(VOTE) Help me decide which top is best and or why

[madbass6]

IMHO the spalted maple in the first choice would give it better brightness than the rest

Wow finally something killed by death and I actually agree on!! absolutely The spalted maple ! first choice!!

 

[allenhumble]

All are gorgeous. That bass would look great in redwood burl if he has any. What's the body wood

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

As none of these will impact your sound - what do YOU like? They all look nice to me.

 

[Oddly]

1st redwood for me.
With gold hardware.

Glad to hear things are moving along...your previous thread must've spurred them into some action!

 

[DigitalMan]

Redwood first, walnut second.

The spalted maple thing is not my cup, and it's become quite commonplace these past few years.

The flame on that redwood is really nice.

 

[SLivinghouse]

The first redwood is just gorgeous! Holy cow!

 

[George Himmel]

I think the top on a Drozd is thick enough to impact the sound. That and I haven't yet seen a redwood top on one, which leads me to support that first flamed redwood. Second choice is the second walnut. Poplar burl is played out, even with Au hardware. Just my Guinness and Jameson-fueled hard opinion!

 

[Joe Nerve]

4th one down has little demons screaming to get the sound out. Just sayin...

 

[jaybones]

Maple, redwood then walnut.

Maple would give it a brighter tone, and it looks great.

Redwood, since not many basses have that wood (that I've seen).

Walnut last, because its heavy and relatively common.

 

[BlueAliceOasis]

Redwood or walnut

 

[marijn van gils]

Good idea to et the body outline on them for making your choice.
Checking out finished basses with similar tops helps too!

Poplar burl always fits great with Drozds:

It has indeed been done a lot though.

Walnut, with gloss lacquer:

Walnut, with satin lacquer:

Walnut basses might be common, but I haven't seen more than a couple of walnut Drozd's.
As a combination with this top, I would go with an ebony board, pickup covers and knobs though, to get a bit more contrast. Or for even more contrast: light (birdseye) maple for all of those!

And my favorite: Redwood with gloss lacquer:

For the darker woods, I would certainly pick gloss lacquer. It real brings out the grain and gives an extremely classy look. For lighter woods, I would prefer a thin satin coat to preserve that 'wood' feeling.

Enjoy choosing!

 

[pcake]

redwood #1 or walnut #1 for me.

 

[Reno2]

Redwood. Amazing

 

[BassLover668]

Last walnut , is awesome.

 

[southgabass]

I think it's a win either way on that! Personally I'd go with the redwood and black hardware, but could see the chrome on the burl.

 

[Watchootognbout]

I'd go with the redwood.Walnut for a back up.
Kudos on the choice of gold hardware!
My preference too!
Who says everything has to imitate the bumper of a '55 Chevy?

 

[benchpress11782]

I really don't care for the poplar burls unless they are stained a color or burst (like MTD does). Given those choices, coin flip between redwood and walnut. The redwood is more "classy" due to the simplicity, the walnut more complex. I've had a number of walnut topped basses (Rob Allen, Fodera, Smith) and they all sounded good, and depending on the finish, get prettier over time. Black hardware for me - I hate gold and avoid it at all costs. Total personal bias.

You'll also need to think about where the pickups and bridge sit, as that will be obscured/cut out of the top. That would likely take away some of the cool figuring on the walnut, the redwood would have less of an impact.

Interesting

 

[benchpress11782]

As none of these will impact your sound - what do YOU like? They all look nice to me.

I think I like the poplar with gold hardware. I don't have anything like that wood.

 

[bholder]

Good idea to et the body outline on them for making your choice.
Checking out finished basses with similar tops helps too!

Poplar burl always fits great with Drozds:

It has indeed been done a lot though.

Walnut, with gloss lacquer:

Walnut, with satin lacquer:

Walnut basses might be common, but I haven't seen more than a couple of walnut Drozd's.
As a combination with this top, I would go with an ebony board, pickup covers and knobs though, to get a bit more contrast. Or for even more contrast: light (birdseye) maple for all of those!

And my favorite: Redwood with gloss lacquer:

For the darker woods, I would certainly pick gloss lacquer. It real brings out the grain and gives an extremely classy look. For lighter woods, I would prefer a thin satin coat to preserve that 'wood' feeling.

Enjoy choosing!

drool drool drool Wow. I'm changing my vote, I think I'll say satin redwood now! But all absolutely gorgeous (of course).

 

[bholder]

I'd go with the redwood.Walnut for a back up.
Kudos on the choice of gold hardware!
My preference too!
Who says everything has to be chrome?

I like the looks of gold sometimes, but my skin oils seem to eat gold plating off of anything. And here I thought nothing but "aqua regia" (nitric+hyrdrochloric) could dissolve gold.