Why basswood???

[MegaSwing]

I’ve looked for a reason to dis basswood ever since I heard it was used in instruments. Every bass I’m interested in that uses it (e.g., MM Bongo) seems top-notch to me. The ‘dents easily’ issue is easily addressed by a sturdy finish. I have two Peavey G-Basses that use basswood, and they’re amazing. It’s time to go with the evidence.

 

[CryingBass]

Prunes are like dents. Is six enough? Is twelve too many?

 

[coyote1]

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.

It allows you to road-wear your new bass within weeks!

But seriously, there’s nothing wrong with basswood. Heck, poplar is also not a very hard wood.... but it has been used by some very upscale builders, so it is considered by many to be a ‘tonewood’. Such that it landed on your list. Tone is tone, and if basswood gives you great tone then use it.

 

[foolforthecity]

There are a few recently released, or about to be released basses that interest me, but I'm turned off by their basswood bodies. This is one for example.

Ibanez Bass Workshop EHB1000S Bass Guitar - Pink Gold Metallic Matte

I’ve played an Ibanez 1005MS on fifty+ 3 and 4 hour gigs in the past 8+ months. That’s a fair amount of play time and it still looks great. At 7.5 lbs I’m turned on to the basswood body! I also have an Aerodyne that’s been rode pretty hard since 2008 and it’s just fine. We each have our desires, and mine surrounds lighter weight. My basses are tools, not art.

 

[BurningSkies]

Let’s not forget that pine turned out to be a fantastic tone wood for amps

Especially for open backed guitar cabs.

Swamp ash is every bit as soft as basswood.

I was going to say this...super light means more air less wood...and more air usually means softer. My uber-light swamp ash Tele also has a thin nitro finish...so yeah, it's not one to bang-around. But then I don't bang around any instrument.

Basswood has been common since the 80s.
Other wood species are becoming lower quality and scarcer, and more expensive.

Okoume and Butternut are good alternates.
Many of the good properties of Swamp ash.
Empress is Paulownia aka kiri and has been a traditional cabinetry wood in Japan for centuries.

I built a 5string jazz that weighs 7lbs and change, with a Paulownia body.

I thought that butternut was hard to come by too these days? I know it works well and I've heard a lot of good about it over the years, but IIRC luthiers were saying that it was becoming a problem to source?

 

[Eilif]

Nothing to add that is revolutionary to the conversation. Just to echo that with today's thick finishes, a softer wood isn't much of an issue.

Also, weight is huge. The older I get, the more weight is an issue. Lighter is better. I have a Cedar-bodied Wendler frettless with a thin finish. Sure it's dentable, but dang is it light. 5.8 pounds for a solid body 35" scale instrument!

Lastly, I think more folks should consider Basswood as an core wood option for instruments that have fancy wood tops and/or backs.

 

[Alivefor5]

An obvious solution - 99' G&L L-1505. Basswood with Ash cap. Pretty, light, monster tone.

 

[Valvehead]

Tonewood deniers are in the same category as flat earthers.
Completely out of touch with reality.

 

[bench]

how did this get so long...?

 

[MordBass]

Most of the 80's/90's Ibanez RG guitars were basswood. Sounded great and took a beating just fine.

 

[gln1955]

how did this get so long...?

Everyone has to go to the mat for their unsubstantiated ideas about wood. Just another day on TB.

 

[BurningSkies]

Everyone has to go to the mat for their unsubstantiated ideas about wood. Just another day on TB.

My hot take on it is 'complex systems react complexly' therefore I'm not willing to say it's nonsense nor am I willing to buy into hyperbole.

 

[Standalone]

Tonewood deniers are in the same category as flat earthers.
Completely out of touch with reality.

They are in touch with their reality -- for a number of reasons, tone wood on solid body guitars and basses can become increasingly meaningless as other factors come in to play:

• Active Preamp,
• Pickup Tone and Sensitivity,
• Amp Coloration,
• Compression,
• Effects,
• Weight and Aesthetics Impacting Perception of Tone
• and Confirmation Bias.

The way you've voiced your take may be in the "confirmation bias danger zone...!"

I have experienced differences in tone and sustain based on differences in body wood, but these are subtle and subject to so many factors that the only certainty is that one cannot reliably be assured of the impact of tone wood from bass to bass. It's very much worth talking about and listening for, but it is not as simple as we'd maybe prefer it to be.

Here's part of what I think has changed in bass wood choice (I'm no expert, this is just my sense of some of what has happened.) --

In the late seventies, heavy, hard woods like Ash and high mass bridges were the fashion -- brighter sounds and longer sustains suited the recording tech and musical tastes of the seventies. So were natural finishes, suitable to the grain of Ash.

But things change. Amp tech began to change (with GK in my view) and bring out the sustain and snap of basses not made of ash and brass. So the brighter tones needed to modernize the sound coming from the Ampegs and Acoustics and Kustom Tuck and Rolls was no longer necessary in the design of the bass. Stage theatrics became fashionable in the big hair eighties too, and lighter basses started coming out of Japan and onto world stages. The move to digital recording and home listening also had an impact - the scooped SWR and Eden sounds were very suitable to the new sound of CD's... but eventually that newness wore off and everyone wanted to go back to thump and drive of an old bent plate bridge alder P Bass.

Take it to 2021, and people are migrating back to passive pickups. A decade of smartphones and streaming (and an era of global political, social, economic, and environmental challenge) drives a need to seek more natural sounds and a return to the vintage vibes of decades perceived as better and simpler.

Anyway, there is a lot going on. Our times impact our ears, and what we expect to hear and seek out in an instrument, a performance, or a recording. Tone wood does too, but it's not always so simple. YMMV

 

[bench]

Everyone has to go to the mat for their unsubstantiated ideas about wood. Just another day on TB.

ok, now it makes sense...

 

[micguy]

Basswood is actually not that fragile. If you want to obsess about a fragile wood, try Pulownia or Balsa - those are far easier to dent. I've had a couple basses that were basswood, with caps of harder wood. I never noticed that there were dents on the basswood, any more than there were dents on the harder wood (actually, I didn't really get dents anywhere). The thing about basswood bodies is they're BODIES - the body is either on a stand, in a case, or on your body. The headstock of a bass gets a LOT more action in terms of dents - it's out there, swinging around in an area you're not paying much attention to. Generally, you're not running around chest bumping other musicians or walls while on stage, so the body (which is right in front of your body) doesn't get hit as often as you might think.

If someone wants to make you a neck out of basswood, I'd worry about dents on the headstock. A body, not something I'd worry about.

 

[magyk8ball]

I have no problems with basswood, and have it on a few guitars and basses. My EHB1500 is fantastic, for instance, and ive had some MIJ guitars for a long while without any more dents than anything else. Its maybe a bit softer, but i dont really care and havent had any problems. 'Reliced' instruments are a thing, and i suppose softer wood is one way to naturally relic something a bit faster.

Per BMW and Sterling Ball on choosing basswood for the bongo: Ernie Ball Music Man team discovered that basswood provided the best balance of tonal qualities, resonance, and sustain while also being a sustainable resource.

The History of the Bongo Bass: A Collaboration with BMW’s Designworks

 

[dkelley]

It's fine for the cheaper basses, but I've seen basswood bodies on basses that cost well over a grand. We the buyers should not have to be overly concerned about not hurting our basses because the manufacturers have not hunted down and purchased sufficient lightweight but harder woods.

Actually basswood is considered quite the go to option on some higher end guitars (the 6 string electric guitar variety). It's not about price, often, it's about choice and preference.

People like basswood for tone and weight. Good reasons. People dislike it because of the softness. Finish is the most obvious downfall (Dents), but also an issue that comes up is strap button screws.... they have pulled out on more basswood bodies than anything else, based on online reading experiences I've had. But decent manufacturers use more serious screws in basswood than in other woods to make up for it... voila, problem solved with a little bit of decent engineering.

 

[dkelley]

*though I forsee my Swamp ash Telecaster with slab antique brazilian rosewood fretboard becoming a 'unicorn' in the guitar world.

yea, my warwick corvette's swamp ash body will become the sought after model, not the Bubinga bodied models that other folks seem to think are superior due to sounding so dark (But I dislike for that exact reason and because they weigh like 2 to 3 pounds more!).

 

[dkelley]

My nephew owns an Aerodyne jazz with a hard poly finish , and it dents if you look at it hard, regardless of how much you baby it. Other than being really light, I cant think of much to recommend it, other than it carves nicely. My Dad used to carve birds with it, it takes fine detail nicely, perfect for something intended to be kept on a shelf, out of harms reach....

Strangest use for a bass that I've ever heard.... (kidding kidding)

and it dents if you look at it? You, sir, have super laserbeam eyes!

(again just kidding, I haven't had my coffee yet)

 

[Spectre Gunner]

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.

If you don't like Basswood there are many other woods to choose from. There are some advantages to basswood bodies to include being light weight and lower cost.