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Spruce

L

Linkert

Oct 24, 2006
1,081
6
Sweden
#1
Would how will that sound and will it last for some years?
I just tought it would be cool to go get an axe and chop a tree down and then make it a bass, and it will be pretty unique :D I live in sweden so its common with big spruce. I dont know if that is the right word, spruce, in swedish its "Gran".
 
#2
I do think gran is spruce, yes.... or pine?

It could be cool, I suppose. I've never seen a bass with a solid spruce body, don't know how it'll be. Spruce is appearently mostly used for tops on hollow / acoustic instruments, particularily guitars.
The top on Yves' new Drozd is spruce.
 
#5
Linkert said:
Would how will that sound and will it last for some years?
I just tought it would be cool to go get an axe and chop a tree down and then make it a bass, and it will be pretty unique :D I live in sweden so its common with big spruce. I dont know if that is the right word, spruce, in swedish its "Gran".
Click to expand...
Yes, gran is spruce.

Spuce is widely used for soundboards, the tops of acoustic instruments. These boards are quartersawn from extemely slowgrown trees. And that is hard to find. In Sweden you'll mostly find spruce from preciously wheat fields - they grow fast!!! Bad qulity for soundboards.

But - quite useful for solidbodies. It will dent easily, so a harder top should be considered - perhaps your solution will still be 'no top'. Soundwise, it doesn't imply any extremes, body wood has a rather limited influence on the tone of electronic instruments.

Carey Nordstrand made a bass a few years ago with spruce neck. I wouldn't do that...unless, perhaps, if I knew the tree. If the tree had grown for a long time, on lean ground, then I might think of it. Perhaps, if the plank was exceptionally thight garined, I might consider it even if I didn't know the tree. The neck stiffness is vital to the sound - and playability.

Go see what you can get, and then consider what you can make of it!
 
#6
elros said:
I do think gran is spruce, yes.... or pine?

It could be cool, I suppose. I've never seen a bass with a solid spruce body, don't know how it'll be. Spruce is appearently mostly used for tops on hollow / acoustic instruments, particularily guitars.
Click to expand...

Just about every Double Bass has a Spruce top - as does mine!! (see avatar)

I also remember using it as the main spars of model aeroplanes which were mostly balsa - for strength in one direction! ;)
 
#7
Some [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] are made of "12 layers of acoustic guitar top grade Sitka Spruce", so making a bass body out of spruce is certainly possible, and one will probably be quite light. And as an arguable bonus, spruce is one of the best looking top woods out there, with it's handsome paleness and tight grain. I say, go for it, but remember to let the wood dry properly after you've brought the tree to the ground, before you start the build.
 
#9
After the storm the other night, there should be plenty of spruce lying about, waitng for you. There's a handsome 40m one lying just outside our house...

Otherwise, you should consider pine, as well. A little more yellowish and with a lot more spectacular grain. Slightly tougher, too.

Anyway, when using softwood, it is extremely important to let the wood dry well.
It should dry for several years. Even if kiln dried, you should leave it for one or two years. The resin (kådan) is the problem. It has to dry a harden well, even brittle up and go to dust before you use the plank for an instrument.
You can start earlier, but then you will have to prepare yourself for peculiar variations in the tone, when teh resin changes. At one or two points in that process, it will work surprisingly well as damper...always for the wrong frequences.:hmm:
The planks I used had been in dad's stach for 10 years.:bassist:
 

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