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Three basses--three woods

Discussion in 'Basses [BG]' started by apkbass, Apr 11, 2012.

  1. Apr 11, 2012 #1
    apkbass

    apkbass Guest

    Feb 26, 2012
    I am going to buy a Squier Jazz Bass as an addition to my collection. I have played many of these and I am satisfied with them. I'm not gonna make the extra jump for a MIM Fender. Anyway, I am looking at three axes: the Vintage Modified '70s (Soft Maple), Classic Vibe 60s (Basswood), and the Vintage Modified '77 (Agathis). Visually, I like them all equally, so it's really just down to the actual construction and the straight-up tone. I have heard bad things about the tone of Agathis and the softness of Basswood, but I don't know much about soft maple besides the fact that, ironically, it is a hardwood. Of these three basses, which would most likely give a sound closest to a MIA jazz bass?
     
  2. Apr 12, 2012 #2
    WoodyG3

    WoodyG3

    May 6, 2003
    Colorado, USA
    If you have played them, then I'd say just trust your own ears. There are variations between any two basses you pick up, regardless of materials. While you can generalize about tonal differences between woods, there are no absolutes. So, again, I'd just play them and decide based on whet you hear.

    And, BTW, there's nothing wrong with Agathis. I think people who say it is not a good tone wood are simply having a knee jerk response to the fact that it's not as expensive as most other woods used in instrument manufacture. :)
     
  3. Apr 12, 2012 #3
    apkbass

    apkbass Guest

    Feb 26, 2012
    Yeah, I can agree to that. Maybe all those snobs just have something against agathis because it's simply cheap. Cheap doesn't exactly mean bad.
     
  4. Mar 24, 2014 #4
    dje31

    dje31

    Dec 10, 2008
    Third rock from the sun
    Sorry to resurrect a zombie thread, but does anyone have any comparisons between the tone of a VM70s Jazz in soft maple vs the VM77 Jazz in agathis?

    All things being equal, I'd expect the agathis, being related to alder, might sound more traditional, but would like to hear folks' thoughts and experiences.