The different tonewoods and their sounds

[Warpeg]

I've always thought the wood that matters the most is the neck wood. When I pluck a note and then put my ear on the neck and then pluck another and hold my ear on the bass's body, the neck always seems to resonate louder and more clearly. So let's get this tread rolling, I guess.

No, no, no...you have it all wrong, man! When will people learn that the tonal quality of a bass comes from only three factors:

1. How heavy the indigenous parasites that inhabit the tone woods are

2. How lunar movements affect tone woods, based on their densities

3. How pretty it looks

 

[JimmyM]

mostly #3.

 

[Bootzilla]

As long as you use high quality pickguard screws the wood doesn't matter.

 

[WoodyG3]

As long as you use high quality pickguard screws the wood doesn't matter.

Hey! What about basses without pickguards!

One thing to remember: The more expensive and rare the wood is, the better it sounds. And the best Danelectros are those with the rare Brazilian Masonite bodies!

Sorry, but I have gotten pretty jaded on this topic. The guide at Warmoth is a pretty good generalized tone wood reference. There is a tone of variation, though, and if you play enough basses you'll find a dark sounding swamp ash bodied bass and a really bright mahogany bodied bass.

 

[dvh]

Contrary to many players, I choose woods based on their aroma. There's just something about the smell of afzelia burl in the morning that puts a smile on my face. Some might wonder if I can identify the smell of different woods during double-blind testing. To be honest, I'm not sure. Shall we try?

M. M.

Smells like victory...

 

[Bootzilla]

I always look at the pickup placement when deciding how a bass will sound. If it's at the neck it sounds muddy and if its at the bridge it sounds trebly and thin.

The three factors for tone IMO:
Player (technique)
Strings (how old/flat)
Pickup placement

 

[GrinchBass]

Balsa wood is a lighter wood & makes better model planes than Bubinga- or so I've heard! ;-) Sorry - couldn't resist!

Only with correct grain orientation!

(sorry, Beej steered me in this direction of threads.......)

 

[AutisticLicense]

Carl Thompson's opinion may be relevant here (he is a jazz bassist as well as luthier):

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Money quote: . I can tell what is going to change the sound of a bass real quick though.

Aaron: Practice?
Carl: "Player will change the sound more than [...] finishes and wood. Change the scale length and you'll really know the difference. If a guy comes in with a piece, a bass like this and it's made out of Mahogany or it's made out of Walnut or Cherry or Swamp Ash or any of those things that they talk about all the time. And somebody comes in with the same bass made out of a totally different wood. I'll bet if people couldn't see it they wouldn't know."

Also: "I like playing the Danelectro basses. I think they are great. I get a good sound out of a Dano-I really do."

Ever see those perfect people in the gym? Every one I've ever known or talked to refused to believe there was a genetic predisposition. No one wants to hear that what they have, including tone, is not absolutely 100% their own accomplishment. Hence, "Tone is in your fingers", not in the instrument that's actually vibrating and producing the note. Their not lying or evil, it's just pride. If wood didn't make a difference all basses would be made with fiberglass necks on pine bodies because that would be fantastically easier and cheaper. Danelectro is a bunk example, no one said a bass had to be wood to sound good. Of course, every synthetic bodied bass ever released has failed.

 

[lowphatbass]

Warmoth's descriptions are generally considered correct. Keep in mind the same species of tree that can grow in Florida also may be able to thrive in Canada, in this case environmental factors may be more relevant then genetic identity.

 

[Arthur Strand]

I have read up on woods and there are many, many more than mentioned above. Maple and Mahogany are 2 that I have used in the past. Canadian Rock Maple is very solid and Bird's eye is - when book-matched - pleasing to the eye. Rosewood has been heavily controlled although Luthiers and guitar manufacturers have some stocks maturing.
The type of wood makes more difference to acoustic and semi-acoustic instruments.
Ash is really light in weight for solids and I recommend light weight instruments for long tours of 2 or 3 months. I built a fretless bass from Mahogany with an ebony fingerboard.
Rock Maple for guitars.
Touchstone Tonewoods in Dorking Surrey UK website should also be helpful but there would be a more comprehensive list with somewhere with Snake wood and Walnut etc.etc. etc. type in to search engines Tonewoods for guitar building?
And sift through the results.

 

[mongo2]

(sits back and waits for the scientific, engineer types to chime in with "wood doesn't make any difference. If you can't measure the difference on a meter or see it on a scope, then there is no difference between plastic, particle board, plywood, recycled pallets and Ash)

I'm an engineer....Check my sig...

My experience repairing and building instruments has shown me that there is no hard and fast way to predict how a particular piece of wood will sound and that the neck will have more influence on the tone than a solid wood body, though they both contribute their part.

 

[ZolkoW]

thanks for the links, I didn't know that bubinga is lighter than ovangkol.
that makes me want a bubinga neck rather than ovangkol...

PS: I like tone wars.

 

[dvh]

Ever see those perfect people in the gym? Every one I've ever known or talked to refused to believe there was a genetic predisposition. No one wants to hear that what they have, including tone, is not absolutely 100% their own accomplishment. Hence, "Tone is in your fingers", not in the instrument that's actually vibrating and producing the note. Their not lying or evil, it's just pride. If wood didn't make a difference all basses would be made with fiberglass necks on pine bodies because that would be fantastically easier and cheaper. Danelectro is a bunk example, no one said a bass had to be wood to sound good. Of course, every synthetic bodied bass ever released has failed.

Sorry, but even IF body wood makes a difference in a solid bodied electric bass a HUGE part of the tone is indeed still in the fingers. Technique is a cornerstone of playing any instrument. Take any bass player, give him different basses, he will sound very much the same on each.

The reason all basses are not made with fiberglass and pine is a complicated mix of history, supply, competition, marketing, etc…