• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Tone wood

#22
AGCurry said:
I'm going to try a serious answer, even though this is a subject that causes much eye rolling, usually justified.

As has been pointed out, the woods in a solid-body instrument don't affect tone nearly as much as other factors. However, the most-pointed attack and greatest sustain result from materials which do NOT resonate with the strings. You would want materials which do not absorb vibrations. Furthermore, "tone" can be affected by which frequencies the neck and body absorb.
Because necks are subject to much more flexing than bodies, a stiff neck is your first consideration. After that, any stiff-wooded body should be fine.
Click to expand...
So do u have a suggestion for the neck ? My choice of body is alder and the neck is 5ply wenge/padouk . Please give me ur idea
 
#23
bearfoot said:
RS66LD-large.jpg
Click to expand...
These strings will provide the tone I want?
 
#25
doomprophet8 said:
These strings will provide the tone I want?
Click to expand...
Very possibly. They are a good place to start. They are at first a ridiculously bright, downright rude sounding string, and yet the lows are also full and present. The brightness will taper off fairly quickly - a few days or so - which some people say is the strings "dying".

I think the right string and pickups will be far more important than the wood of the body, because you are not building an acoustic instrument. No soundboard, no sound chamber, no reflective side/back woods. It's a non-issue, more cosmetic than anything else. (and weight is a major consideration for some of us)

What strings will work best for you I cannot say, but RS66 is the string most associated with bright bass tone.

If you go to record your music , recording bass with a fresh new set of RS66 is something to behold in the mix.
 
  • Like
Reactions: doomprophet8
#26
bearfoot said:
Very possibly. They are a good place to start. They are at first a ridiculously bright, downright rude sounding string, and yet the lows are also full and present. The brightness will taper off fairly quickly - a few days or so - which some people say is the strings "dying".

I think the right string and pickups will be far more important than the wood of the body, because you are not building an acoustic instrument. No soundboard, no sound chamber, no reflective side/back woods. It's a non-issue, more cosmetic than anything else. (and weight is a major consideration for some of us)

What strings will work best for you I cannot say, but RS66 is the string most associated with bright bass tone.

If you go to record your music , recording bass with a fresh new set of RS66 is something to behold in the mix.
Click to expand...
Great clarification dude. That is wise . I have chosen my pickups and with this string I think can get the tone I want and the wood would be cosmetics.thanks for ur help
 
  • Like
Reactions: bearfoot
#30
Volker Kirstein said:
Punchy? Sharp? Aggressive? Might I suggest a glossy maple fretboard? That hard, laquered surface meets those needs quite well. While it's true that maple is "softer" than rosewood, the thick layer of hard laquer on the finish, in conjunction with the (alleged) tonal qualities of maple, make it an ideal fretboard for hard, aggressive, punchy playing.

If a darker wood is your thing, perhaps ebony.

The key thing being the hardness of the fretboard. A rosewood fretboard with a thick layer of hard laquer will do just as well.

As for the body, Alder is fine.

Also keep in mind that the wood of the fretboard, neck, and body contribute only a small portion of the overall sound from a solid body electric instrument, and then only in the form of those tiny incremental steps above the "95% of the way to your sound" mark. Strings, pickups/electronics, amplification, and playing style contribute far more.
Click to expand...

Maple is considerably harder than rosewood, otherwise you are correct.

Edit!: Just checked up on it seems like I remembered wrong, you are right, it is indeed the other way around.

An even harder wood with similar tone qualities is jatoba (Edit!: about same hardness as rosewood, similar supposed tone qualities as maple).
 
Last edited:
#34
I would try to not overthink the tonal qualities too much and some good recommendations have been made. Make sure the bass fits you, is as comfortable as it can be. If it fits it will sound good too, you play better on a comfortable instrument.

If you have someone building the bass for you I suggest you talk to that person.

If you build it yourself then go with alder, maple neck and ebony fetboard because you like it and while it might not be perfect in the end, it won't be a terrible choice for sure. Building a bass is always exciting and overwhelming and you want to get it perfect but it is a learning curve and you have to be prepared for things coming out different than what you imagined.

And try many different strings, I believe they have the biggest impact on the sound of your bass.

And welcome and good luck with your project! :thumbsup:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Vinny_G and doomprophet8
#36
All basses sound different! (Even with same strings, hardware and electronics.) There is no rhyme nor reason. Wood can not be stereo typed.

We can start out building our dream bass with all the so called "right woods" and the end result may or may not be to our liking. A crap shoot.

Try out a slew of bass guitars and get the pick of the litter.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dr Gero and doomprophet8
#37
bassdude51 said:
All basses sound different! (Even with same strings, hardware and electronics.) There is no rhyme nor reason. Wood can not be stereo typed.
We can start out building our dream bass with all the so called "right woods" and the end result may or may not be to our liking. A crap shoot.

Try out a slew of bass guitars and get the pick of the litter.
Click to expand...


He's having one built.
 
#38
doomprophet8 said:
Hi guys. I am onto having a custome bass and searched alot about the woods ,
All I need is a punchy , sharp and agressive sound with attacks for progressive metal . This is my taste of sound not only the lows , I love the high mids and agressive attacks like dingwall basses .
So what kind of wood I should choose for the body and the top ????
I have chosen alder . If I am wrong please tell me . Thank u all .
Click to expand...

My guess is the paint color will make a bigger difference.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dr Gero, pappabass, FugaziBomb and 3 others
#39
Whatever anyone says, there's definitely a correlation between wood and ton, the neck probably contributes more than the body, but it is a system... the bridge is also a major component as it's what couples the strings to the body. Of course, the strings, electronics etc. are a huge factor. If wood doesn't matter then all basses with the same electronics, p/up positions and strings would sound the same (electronics, p/ups and strings are a constant, they do not have the variance that the body/neck have. (We're not even discussing the neck through body vs. bolt on neck either).
 
  • Like
Reactions: doomprophet8

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back