The tone of wood

[Gormsgade]

Certain wood types have a characteristic sound to them, but where
In the frequency range are they? Think Ash for the slight bite and growl is has, or
Alder for the warm punch.
How do you guys dial in your amp/eq. to get the characteristics of the wood through?

 

[Warpeg]

The theory of 'tone wood' has been heatedly debated over the past few decades on Talkbass. The best advice that I can give you is to use Talkbass' search function and review the endless number of threads on the topic.

 

[mongo2]

How do you guys dial in your amp/eq. to get the characteristics of the wood through?

Since the room contributes significantly to the final tone, I listen as I adjust my amp until I hear the tone I want.

 

[UNICORN BASS]

+ 1,000 WARPEG! No wire hangers!

 

[TrustRod]

Certain wood types have a characteristic sound to them, but where
In the frequency range are they?

Any where you want it to be. Here's some of the range of rosewood.

g

 

[MattZilla]

How do you guys dial in your amp/eq. to get the characteristics of the wood through?

I exclusively use a preamp with a Baxandall EQ and I set the bass at 8:00, the treble at 1:00, and engage both ultra switches. I also tend to dial in a lot of compression.

Then when I'm done having fun I set it back to where it sounds good for playing bass.

[edit] after thinking about it a sec, I have always been certain that I hear a distinct difference between some maple fretboard basses and some rosewood fretboard basses when solo'd and always hear a difference between them and wenge fretboard bronze fret Warwicks, in a mix most non-Warwick sound about the same. Despite not experiencing it yet, I'm pretty sure that a maple fret board Warwick Thumb, a rosewood fb WT, and a wenge fb WT would all sound the same in a mix, just as a maple board P bass and a rosewood P tend to sound the same in a mix.

 

[thetragichero]

matters with an acoustic bass or piezo pickup. besides that it's mostly just clever marketing

 

[jazzyvee]

The theory of 'tone wood' has been heatedly debated over the past few decades on Talkbass. The best advice that I can give you is to use Talkbass' search function and review the endless number of threads on the topic.

Absolutely and it's a minefield.

Personally I pay little attention to the claims about tone wood either way and have never bought a bass on the basis of the alleged tonal properties of any woods used in the construction. The woods on my basses for me are purely for the aesthetic. If there is any difference in tone that is attributed to tone woods in my basses then that is what I consider a side benefit as I'm not convinced I can hear and isolate the wood tone over everything else that contributes to the sound of a bass. However, as long as the bass sounds great, comfortable to play, well made and looks pleasing to me that is more or less what matters. As for EQ, i just eq my amp and bass to get the sound I want to hear or what works for the venue the contribution of the wood does not come into it that for me. YMMV

 

[A9X]

Here's some of the range of rosewood.

None of which is relevant to a bass guitar because of the way it us used.

 

[cnltb]

 

[Claymore]

It hasn't been settled in eons of Talkbass threads. Ooooooooh, but perhaps today is the day, though! Hold on... Let me get comfortable.

 

[equill]

I'm waiting for enough people to invest in carbon-composite instruments to start arguing about tone-resins, monocoque vs foam core, and the best fibre for metal.

 

[micguy]

Pick up your bass. Tap it and listen. Hear that note? That's the frequency range where the wood matters.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

 

[Rolling Thunder]

Pick up your bass. Tap it and listen. Hear that note? That's the frequency range where the wood matters.

I love all the recent tonewood threads. Reminds of when I used to be active on TDPRI (tonewood debate central).

 

[micguy]

I love all the recent tonewood threads. Reminds of when I used to be active on TDPRI (tonewood debate central).

Having an academic background (Acoustical Physics) where I actually KNOW about this stuff sometimes drags me into threads, where my input is....treated with about as much as respect as the next guy with.....an opnion.

Using different materials in the contruction of a bass do make it work differently. Whether or not it's significant...we'll never actually agree on that.

 

[FugaziBomb]

 

[Rolling Thunder]

Having an academic background (Acoustical Physics) where I actually KNOW about this stuff sometimes drags me into threads, where my input is....treated with about as much as respect as the next guy with.....an opnion.

Using different materials in the contruction of a bass do make it work differently. Whether or not it's significant...we'll never actually agree on that.

I like basses with real abalone inlays on the fretboard. When I play one it looks so cool that my playing somehow improves. So I guess inlays affect tone. Problem solved using scientific method.

 

[ZachM]

[edit] after thinking about it a sec, I have always been certain that I hear a distinct difference between some maple fretboard basses and some rosewood fretboard basses when solo'd and always hear a difference between them and wenge fretboard bronze fret Warwicks, in a mix most non-Warwick sound about the same. Despite not experiencing it yet, I'm pretty sure that a maple fret board Warwick Thumb, a rosewood fb WT, and a wenge fb WT would all sound the same in a mix, just as a maple board P bass and a rosewood P tend to sound the same in a mix.

Yep, and this is because the pickups, their construction, and their placement are far more influential than the wood in their contribution to the overall sound of a given bass. In your example here I can't think of two basses I'd expect to sound more different than a P-bass (single humbucking pickup, middle placement, passive electronics) and a Warwick thumb (two single coil pickups in jazz config with a notable bias towards the bridge, active electronics). They're gonna sound massively different, even if you used the exact same body, neck and hardware.

Alternatively you could make one bass out of poplar and one out of aluminum - if they have the same pickup placement and electronics they won't sound identical, but they will be in the same ballpark, basically.

I believe the wood matters, but to me it matters the most in terms of feel and response to the player. I prefer the feel of a maple fretboard personally and I do think it lends a little snappiness, but that's more of a detail for me than one anybody listening is ever gonna pick up on. The wood does influence and change the sound on electric instruments, but it's one part of the whole recipe, not the entire cake - and I think a rather smaller one than the pickups and electronics.

 

[bolophonic]

I think that attempting to dial in your amp settings according to wood species is going to be less effective in the long run to dialing in your tone according to the sound coming out of your speakers.