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Basswood, like all wood, has good and bad varieties. Many crapass import models that flooded the shelves in the 80s (Hondo, etc) that weren't made of plywood were made of the Asswood everyone thinks about.
Basswood is a fairly soft wood that dents easily, much like mahogany. However, since mahogany is associated with expensive furniture and Les Pauls, everyone thinks all mahogany is superior to anything else. That's a false assumption, clearly.
Though I love my Jacksons, Alder and Poplar sound a bit "plain" to me. Like there's no real character other than what the pickup and amp can provide. My old Ibenhad EX350 nailed certain "trademark Ibanez" tones like Satch (Surfing, though Satch said he used a Kramer Stagemaster for that album) and Skolnik (Souls Of Black, particularly the opening solo to the The Legacy).
The only Jacksons I've had that could nail certain specific tones are my JacksonStars NASLs (mahogany body & neck for that early Sabbath SG tone) and my USA Charvels for Iron Maiden (NOTB-Powerslave).
While the others don't sound "bad", they don't sound "familiar". To be honest, I can't recall listening to anyone who actually played a Jackson when they were doing it. At least not enough to cop their tone. Ratt, Jake Lee, Stryper. That was pretty much it from the Jackson camp. Most of what Rhoads did on record was his LP, the Sandoval, or his Concorde, as I recall. Don't recall ever hearing anything about what specific tracks he used the black one on, if any.
And say what you will about the Lo-TRS Floyd, it has a unique tone. Hollow, yes, to a degree, and not as tight as an OFR, but I like that certain harmonic degeneration sometimes. It's a tonal Crayon not found in the Floyd box. While the OFR may last longer, it's always going to be missing that certain tonal characteristic. Ibanez can kiss my ass till the end of time, and I'll never own another one if I can help it, but that EX350 with the shitty wood and the shitty fretwork and the shitty trem and shitty pickups had a sound I miss.
Basswood is a fairly soft wood that dents easily, much like mahogany. However, since mahogany is associated with expensive furniture and Les Pauls, everyone thinks all mahogany is superior to anything else. That's a false assumption, clearly.
Though I love my Jacksons, Alder and Poplar sound a bit "plain" to me. Like there's no real character other than what the pickup and amp can provide. My old Ibenhad EX350 nailed certain "trademark Ibanez" tones like Satch (Surfing, though Satch said he used a Kramer Stagemaster for that album) and Skolnik (Souls Of Black, particularly the opening solo to the The Legacy).
The only Jacksons I've had that could nail certain specific tones are my JacksonStars NASLs (mahogany body & neck for that early Sabbath SG tone) and my USA Charvels for Iron Maiden (NOTB-Powerslave).
While the others don't sound "bad", they don't sound "familiar". To be honest, I can't recall listening to anyone who actually played a Jackson when they were doing it. At least not enough to cop their tone. Ratt, Jake Lee, Stryper. That was pretty much it from the Jackson camp. Most of what Rhoads did on record was his LP, the Sandoval, or his Concorde, as I recall. Don't recall ever hearing anything about what specific tracks he used the black one on, if any.
And say what you will about the Lo-TRS Floyd, it has a unique tone. Hollow, yes, to a degree, and not as tight as an OFR, but I like that certain harmonic degeneration sometimes. It's a tonal Crayon not found in the Floyd box. While the OFR may last longer, it's always going to be missing that certain tonal characteristic. Ibanez can kiss my ass till the end of time, and I'll never own another one if I can help it, but that EX350 with the shitty wood and the shitty fretwork and the shitty trem and shitty pickups had a sound I miss.
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