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Walnut or Ash body?

J

Jaydin Nathan

Sep 3, 2007
324
0
33
Sydney, Australia
#1
In a dilemma about which body wood to use. Here are the specs of the ACG bass:

Model : Recurve
Number of strings : 5
Scale Length : 35"

Body
Body Core : Northern Ash or Walnut
Figured Top : Flame Maple
Veneer : Black

Neck
Woods : 3 Piece Maple/Wenge/Maple Neck
Join: Bolt On
Fingerboard: Mac Ebony
Head Plate : Flame Maple
Back Plate : Ash or Walnut
Veneers : Black
Width at Nut : 43mm
Radius : Flat
Side Dots : Alloy
Profile : Asymmetric
Neck Thickness : 20mm (at first fret)
Frets : Standard Fret Wire (Nickel?)

Hardware
Colour : Black
Bridge/Spacing: Aluminum Hipshot Type A/18mm (with string-through body)
Tuners : Ultralites (3+2)
Strap-locks : Dunlop recessed
ACG Pickups : SB Single Coils (60's Jazz Positions)
Preamp : EQ01 (V/B, Neck Bass, Bridge Bass, Treble, Tone)
Voltage : 9 Volts

I'm looking for really clear and articulate tone, with lots of punch, slightly warm, low mids, but at the same time able to get a nice bright slap tone.

Thanks
 
#5
Body wood may not have a huge impact on tone, but it might make somewhat of a difference...that's one element I've never tested (unlike neck joint and scale length, which I've come across a few times).

Anyway, my Jerzy Mastery, which has a neck-through wenge neck with bubinga runners and an ebony fb, and the zebra top has a walnut body. I've played other basses with walnut bodies and found some of the same characteristics: tight low end, good defined high end, but very rich in the low mids without the muddiness sometimes associated with some woods. Walnut is, by far, my favorite body wood.

That said, you've got a lot of different woods and joints in there, so the entire recipe will likely produce something different than we could guess, just based on body wood itself. Plus, none of us know what part of the log the walnut will be cut from: lower down on the tree might be more dense which could have a different result than something closer to the top of the tree, etc...Too many variables...
 
#7
RAM said:
Body wood may not have a huge impact on tone, but it might make somewhat of a difference...that's one element I've never tested (unlike neck joint and scale length, which I've come across a few times).

Anyway, my Jerzy Mastery, which has a neck-through wenge neck with bubinga runners and an ebony fb, and the zebra top has a walnut body. I've played other basses with walnut bodies and found some of the same characteristics: tight low end, good defined high end, but very rich in the low mids without the muddiness sometimes associated with some woods. Walnut is, by far, my favorite body wood.

That said, you've got a lot of different woods and joints in there, so the entire recipe will likely produce something different than we could guess, just based on body wood itself. Plus, none of us know what part of the log the walnut will be cut from: lower down on the tree might be more dense which could have a different result than something closer to the top of the tree, etc...Too many variables...
Click to expand...

Wow!, that imho is the ultimate combo. At least for my purposes.
 
#9
edubb said:
Wow!, that imho is the ultimate combo. At least for my purposes.
Click to expand...
Well, our soundguy at our gig last week was blown away with it...he said it sounded as good as any bass he's ever heard...and he's also a bass player with some 30-odd years of experience (with his current band alone!!!).

Of course, I'm sure NONE of it had to do with my Avalon VT-737sp preamp between my bass and the board...:eyebrow:
 
#11
Spencer! said:
You're using that on bass? How does it sound?
Click to expand...
Like I've reached new heights in heaven! I've actually been using it for about 18 months...it replaced my Read Purity: completely different type of tone.

The Avalon is fat, clean, clear, round, flexible, and can do just about anything you'd want. The compressor is...well...need I say? It's probably as overkill as Millennia, but, it does the trick better than anything I could have imagined.

Being a Jerzy lover, I'm sure you can appreciate my excitement over it. I just wish my band would let me play this through my Epi rig instead of going direct...it sounds SOOOOOO amazing live!
 
#12
another vote for walnut. it looks good and sounds good, what more can you ask? my main bass is walnut/mahogany body so it's probably a bit darker sounding than what you're going for but from what I've always heard walnut is kind of the middle ground where as mahogany is about as dark as it gets and ash is a bit less dense so it's supposedly a bit brighter. If you go walnut body with a maple top, those are both kinda medium density woods so it should be very versatile.

Honestly though, I don't think it makes a super huge difference as long as it's a quality made instrument. I'd go with what looks best. That's walnut for me. I like dark woods.
 

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