tell me about basswood

[sonic boogaloo]

i have a CIJ Jazz made from basswood.

i know very little about this type of wood other than the following:

PROS

it's light

CONS

it dents easy

any thread which mentions basswood tends to do so in a negative manner, although i read that jeff beck commissioned some guitars to be specifically made with basswood, so i guess it does have its advantages!

so what's the TB view on basswood and why is it generally considered inferior, to say, alder?

does it have any redeeming qualities?

my own experience is that i appreciate how much lighter it is and that i don't really hear any distinguishable difference in tone. it's true that it does ding easily due to its softness...

 

[tremor100]

i have a CIJ Jazz made from basswood.

i know very little about this type of wood other than the following:

PROS

it's light

CONS

it dents easy

any thread which mentions basswood tends to do so in a negative manner, although i read that jeff beck commissioned some guitars to be specifically made with basswood, so i guess it does have its advantages!

so what's the TB view on basswood and why is it generally considered inferior, to say, alder?

does it have any redeeming qualities?

my own experience is that i appreciate how much lighter it is and that i don't really hear any distinguishable difference in tone. it's true that it does ding easily due to its softness...

Is it unfinished? i feel like if its finished even with clear the dentable-ness of it should mostly be irrelevant. I don't think anything is "wrong" with basswood its just cheaper (or historically has been) and because it is a softer wood is easier on tools / to work and sand.

Everyone has their preference and im sure everyone will explain that Mahogany, Alder, Ash and Maple are superior, but realistically were just what Fender and Gibson started building with so they kind of became the defacto common woods. In addition to this, you have to beleive in the whole "tone wood" thing for electric intruments playing a singnificant part in the plugged in tone.

So basically.. if your paying the same amount for a basswood body as another wood - yea you are probbaly getting a bit ripped off from a materials perspective, but if its priced accordingly ect its fine. I'm willing to bet if others comment on this leaning towards it being inferior, if you handed them two CIJ jazz basses that were finished and asked them which one is basswood and which one is swamp ash, they wouldn't be able to tell you.

 

[Malak the Mad]

My first bass was a well-used Fender Aerodyne with a basswood body. So far, I have no complaints. Even though there were several chips and cracks, I still love it for it's weight (8lb.6oz/3.8kg), playability and sound (especially with .100-gauge Chromes!). Early on, I was thinking about having it refinished until a Guitar Center employee said to me one day, "Don't refinish it! That's 'mojo'!", so I left it be…a decision I have never regretted.

However, I say "were" for both aesthetic and practical reasons. Recently, I decided it would be a good idea to keep the exposed wood from wearing away, so I did some very careful drop-filling with some matching nail polish. If you look closely, you can see the previous dents and chips, but from a distance, no one is any wiser.

 

[Hot Rats]

I don't know much about woods and their effects on tone but, I have a basswood bass from Japan from the early 80's that throughout the years has just sounded better than most other dozens of basses I've had from the same decade. Beats me, but I like the basswood body. It's a mystery, really.

 

[ardgedee]

i feel like if its finished even with clear the dentable-ness of it should mostly be irrelevant.

That depends on the finish. A heavy coat of poly will probably protect it well. A thin coat of almost anything is not going to provide much of a shield. There are also prep methods that can harden the surface of wood before applying finish, for example epoxy (sometimes used as grain filler for types of finish that need it) or cyanoacrylate.

Every wood is dentable. I've had basses with divots in their rock maple necks. If you don't want dents, use appropriate care. If you want relicing, take advantage of what you've got

 

[RattleSnack]

You've said it yourself, lightweight and soft, that's it. The rest is in the hands of luthier. He can make construction stiff and sounding piano-like, or less stiff and woody-sounding, focused in mids, with less sustain (perceived as more attack).
Wood type does not mean much untill luthier transforms it into some kind of construction.

 

[UNICORN BASS]

As with all woods there are lots of quality differences. I have used Basswood that had lots of minerals in it that made sanding and finishing a pain.

 

[smtp4me]

i have a CIJ Jazz made from basswood.

i know very little about this type of wood other than the following:

PROS

it's light

CONS

it dents easy

any thread which mentions basswood tends to do so in a negative manner, although i read that jeff beck commissioned some guitars to be specifically made with basswood, so i guess it does have its advantages!

so what's the TB view on basswood and why is it generally considered inferior, to say, alder?

does it have any redeeming qualities?

my own experience is that i appreciate how much lighter it is and that i don't really hear any distinguishable difference in tone. it's true that it does ding easily due to its softness...

I've owned one bass made of basswood. It was a 1984 Ibanez RB850 that I bought new and played for 29 years.

In my experience: With other basses or guitars made of harder wood, a ding usually means that only the finish is affected (e.g. a chip or scratch). With my RB850, a ding was usually a chip in the finish AND an indent into the wood.

Otherwise - I loved that bass and sometimes regret selling it. I had no complaints about resonance, and definitely none about the weight.

 

[LowActionHero]

My first bass was a well-used Fender Aerodyne with a basswood body. So far, I have no complaints. Even though there were several chips and cracks, I still love it for it's weight (8lb.6oz/3.8kg), playability and sound (especially with .100-gauge Chromes!). Early on, I was thinking about having it refinished until a Guitar Center employee said to me one day, "Don't refinish it! That's 'mojo'!", so I left it be…a decision I have never regretted.

However, I say "were" for both aesthetic and practical reasons. Recently, I decided it would be a good idea to keep the exposed wood from wearing away, so I did some very careful drop-filling with some matching nail polish. If you look closely, you can see the previous dents and chips, but from a distance, no one is any wiser.

You had me at Aerodyne!
Don't care what kind of wood it is.

I feel like old instruments are supposed to have scars.

 

[micguy]

I have had a bass with a basswood body. Dents? I don't ram my my basses randomly into objects - I had no issues with dents. Kinda think that "issue" is overblown.

 

[SharpCat]

No one mentioned that it's got the best name?!?

 

[Nebadon2000]

EBMM use Basswood on their 3K+ Bongo's

 

[2saddleslab]

Yep, it does dent easier than other types of wood but a great option if building a light weight instrument.

 

[FullumMusic]

Basswood is often used for cheap instruments because it's usually inexpensive and softer than a lot of other woods (hence the denting, or stripped screw-holes and strap peg holes reputation).

However, that's just the cheap stuff. I've listened to interviews with luthiers and spoken to at least one who has said that basswood varies greatly in quality, and theres a ton of cheap stuff that's used for cheap instruments. But, there's also a lot of quality Basswood out there that is far superior to the cheap stuff used in the cheap instruments. However, the reason the good stuff doesn't get used more in good instruments is because the reputation the cheap stuff has. And cheap stuff or good stuff, it's incredibly light.

Wood comes from trees, and every tree is different, and every piece of wood from each tree is a little different, and there's great variety of quality and hardness and grain pattern, etc. within individual species. It's all generalizations and averages. Rosewood is harder and denser than maple, except for when it's not. Basswood is a cheap soft wood, except for when it's not.

 

[Phreaky Phriday]

I built a guitar out of basswood once, not a fun wood to work with in my small sample size - lots of tear-outs. Better to shave weight in other ways (different body shapes, thinner bodies)

 

[96tbird]

Basswood is generally ugly so it's not great for clear or opaque finishes where you can see the grain. It works great otherwise but is softer as you say. Cheap and plentiful.

Alder and ash, as used by Fender and Gibson Grabbers, Rippers, etc, basses is used simply because, at least in the beginning, it was cheeeep. There was no "tone wood" consideration. Cheap and plentiful.

I have a Squier 50s P that has an Asian pine body. Sounds great, dents if you look at it. I have a Cv P with basswood, sounds great and more resilient to dings.

 

[moon-bass]

I have several basses made from basswood including a mid 80's MIJ Jazz Bass Special, and two custom basses that I specifically requested be made from basswood (core, not top). I love it. Lightweight, resonant, and I've noticed no issues with dings etc. , at least no more than any other bass.

Big thumbs up from me.

 

[BGroovy]

People love light 80s MIJ basses and many of them are basswood.

People love Bongos, and the majority of them are basswood.

Lightweight. Great tone.

 

[TeeSee]

Interesting little write up here;

Tilia americana - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I have a MIJ P bass made of basswood and as a tonewood it's lovely. I also have guitars with bodies of Ash, Alder, Maple and Mahogany but the MIJ is sublime.
If I want to buy another guitar in future, if it's made of reasonable quality basswood it'd always be a positive for me.

 

[Altitude]

I had one of the 80s MIJ Jazz Specials that had P-bass bodies and PJ electronics - the model that later turned into the Duff McKagan bass. It had a basswood body.

Sounded fine, though better with the P pickup soloed than both pickups blended. It did pick up dents along the way though, and it had the typical pearloid white paint.

G&L built basses with pine in the last few years. Ed Friedland had/has one and says he loves it. So I don't think the wood softness is a tone problem.