What preamp improved your Ibanez?

[Ijtraista]

It's funny how much perception varies. I have drawn the complete opposite conclusions regarding woods choices in electric basses. In an acoustic instrument, there is no doubt that wood matters, because the wood is your "amplifier". But, in an electric bass the energy from the strings is instantaneously transferred to the pickups, and out your amplifier. The wood doesn't have time to color that string energy, unless you are letting a bunch of notes sustain (which most bass players do not do). Pickups clearly have a huge impact, electronics have a huge impact, amplification and speakers have a huge impact, strings have a huge impact, action has a huge impact, even the bridge and nut impact that initial string energy. But, wood needs time to absorb string energy, before it can alter it. And in the case of an electric bass, that time really only exists in the context of long, sustained notes. The average staccato/muted bass note is transferred to your pickup and out your amplifier instantaneously,.....long before the wood has had a chance to alter the string energy.

I would agree that fretless players will get some noticeable coloration from wood, because they tend to let notes sustain, and the strings make direct contact with the fingerboard (which has big impact on the initial attack). But to your average, fretted, muted/staccato, electric bassist - wood in your least important factor, in my experience.

well, it's been awhile since I have posted that blurb... and yes, I would agree with you to a certain extent: short, muted, staccato notes might not fully express the wood sound colors, and yet, how can it be explained that ALL of my instruments (I happen to build & rebuild most of them) sounds quite distinct different when I change woods in the neck and body, many times just adding/changing the core of the body, while everything else, preamp, pickups, hardware, amp and speakers stays absolutely the same? While it's true that in what I play, I do let the notes 'express', )a bit in a 'classical style', I do love staccato/rhythm playing as well and what I am saying comes through all the time.
I am not here to say that what you experience it's not true, after all I believe that sound is definitely a personal 'n subjective thing. Few times I was just about to say good bye to a certain instrument just to tinker a bit more with, by adding a maple core to it that drastically, or just enough changed the whole equation. Last one I did so was with a Thumb 5 strings BO, ovangkol body, wenge neck. It was a rescue/repair thing and it's sound and bite was just terific; it was just a bit too brittle on the upper register to my ears. So I milled the core out and replaced it with some oooold birdseye maple that I had around for ages. The result? It sings now like a violin while retaining that Thumb'ish bite and growl. Everything else absolutely the same. It's absolutely fascinating playing with such subtleties. It's true that I could have screw it up for good end probably ireversible, but luckily my intuition was right.
Anyhow, thanks for the feed back bro.

 

[FNHScar17s]

Trick question...... nothing