The (B)Asswood thread

[Inazone]

I'm a big fan of basswood for gigging, because it is light, and because it seems to fit the in-between frequency range ("produces a fairly even and full mid-range response throughout the entire band width") that can be hard to dial in when miked and running through a PA. For whatever reason, a lot of live sound guys still think that metal bands want to play with totally scooped mids, so I do whatever I can to combat their ineptitude using gear.

I don't like hot pickups with basswood, but something like the PAF Pro really has proven to be a good fit.

[wilkinsi]

i read elsewhere apparantly the basswood would no longer be a problem if you install active pickups. is this true?

[CharvelRocker]

i read elsewhere apparantly the basswood would no longer be a problem if you install active pickups. is this true?

I have EMGs on my Basswood Charvel, and it sounds great. I never really had any issues to begin with though, probably because in both cases the pickups are attached to the pickguard and floating, making it kind of a moot point.

[Bert]

Back when I owned a model 4 I made a few mods to it. The wood was NOT soft and NOT light. I wonder if it really was basswood .... I tried a bunch of other Model 4's and they were also remarkably heavy for what is supposed to be such a light wood.

[max]

There are simply a lot of very dull and dead sounding basswood guitars out there. Then the logic is: basswood is used for cheaper Japanese guitars, therefore basswood has to be evil. On the other end neck-through guitars tend to be expensive, good sounding guitars, therefore neck-through construction has a reputation to sound good and have lots of sustain.

Some of my Jacksons are made of basswood or the "even worse" poplar and they just sound killer. Put a Duncan distortion in and off you go.

I dont think it has a lot to do with guitars not having real basswood as Tom Anderson says. Those brands in question can make a bad sounding guitar out of any kind of wood.

[Norton]

With right pickups basswood sounds great. Not good - great. Not better or worse than something else, that would be too subjective to say, but... OK, the best sounding Jackson I have (out of 4, incuding CS) is basswood SL2. From the few Iabnezes I own, the basswood one arguably sounds the best. At least it sounds very good. So when I see the comments about the 'asswood' I just ignore it and move on to the netxt post.

Aren't the SL2's made of poplar?

[danastas]

I have 3 Basswood guitars. All are great, but all 3 are also completely different because of the pickup. I have a Anderson Drop-top with a chamber, basswood body, Koa top. Very unique sound.

An EVH that's my main player, and a Charvel Learn graphic that I'm playing mostly these days.

What can I say, I love the sound of basswood. I put it up against my Mahogany body guitars unplugged, and the basswoods are always the ones that resonate best. I think this is the difference. Some of the bottom end is muted, but the mids are incredibly resonant. May not be the thing for heavy metal.

LAstly, Suhr believes that the "holy grail of tone" is basswood body with a maple cap.

[soc_monki]

There are simply a lot of very dull and dead sounding basswood guitars out there. Then the logic is: basswood is used for cheaper Japanese guitars, therefore basswood has to be evil. On the other end neck-through guitars tend to be expensive, good sounding guitars, therefore neck-through construction has a reputation to sound good and have lots of sustain.

Some of my Jacksons are made of basswood or the "even worse" poplar and they just sound killer. Put a Duncan distortion in and off you go.

I dont think it has a lot to do with guitars not having real basswood as Tom Anderson says. Those brands in question can make a bad sounding guitar out of any kind of wood.

and you also have to realize that every piece of wood is different. both my Jacksons are Alder, and my PRS CE22 is Alder...but the PRS is warmer sounding than both of the Jacksons (even with the same pickups...all EMGs). sure there is the fact that two have Floyds and the other the PRS trem, but if you knock on the wood you can tell a difference as well. the Dinky is the brightest, the V the most midrangey, and the PRS the warmest sounding. all made of alder, all with rosewood boards, all with maple necks.

i never said Basswood was a bad wood...just not a wood for me. but that doesnt mean ill never own one. just gotta find the right one!

and i like Poplar as well. my Music Man (arent they all pretty much?) is made of Poplar, and sounds really big and warm, with nice crisp highs. i have a duncan distortion in it and it sounds pretty impressive for being the Sub1 low line model! sustains like nobody's business, and sounds great whether i play rock or metal or whatever on it.

no wood is better than any other IMO...it just comes down to preference. i know what works for me and thats what i naturally gravitate to.

[toejam]

no wood is better than any other IMO...it just comes down to preference. i know what works for me and thats what i naturally gravitate to.

Pretty much. I've never been a real big fan of basswood. I dig poplar, think it's very similar to alder. Then again, I know people who don't like poplar.

[Valeck]

Sorry but it made me laugh ^^

[soc_monki]

Pretty much. I've never been a real big fan of basswood. I dig poplar, think it's very similar to alder. Then again, I know people who don't like poplar.

yea, thats what i think...similar to alder. my music man sounds totally different than my Jacksons, but that might also be attributed to the fact that i have a Duncan Distortion rather than EMGs in my EBMM! LOL and the hardtail vs. Floyd as well.

i like 'em both though.

[JACKSONFREAK]

My 82 San Dimas was Basswood. And it was the best sounding guitar i owned. damn i miss that guitar. The only basswood guitar i have now is that crackle strat body i got off of ebay. Im still workin on. I'm wondering what its gonna sound like.
Gil

[Rich#6]

EVH, Steve Vai, Joe Statriani, John Petucci and I am sure there are others that their signature guitars are basswood. They must not think its bad! Are they lacking tone in their sound? How can so many of us here love the older Charvel/Jackson Japanese import bold-ons and bash basswood? I don't get it.

[hippietim]

In a typical Strat guitar with a whammy and routes for pickups and other electronics, I don't think the body wood matters anywhere near as much as you guys think. The strings aren't making any substantial connection to the body at all. In my own experience the things that matter the most are the pickups, bridge material, frets, nut, fingerboard, neck thickness, and tuners. These are things that have a much closer coupling to the strings themselves. I bet if you built a guitar with your favorite tone wood and had an identically routed and painted basswood body to swap in, you'd barely be able to tell the difference. I know some guys did this very experiment with Tele bodies a few years ago and they had a very hard time telling the woods apart and a Tele is much more substantial piece of wood than your average metal guitar - very little wood is routed and the strings go through the body.

However, change your nut to bone from plastic and you will hear an immediate difference. Or stainless steel frets. Or a different bridge. Or a noticeably thicker/thinner neck.

[Twisteramps]

However, change your nut to bone from plastic and you will hear an immediate difference. Or stainless steel frets. Or a different bridge. Or a noticeably thicker/thinner neck.

I don't think the nut is going to make much difference other than open strings. I don't think stainless frets make a difference either.

Pete