Why basswood???

[wraub]

I have an Ibanez bass that has a basswood body. It was made in 1985.
I've been playing it almost that long. It has toured the country in a case too big for it, it has been dropped and knocked over, it has been painted on and had said paint removed, it's had hardware changed... and it may be the most solid feeling bass I own.
The paint is in worse shape than the body, almost no dents in the wood, just the paint. I don't know what they treated it with, but don't let 80s Ibanez basswood keep you from a good bass.

It's such a soft, easy to dent wood!

With Ash, maple, poplar, mahogany and other good sounding, though often heavier (but not always) woods with which to build bass bodies.

That's my point, why not build basses and guitars with harder woods so I can worry less about them. Things happen onstage, I've had a couple take a hard fall.

With CNC machines most woods are easily shaped, so why not produce a bass that can take a little punishment once it leaves the factory?

 

[JReno]

Why We Use Basswood For Our Instruments

I will say that based on my own personal experience, even though basswood might be a softer wood, my alder and ash instruments actually have more dings than my basswood bongo. I'm sure I'm probably just more cautious with it. Do I wish it were harder wood? Sure. Have I found it to be an issue? Not at all. Would I trade the lightness (and possibly tone?) of the bongo for it being a bit more durable? Definitely not. For the record, I am also notoriously clumsy.

 

[Son of Wobble]

I can’t stand it when people who don’t know how to, are incapable of, smashing a guitar properly try to do it onstage.

I remember Paul Stanley doing it. He’d whack it once after a song and it would be broken. What fun is that?
Sammy Hagar did it once when ‘his’ guitar was touched by someone else. Again between songs, no musical context. Couple swings and it was over. Then there’s this chick, who is clearly too weak to do the job.

vid quality and sound quality not great here, but this is how it’s done:

Wow, that's epic, hadn't seen it. That part where he swings the broken bits by the strings was impressive, and probably rather hard on the fingers.

 

[coyote1]

I agree with Gorn -- the whole "tonewood" discussion is so vastly exaggerated. The wood used for the body has way less to do with the sound of an instrument... and yet many folks continue to spin themselves into a tizzy, going on and on about it.

Neck wood, fretboard wood, bridge design, nut material and especially the pickups and electronics all have a bigger play in an instrument's voice before the wood used in the body.

Don't get me started on figured tops.

Tonewood matters with acoustic instruments. But there, mostly only the top.

 

[Son of Wobble]

I can’t stand it when people who don’t know how to, or are incapable of, smashing a guitar properly try to do it onstage.

I remember Paul Stanley doing it. He’d whack it once after a song and it would be broken. What fun is that?
Sammy Hagar did it once when ‘his’ guitar was touched by someone else. Again between songs, no musical context. Couple swings and it was over. Then there’s this chick, who is clearly too weak to do the job.

vid quality and sound quality not great here, but this is how it’s done:

After seeing Blackmore toss his axe high, I thought a cautionary clip was in order.

#notbasswood

 

[coyote1]

When you stop and think on it, basswood is a natural for our instrument.... dunno why so many folks knock it, when it’s named BASSwood

I have an Ibanez bass that has a basswood body. It was made in 1985.
I've been playing it almost that long. It has toured the country in a case too big for it, it has been dropped and knocked over, it has been painted on and had said paint removed, it's had hardware changed... and it may be the most solid feeling bass I own.
The paint is in worse shape than the body, almost no dents in the wood, just the paint. I don't know what they treated it with, but don't let 80s Ibanez basswood keep you from a good bass.

 

[BassoSaku]

Basswood, like ash are actually great woods for a bass. Harder woods tend resonate faster to emphasize the high mids and treble, whereas more softer/lighter woods resonate slower=emphasize lower frequencies. How much that actually carries over with pickups to the amplifier is that age old debate. I like my basswood and ash basses as well as maple Rickenbackers.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Why We Use Basswood For Our Instruments

I will say that based on my own personal experience, even though basswood might be a softer wood, my alder and ash instruments actually have more dings than my basswood bongo. I'm sure I'm probably just more cautious with it. Do I wish it were harder wood? Sure. Have I found it to be an issue? Not at all. Would I trade the lightness (and possibly tone?) of the bongo for it being a bit more durable? Definitely not. For the record, I am also notoriously clumsy.View attachment 4173904

That's cool! (Even though, I still think they look like a toilet set )

 

[dkelley]

They were Poplar bodies, not Pine. Heavy because they are big slab bodies.
Poplar is listed as slightly heavier than Alder according to Warmoth.
But my Pine Squier is a heavy bass with one little pickup and a light vintage bridge.

Damn. ya know, after I posted that I started thinking.... was it Poplar? I'll take your word for it. I do recall people removed the finished and found the wood was slightly green.

Sorry for the misinformation!

 

[Bassclef46]

When you stop and think on it, basswood is a natural for our instrument.... dunno why so many folks knock it, when it’s named BASSwood

its not fish wood

 

[Mastermold]

I think the "cheap wood" connotation has been debunked. Basswood can be great for instruments. The EBMM Bongo being a good example.

Edit:

From the EBMM website (link posted already above):
"A lot of controversy surrounding basswood stems from the fact that it varies in quality. Certain pieces of basswood sound great, and other pieces can sound really bad. If you compare the weight of less expensive guitars to more high-end models made of basswood, you will find that most high-end guitars weigh less and normally sound better. Companies who mass produce guitars tend to use basswood, so this evidently alters the perception of basswood in the industry. Here at Ernie Ball Music Man, we ensure the best quality basswood and instill the highest level of craftsmanship for our instruments."

 

[Rayjay]

Call me crazy but I can hear a great difference in the ash basses and basswood basses I’ve owned. Basswood has a distinctive honk and ash, particularly denser ash, has a much fatter tone. To my ears.

 

[Ric5]

I had a basswood p-bass that was very light and it resonated nicely

 

[r_bnks]

Call me crazy but I can hear a great difference in the ash basses and basswood basses I’ve owned. Basswood has a distinctive honk and ash, particularly denser ash, has a much fatter tone. To my ears.

That honk is what I'm after. Unmistakable.

 

[TinIndian]

I don't buy into the tonewood is nonsense but that is another beat to death topic for another thread. By the same token I have no problem with basswood at all.

 

[chris70x7]

I agree with Gorn -- the whole "tonewood" discussion is so vastly exaggerated. The wood used for the body has way less to do with the sound of an instrument... and yet many folks continue to spin themselves into a tizzy, going on and on about it.

Neck wood, fretboard wood, bridge design, nut material and especially the pickups and electronics all have a bigger play in an instrument's voice before the wood used in the body.

Don't get me started on figured tops.

You're right- I think it was the pickguard.

 

[Mastermold]

I don't buy into the tonewood is nonsense but that is another beat to death topic for another thread. By the same token I have no problem with basswood at all.

Well, whatever material an instrument is made from will affect how it sounds so it makes a difference. But "good sounds" can be made from all kinds of material. Remember the cardboard Fender Strat?

 

[staurosjohn]

As for harder woods that are light, there are very few light weight woods that are significantly harder than similar weight woods. Hardness usually runs with weight and density.
Here's a list of the weight and hardness of some well known woods used in bass and guitar making.

Basswood 26lb/cubic foot and 410 on the hardness scale.
Alder 28 590
Poplar 29 540
Mahogany 37 900
Walnut 38 1,010
Hard Maple 44 1,450
Padauk 48 1,650
Wenge 54 1,930
Gidgee 72 4,270*
OK, Gidgee isn't exactly a commonly used luthiers wood, but it is used occasionally in it's native Australia to make lovely super hard fretboards. It's really just an extreme example of the weight to hardness ration at the top end of heavy/hard woods.

Remember all of these weight and hardness figures are averages. some species of for instance, Mahogany, might be a bit heavier than others and where a tree grows may affect it's weight density and hardness. That's why Swamp Ash and Northern Hard Ash can be so different in weight and hardness, yet they are the same species, just growing in different places.

 

[Iridescentone]

Wood phobia seems to a thing on Talkbass. There must be name for those who suffer from this horrible disorder. Hmm...

"Wood" in the Greek: Can't read Greek, going with Latin.
"Wood" in Latin: lignum....Lignuphobia

"Lignuphobics". Yes, there are lignuphobics running around loose on TB.

Reported!

 

[Iridescentone]

Call me crazy but I can hear a great difference in the ash basses and basswood basses I’ve owned. Basswood has a distinctive honk and ash, particularly denser ash, has a much fatter tone. To my ears.

k....you're crazy.