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What is your favorite tonewood?

shal1234

shal1234

Dec 21, 2006
89
68
D.C.
#1
So what wood configurations do you guys find to be the most pleasing, and for what style?

I personally play fingerpicking style mostly, like a cello if you will. Lots of treble required, no mudd. I need a nice "airy" tone with deep resonance. Ash does this well, at least i think my bass is ash (peavey foundation 83')
 
#2
Talk to a luthier, they would be able to help. Although I asked Cliff Bordwell for exactly what you asked and he suggested walnut.

Ash can be a mixed bag (ie both good and bad) in my experience. I'm not that enamoured with the tone of 70's Fender Ash basses. I prefer alder. Clearly, it's a very personal thing.

Davo
 
#3
thanks. I found walnut to have the scooped mids just like everyone says, but it didn't have the resonance that i was looking for. I'm curious about this Merbau that ESP is using. and Mahogany with Ebony top? that sounds interesting.
 
#4
shal1234 said:
thanks. I found walnut to have the scooped mids just like everyone says, but it didn't have the resonance that i was looking for. I'm curious about this Merbau that ESP is using. and Mahogany with Ebony top? that sounds interesting.
Click to expand...

Wal basses generally have a mahogany core, with harder wood facings (and rear "facing", if that's the correct term :smug:).

I wouldn't really associate them with "airy and scooped" tones though :hmm:!?
 
#8
Alder. I've only recently discovered the differences between alder & ash really, and I prefer alder.

Those Gibson ES335's are made out of mahogany aren't they? Beautiful sounding guitars. I've always wondered what a semi-hollow mahogany bass wound sound like.
 
#11
shal1234 said:
So what wood configurations do you guys find to be the most pleasing, and for what style?

I personally play fingerpicking style mostly, like a cello if you will. Lots of treble required, no mudd. I need a nice "airy" tone with deep resonance. Ash does this well, at least i think my bass is ash (peavey foundation 83')
Click to expand...

If it's a natural finish it's Ash, but Foundations with opaque finishes are poplar.
 
#15
shal1234 said:
So what wood configurations do you guys find to be the most pleasing, and for what style?

I personally play fingerpicking style mostly, like a cello if you will. Lots of treble required, no mudd. I need a nice "airy" tone with deep resonance. Ash does this well, at least i think my bass is ash (peavey foundation 83')
Click to expand...

i always find ash thick and warm, with lots of bass, maple i found bites much more.
 
#16
Davo-London said:
Talk to a luthier, they would be able to help. Although I asked Cliff Bordwell for exactly what you asked and he suggested walnut.

Ash can be a mixed bag (ie both good and bad) in my experience. I'm not that enamoured with the tone of 70's Fender Ash basses. I prefer alder. Clearly, it's a very personal thing.

Davo
Click to expand...

I have the following basses -- Walnut w/Ebony Board, Mahogany w/Madagascar Kingwood Board, Mahogany with Rosewood Board, Swamp Ash with Rosewood Board and Alder with Rosewood Board.

MY favorite combination (by a very wide margin) is Walnut with an Ebony Board. The sound is incredibly percussive with really tight, deep lows, a somewhat compressed midrange and gorgeous bell-like highs. It is a truly phenomenal instrument.

The Mahogany basses tend to have a more pronounced midrange and slightly less well-structured lows.

The ash bass is punchy and bright with fairly tight percussive lows.

Of course you also need to think about pickups as well...definately find a luthier that you really want to work with and start talking about the sound you are looking for. I had NO IDEA that walnut / Ebony would be a good combination for me until I started asking questions of the guys at Fodera...
 
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#17
I like alder.
Ash can be quite "honky" in the mid range in my experience, and I don't like that.
In my experience alder seems to lend a more "open" tone.
Having said that there are sooo many more components that have an effect on the tone you'll get.
 
#18
For me it depends on the PU set-up

J basses... Alder or Ash... Rosewood Board
PJ basses... Maple (solid flame is nice), Poplar... Ebony Board = +
P basses... Ash.. Maple or Rosewood Board

I once had an Alembic Epic... Bubinga/Mahogany with Maple/Ebony neck... nice combination.
 

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