end roll off and smooth attack/punch.
Here's what I have compiled so far, I hope this is somewhat accurate and helpful for other bassists trying to find the right wood for their sound.

(PS: Please help me fill in the missing information, I will be updating the following list as I get more details on the sounds of these different woods. The more detail the better!)

• Spanish Cedar
  --warmer, less definition, full, even-sounding, smooth mids similar to mahogany
  
• Kaya
  
• Limba
  --big, growly sound with less emphasis of mids than cedar or mahogany
  
• Ebony (fingerboard)
  --quite bright (compared to rosewood)
  
• Diamondwood (fingerboard)
  
• Bloodwood (fingerboard)
  
• Mahogany
  --Fat, full, warm and growly with lots of mids and rounded low end
  
• Swamp Ash
  --light and bright!
  
• Walnut
  --sound similar to hard maple
  
• Padauk
  --quite bright, yet slightly heavier than mahogany

Have it built out of what ever your think looks good, and use a pickup, strings, and electronics combo that gives you the tone you want. I don't buy into the whole body wood influencing sound thing.

 

[pilotjones]

Please please please just read the 1000 other threads on wood and tone that are already posted.

 

[preside]

Good GOD not this again!!

 

[Musiclogic]

Hello,
I'm looking into buying a custom bass and I've been doing some research on TB, Warmoth, and elsewhere on the many different woods available for bass guitars. Personally, I am looking for a deep, beefy tone with strong lows and low-mids with a nice high end roll off and smooth attack/punch.
Here's what I have compiled so far, I hope this is somewhat accurate and helpful for other bassists trying to find the right wood for their sound.

(PS: Please help me fill in the missing information, I will be updating the following list as I get more details on the sounds of these different woods. The more detail the better!)

• Spanish Cedar
  --warmer, less definition, full, even-sounding, smooth mids similar to mahogany
  
• Kaya
  
• Limba
  --big, growly sound with less emphasis of mids than cedar or mahogany
  
• Ebony (fingerboard)
  --quite bright (compared to rosewood)
  
• Diamondwood (fingerboard)
  
• Bloodwood (fingerboard)
  
• Mahogany
  --Fat, full, warm and growly with lots of mids and rounded low end
  
• Swamp Ash
  --light and bright!
  
• Walnut
  --sound similar to hard maple
  
• Padauk
  --quite bright, yet slightly heavier than mahogany

:screwy:

2013....the year of redundancy and repetition

 

[Blixxter]

...it's always a bit saddening to see someone being cutoff like that to a point where they have to excuse themselves for a non-abusive, civil post.

To me it feels like being asked a common question in real life and then replying "oh noooo, not that question again, try to learn using a library,
newspapers, tv or the Interwebs"...now how often do you use that sentence out there ?

But yeah, i know, you know...thats one of the unwritten rules of online forum posting...and i should know better than taking up that battle vs windmills,
especially as a lurker only (<---another unwritten rule...yes, this is my second post here).

And i guess i wouldn't even be out here writing this if this wouldn't be TB with its refreshingly different and quiet "corners" i have come to really appreciate in my time here:
I mean whatever our interests are, we all know these discussions (?) when joining a forum about something we're interested in...whether it's Squier vs Fodera, Apple vs Microsoft (maybe rather Samsung these days),
Boeing vs. Airbus etc....wherever you go, you will find these...just replace A with B.
And if i'd go over to the Bass forum now and post something like "i'm so happy about my Squier, it sounds like a Fodera" i would probably get the same treatment this gentleman here got.

Not so much if i would post my appreciation and love in a "Squier Club" thread though: i would be joining my little likeminded family inside my family and we could share all our crazy ideas,
tips, tricks, experiences and pictures with very little of the usual clutter (i know, it doesn't really keep the usual non-searching posters away out there, yet it gives the "crazies" in there an
opportunity to be "crazy and stupid" together).

Now from what i understand about the little i have followed about the topic at hand (forgive my neglecting of the search engine) this is about the battle of the crazy people who think wood
has a tonal influence vs the crazy people thinking it has no influence ? And if yes, has it been tried before to have a "Tonal woods Club" or a "A piece of wood, is a wood, is a wood Club"
for the crazy people wanting to be crazy together ?
Well...just an idea and certainly enough preaching for the day...who knows, maybe it wouldn't even meet the original requirement or purpose for a Club-thread (sorry, once again no search engine)
...just some thoughts that went through my head when reading this today.
Now off to my usual TB round.

Have a nice one ya all !

 

[Beej]

Shoot, this is again a situation where it can cycle up before it gets a chance to get established. To the OP, hopefully you don't feel ousted, you've just stumbled across a very hot potato, but I don't think anyone here begrudges you your efforts to try to make sense of it all. The timing was unfortunate though as this issue was just dealt with in detail in this subforum again.

I don't think anyone here pretends to be the be-all end-all expert in the debate, but it's a good example for the notion that it's wise to do a search before posting.

All that said, I hope that he's not driven away and returns to explore whatever else he'd like to explore. Generally speaking, this forum is exceptionally welcoming...

 

[pilotjones]

Shoot, this is again a situation where it can cycle up before it gets a chance to get established. To the OP, hopefully you don't feel ousted, you've just stumbled across a very hot potato, but I don't think anyone here begrudges you your efforts to try to make sense of it all. The timing was unfortunate though as this issue was just dealt with in detail in this subforum again.

I don't think anyone here pretends to be the be-all end-all expert in the debate, but it's a good example for the notion that it's wise to do a search before posting.

All that said, I hope that he's not driven away and returns to explore whatever else he'd like to explore. Generally speaking, this forum is exceptionally welcoming...

Exactly.

I hope that Blixxter, brlottermann, and others are not too off-put. Nothing was meant personally. We've just had a very recent flare up of this perennial and continual debate, and you have run into a grumpy bunch of forum veterans who have recently exited a skirmish. But it is a great place here. And regarding the question you asked, your best bet is to just look through a few pages back of this subforum, or search up the threads. All the info you're looking is there.

 

[78bass]

Read the Fodera Club posts. There is a lot of post to get through though. Try the most recent and go backward.
Discussion includes tops, neck construction, fingerboard, etc.
I hear the difference.