Lot PPL love Squier Classic Vibe bass guitar , those have basswood body.
Except butter Scotch and blonde CV 50p.
Except butter Scotch and blonde CV 50p.
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This thread seems breamful of people carping about what basswood basses are crappie.
Mostly, I read about floundering for reasons to diss Basswood, for the salmon, old reasons... Just for the halibut.
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I'm just pretty sure that tonewood isn't a thing on solid body guitars. Les Paul's whole concept was that the body should be completely dead and contribute nothing. First prototype was a length of iron train rail. Later he created "The Log" which you could think of as a neck-through design with detachable bouts, or as a heavy timber with tuners, nut, frets, pickup, and bridge attached.
Basswood...the color is mostly uniform throughout the face grain of the wood. Knots and other defects are uncommon. Easy to work, being very soft and light. Perhaps one of the most suitable wood species for hand carving. Grain is straight, with a fine, even texture and moderate natural luster. Basswood also glues and finishes well. has poor steam bending and nail/screw holding characteristics. It is not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
I suspect we will begin to see more and more instruments being made from non traditional woods as builders seek to find replacements for CITES listed species
I suspect we will begin to see more and more instruments being made from non traditional woods as builders seek to find replacements for CITES listed species
agathis and basswood are not even close to one another unless you mean in the hate department?
agathis is used a lot for making boat hulls
agathis has exceptional strength-to-weight ratio and rot resistance whereas Basswood does not
Basswood is a medium-sized to large deciduous tree
agathis is an evergreen conifer
Somewhat softer than some other body woods yes. I guess if a guy tends to be less careful with his gear maybe that would become a problem but it's never been for me. One mine is 10 years old and it's been gigged a lot. There's not a mark on it.
Tonally deficient? Not to my ears. My PBass is one of the best basses I've ever owned and gets more play than my ash body G&L 2500. I guess it depends on what you're after but there are quite a few ways to control tonality. I use all of them.
A few other things I've read defy common sense and logic or simply aren't true so I'll refrain from commenting on them.
Tonally deficient? Not to my ears. My PBass is one of the best basses I've ever owned and gets more play than my ash body G&L 2500. I guess it depends on what you're after but there are quite a few ways to control tonality. I use all of them.
A few other things I've read defy common sense and logic or simply aren't true so I'll refrain from commenting on them.
Same here for weight and balance and I've managed to get through 10 years with one and 5 with the other keeping both in top shelf shape after many rehearsals and gigs. I don't deny the softness of the wood but to ding one of mine you'd have to chip through the poly finish which itself is fairly thick and hard.
I've also replaced bridges, pickups, pickguards, and strap buttons/end pins on both while upgrading them and it's really not an issue if you know what you're doing. In a worst case scenario a stripped screw is easily repaired with a toothpick or some wood splinters and a little carpenters glue. Easy, peasy.
Some good info in this thread. I'm deciding between 2 fivers right now. An ESP LTD B-155DX made of basswood and a Sire/Marcus Miller M2 made from indonesian mahogany. I'm leaning toward the M2.
Personally I think it is one of the finer tonewoods out here. Very well rounded to my ear. Some of the best Stingray's I've heard are basswood. We used it on a lot of opaque basses in the 80's and 90's. John Petrucci, EVH, Some Vai GEM's are basswood for a reason. It's such an easy wood to work with as well. It's ugly that's the only knock I can think of.
The lumbar is less expensive yes, and that is only because it grows easily and plentiful in the USA! For Music Man, when we are going to cost a bass the body lumbar (blank) is almost not even a consideration. I wish we could offer more products in basswood but we don't because the perception of "cheapness".
The lumbar is less expensive yes, and that is only because it grows easily and plentiful in the USA! For Music Man, when we are going to cost a bass the body lumbar (blank) is almost not even a consideration. I wish we could offer more products in basswood but we don't because the perception of "cheapness".
That's because gear forums can spread misinformation faster than the wind can spread a forest fire.
Some of the most costly vintage Telecasters had pine bodies which is cheaper and as soft as basswood and yet they've survived for nearly 70 years and will probably survive another 70 years or more.
When the smoke from a nuclear holocaust clears all that will be left is cockroaches, Twinkies, and Telecasters.
I figure if Guild used it for the Pilots, there is nothing wrong with it. But then I'm very biased.
Basswood is fine. It's cheap and soft. Don't over tighten your hardware and you'll be fine.
The lumbar is another great reason. And yes, I love it as a tonewood on guitar. I've not yet formed my opinion about bass guitar yet.
It's nice to get some fresh opinions on the body wood. I'm not completely set on the M2, and haven't made up my mind. I'd be happy with the LTD , too. I brought these basses up to help form my decision. Any pros/cons?
My current go-to bass for rock is a 1987 Ibanez Roadstar II P-bass in cream white (w black pickguard) and I love it.
The basswood is so comfortably light. The tone is mid-focused and growly when you want it, and beefy when you need it.
The only discernible drawback is it does tend to be soft wood, so you might have to be ready to reinforce the strap lock screw holes at some point. But for $350 I'm extremely happy with it.
The basswood is so comfortably light. The tone is mid-focused and growly when you want it, and beefy when you need it.
The only discernible drawback is it does tend to be soft wood, so you might have to be ready to reinforce the strap lock screw holes at some point. But for $350 I'm extremely happy with it.
Poplar (540 Janka) is very close to the Fender "industry standard" Alder (590 Janka) in hardness.
Pretty difficult to tell the difference between a Poplar and an Alder bass when they have an opaque paint job.
Warmoth says they sound the same, and say that Poplar is slightly heavier than Alder.
Mahogany is much harder than Basswood.
Some Janka Hardness numbers:
Basswood 410
Poplar 540
Alder 590
Honduran Mahogany 900
Oregon Ash 1160
White Ash 1320
"Swamp Ash" 850
Hard Maple 1450
Poplar not Basswood.
Poplar not Basswood.
The standard Pilots have Poplar bodies.
They did make some 4 & 5 string higher end Pilots (900 Series and Pros) with Maple bodies, but the large majority of Pilots were made with Poplar.
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When the smoke from a nuclear holocaust clears all that will be left is cockroaches, Twinkies, and Telecasters.
and Keef....
