Since everything makes a difference, should I be using plastic or metal knobs to get a flea tone?
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Tone wood
- Thread starter doomprophet8
- Start date
Since everything makes a difference, should I be using plastic or metal knobs to get a flea tone?
Can't say I have... the finish on my Kiesels is ~0.125mm thick, so imagine my surprise that a Fender is basically a musical jawbreaker.
Yeah, can't say I measured it, but it is thick ! Enough to dampen vibration. Along with body of guitar pressing against body, hand on neck...
Ok, how about this one then:
"If a tree falls in the woods and there are no one there to hear it, will it still make a sound?"
I'd be inclined to think, based on this discussion we had, that you would be some of the people claiming that it would in fact not make a sound.
Well he uses metal ones, but it's really the jack he uses that defines his tone... Either that or the faces he pulls, but I haven't yet finished my rigorous scientific testing. I've had one anomalous result and everyone knows that you have to get exactly the same result every time before recommending one over the other, because otherwise it's not true science... or something.
Best tonewood for metal? Gotta be pau ferro (ironwood). 
On a serious note, I like mahogany. I guess a mahogany/maple cap in the style of a Les Paul might be way cool. Finished maple fingerboard may help a lot too.
On a serious note, I like mahogany. I guess a mahogany/maple cap in the style of a Les Paul might be way cool. Finished maple fingerboard may help a lot too.
You have absolutely no idea what a controlled scientific experiment is, do you?
What difference does it make to you since you obviously have absolutely no idea what science is?
What I claimed is a scientific fact, no matter how much you try to turn my claims into something they never were.
If body wood is so important... why do most of the very high-end builders use alder or ash? Why is the Bongo the 'lowly' basswood? Wouldn't the 60+ years of solid-body work have unearthed more high-end tonewoods than the cheapest, most readily available wood that Leo could find? And how do they chamber these things, and yet still get such a high-quality sound?
I know it's pointless to argue, just postulating.
I know it's pointless to argue, just postulating.
If body wood is so important... why do most of the very high-end builders use alder or ash? Why is the Bongo the 'lowly' basswood? Wouldn't the 60+ years of solid-body work have unearthed more high-end tonewoods than the cheapest, most readily available wood that Leo could find? And how do they chamber these things, and yet still get such a high-quality sound?
I know it's pointless to argue, just postulating.
If good music really was a thing how come we are not all only hearing one song by now, the absolutely best one?
I am not saying that all music is crap, but just think about it.
Strange, huh?
At least you eventual came to that realization.
Not everyone would be willing to admit such thing about them self.
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If body wood is so important... why do most of the very high-end builders use alder or ash? Why is the Bongo the 'lowly' basswood? Wouldn't the 60+ years of solid-body work have unearthed more high-end tonewoods than the cheapest, most readily available wood that Leo could find? And how do they chamber these things, and yet still get such a high-quality sound?
I know it's pointless to argue, just postulating.
Bodywood is not all that important. Neck wood is much more. But it does make a difference, and when you have a chance to specify every aspect of a guitar for your own tonal goal, there's no reason to settle for anything less than what materials are known to have the properties you seek. Alder has nice tonal properties for both bass and solid body electrics. Don't have that much experience with ash, but it seems similar. Basswood is just fine for a bodywood, tonally speaking, not quite as rich as alder, but is quite soft.
Don't think that just because it was cheap, Leo didn't consider the tonal properties. He engineered his instruments to sound how he designed them to, with all the tolerances inherent in mass-manufacture in mind. He was both an engineer and a businessman, but I would say he was an engineer first.
Just look at how his early designs have survived, with each one having a particular tonality, easily recognisable by people who are familiar with them (P bass, J bass, Telecaster, Stratocaster).
Putting my Physicist hat on, if something on the bass is resonating, it has vibrational energy - where did it get that energy from? Yes, it got it from the string(s).
If you’ve ever had a bass with a pronounced dead spot, you’ll recognize that the neck is VERY resonant at that frequency , and it does indeed steal energy from the string - at an alarming rate.
That's right, how could the essence of wood be so important under a thick layer of paint and varnish? I think especially of those who believe that wood breathes.
Tone of the wood is important and woods do have different sounds which can and will come across the overall sound of the instrument. But it's not as important as some may imply. Not only that, not all trees are the same nor do they grow the same and many are even grown in very different environments which can have an effect on their tone. When you're playing a bass how can you know if it's the pickups, strings, technique, neck construction, materials, age of wood, tuners, electronics, wiring, preamp, amp, bridge, nut, wood type, setup, bridge, pick, fingers, playing style, build quality, frets, etc that is contributing to the overall sound of the bass? The true answer is that it's a contribution of all those elements that make up the overall tone. There is no valid way to isolate just one of those elements and claim that is what makes or breaks the tone.
Just get or design what you like you and appeals to you visually and then work on your own technique, theory, and general abilities. Nothing will make a bass sound great as much as the human playing it. Simply go with what makes you happy and inspires you.
Just get or design what you like you and appeals to you visually and then work on your own technique, theory, and general abilities. Nothing will make a bass sound great as much as the human playing it. Simply go with what makes you happy and inspires you.
