# Bass Body Woods?



## mickytee (Oct 17, 2010)

i've been playing bass for about 3 years now and im starting to get annoyed about the fact that i HAVE to have my bass in BEAD/AEAD OR EADG tuning.
i want the flexibility of both, so im going to buy a 5 string.

im looking at the ibanez sr505, however im a bit concerned that the mahogany body will make the B string muddy.
would that be the case? or am i just being paranoid? 
i could always get the sr605 with an ash body (for the same price), however im not sure whether ash lends itself well to metal/death metal.

in short:
* will a mahogany body make low tuned metal/death metal bass lines muddy?
* is ash a suitable body wood for metal bass lines?


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## Bigfan (Oct 17, 2010)

In short
* nope
* i would say yes

Neck wood has a lot more to do with tone than body wood, plus the pickups and amp are going to matter more than wood anyway.


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## SirMyghin (Oct 17, 2010)

> Neck wood has a lot more to do with tone than body wood, plus the pickups and amp are going to matter more than wood anyway.


QFT

I have a very nice walnut and maple bass, something to consider though, my bass weighs 12 lbs.


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## MaKo´s Tethan (Oct 17, 2010)

Hard and heavy woods sounds great in all kinds of music, but in my opinion, the worst wood for bass is basswood, I have played a GSR Ibanez with bartolini and it just don`t sound, the pick ups was nice, but you know, is not all about electronics, if the instrument is muddy, any pedal/pick up/amp/god can help it.


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## TemjinStrife (Oct 18, 2010)

I've heard excellent basses made out of basswood. Squier's CV Jazzes are fantastic and basswood, and some EBMMs are made out of it as well. It's lightweight and resonant, somewhere between alder and mahogany.


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## bostjan (Oct 18, 2010)

Bigfan said:


> In short
> * nope
> * i would say yes
> 
> Neck wood has a lot more to do with tone than body wood, plus the pickups and amp are going to matter more than wood anyway.





The muddiness comes from absorbtion of the second and third harmonics. You have every right to be concerned about the fretboard, neck, and body woods. I think that some of the perceived problems with mahogany and muddiness may stem from the use of mahogany in Gibson Les Paul Copies. For one thing, many budget guitars use a different kind of mahogany with a looser grain and lower density. The large pores in the wood combined with the shorter scale length of the string can kill off some of the harmonics on the low e fairly quickly; however, with regular (good quality, particularly South American) mahogany, you will see tighter grain and a higher density of the wood, and it will tend to reflect lower frequencies better and have peak absorbtion at a higher frequency.

The long and the short of it is that you should try the bass itself and see what you think.


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## mickytee (Oct 18, 2010)

does ash make a good bass body for metal? will it be suitable for low tuned BRUTAL bass lines?


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## SirMyghin (Oct 18, 2010)

Ash has an extremely variable density depending on type, or location on the tree for swamp ash. So the sonic properties are highly variant. My ash ASAT weights as little as my maple and alder NT which I consider extremely light, but has a much larger body.


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## mickytee (Oct 18, 2010)

the ibanez site describes the body wood as "Light Ash"


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## mickytee (Oct 19, 2010)

sorry to sound like a broken record, but would i be able to get a good clear, but gutsy metal tone from a mahogany bodied bass?

i really dont want to spend alot of money on a new bass only to have it mud up on me 
(i dont have the facilities to try this bass at a local store. none of them have it and they will only get it in store for you if you order it )


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## drmosh (Oct 19, 2010)

mickytee said:


> sorry to sound like a broken record, but would i be able to get a good clear, but gutsy metal tone from a mahogany bodied bass?



I also don't want to sound like a broken record, but not all mahogany is alike. You can't say that all mahogany will have a "muddy" low end. It comes down to trying out the basses or talking in detail with whatever luthier will be building the bass


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## bostjan (Oct 19, 2010)

The tone depends on:

10 parts your playing
8 parts your amp
6 parts your pickups
5 parts your strings
3 parts your fretboard neck material
2 parts your fret material
1 part your body wood

You can get a great metal tone with ash or mahogany, just like you can make a great spaghetti sauce whether you use olive oil or safflower oil.  You can also get a tone that doesn't fit metal at all with either of these body woods, it just depends.


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## TemjinStrife (Oct 19, 2010)

With basses, 99% of mud is in speakers, amplification and EQ, pickups, and technique.


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