basswood vs. poplar

Best tone wood for budget basses

  • Basswood

  • Poplar

  • Plywood

  • Particle board

  • Carrots

  • Broccoli

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#21
two fingers said:
Soooooo basswood is more poplar than it used to be? You would think with alder choices they could branch out some. I've been pining for a new bass build. Maybe after I spruce up my shop. When it's all said and done I bet I willow more than the bass is worth. My aspen putn this off for too long though.

:wacky:
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Son of a beech, yew beat me to it. But it's OakA . At least I have a pear of anteak basses so I won't be stuck in the larch.
 
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#23
Lo-E said:
Personally, I can't discern the difference in tone between poplar and alder, but I can hear the difference between those woods and basswood.
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Add Agathis to my roster. Of all the basses I've owned, the only solid wood I throw in the category of plywood is poplar. I've had one plywood bass that sounded as good as any I've owned, but the poplar basses I owned just didn't make the cut. :vomit:
 
#24
RED J said:
Add Agathis to my roster. Of all the basses I've owned, the only solid wood I throw in the category of plywood is poplar. I've had one plywood bass that sounded as good as any I've owned, but the poplar basses I owned just didn't make the cut. :vomit:
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When I look up the specs on Peavey Foundation basses, I find body woods made out of poplar, alder, maple, "finest selected hardwoods", and southern ash.
I am not sure I can tell which year or version of the Foundation is made of which body wood without looking up Peavey's specs.
When I look up the Peavey Forum (PJ and VFL) basses I find only poplar.
When I look up the Peavey Axcelerator 5 and Axcelerator I find only poplar.
 
#25
58kites said:
When I look up the specs on Peavey Foundation basses, I find body woods made out of poplar, alder, maple, "finest selected hardwoods", and southern ash.
I am not sure I can tell which year or version of the Foundation is made of which body wood without looking up Peavey's specs.
When I look up the Peavey Forum (PJ and VFL) basses I find only poplar.
When I look up the Peavey Axcelerator 5 and Axcelerator I find only poplar.
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To the best ofmy knowledge, most US Peaveys were Poplar, a few of the higher end models Ash, and some of the neck thrus more exotic woods.
 
#26
I currently have basses here with bodies made of Swamp Ash, Poplar and Basswood...and then one that could be made of Maple or Alder or "the Finest Select Hardwoods" but I don't know which.
I think the sound characteristics of most of them are more defined by the pickups and neck materials than the wood the bodies are made of.
The Peavey Super Ferrite pickups in the Foundation have a unique enough sound that it is pretty hard for me to compare to anything else, so what body wood was used seems secondary.
My Peavey G Bass had the highest MSRP when new. Peavey says it has a "solid basswood body" (that many people equate with budget basses)...attached to a 35" scale carbon/graphite composite neck!
It has one internally active Peavey made pickup and a Peavey made 3 band active boost/cut tone circuit.
Between the graphite neck and the active tone circuit, I am not sure that the body wood is a real important factor, also there is nothing out there to compare it to, so I don't know how the body wood plays into the sound.
My Warwick Rockbass $$ has Ash body wood, but the two MM style humbuckers placement and the series/parallel tone option probably characterize it's sound more than the body wood....I would guess.


RED J said:
To the best of my knowledge, most US Peaveys were Poplar, a few of the higher end models Ash, and some of the neck thrus more exotic woods.
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I think you are right, most of the Peavey basses I've looked up are poplar, but I was surprised by how many different body woods got used over the years with the Foundation basses.
Did you sell your Forum P-J and remaining Foundations?
 
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#28
I like basswood. It's light and every bass I've had made of it sounded great. Really great actually. The only negatives to me, it's soft so it dings easily and screw holes strip easier if you aren't careful and it doesn't seem to have interesting grain if you want to do a Trans finish.
 
#29
There's no sonic magic to alder or any of these woods. None of the "budget" choices seem to find their way into acoustic instruments (where "tone wood" is the real issue). As I understand it, Leo's choice of alder had nothing to do with sound - rather milling qualities and cost. Alder was regarded as nothing special and had never been used in instrument building. But it was easy to work and took paint easily. Most important it was available in the 50s in huge quantities for next to nothing. The rest is urban legend. If anyone can correct the foregoing information with verified facts, please feel free. The story had been repeated to me by several, unrelated instrument marketing old timers who were in the business in th 60s and 70s.
 
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#31
Particle board sounds absurd to include in this list, but when you realize the glue content (very consistent and stable) it doesn't sound like a bad idea. I was going to make a bass out of plastic wood, buy six big cans, layer it and shape it until a bass was formed, then paint it. I don't know what the weight would be, but it would be extremely strong and rigid. Probably bright sounding.
 
#32
pcake said:
i voted basswood, but would like to see alder on the poll, and actually one of my lightest basses is mahogany.

btw, i don't think broccoli has the tonal depth of carrots.



agreed that there is no "best".
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Worldeeeter said:
We here at the swamp ash lobby are greatly offended by the lack of inclusion in this thread!!! Harumph, harumph!!

Honestly, swamp ash is the best evah. Pretty lightweight, too. :)
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I didn't include ash and alder on purpose because these seem to be used less in the lower price range of basses. They would probably win any poll, and their tonal qualities have been discussed in detail on TB.
 
#33
Musicman stingray was made from ash alder and poplar in the 90's
Guess it doesn’t make a difference if you have active electronics.
I have an 96 MIM p-bass /poplar
It Sounds very good but the screw holes seem to wear out easily
 
#34
58kites said:
From the Warmoth website are descriptions of three woods for comparison:
Basswood is a lighter weight wood normally producing Strat bodies under 4 lbs.
The color is white, but often has nasty green mineral streaks in it.
This is a closed-grain wood, but it can absorb a lot of finish.
This is not a good wood for clear finishes since there is little figure. It is quite soft, and does not take abuse well.
Sound-wise, Basswood has a nice, growley, warm tone with good mids.
A favorite tone wood for guitar shredders in the 80s since its defined sound cuts through a mix well.
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The mineral streaks in wood is what gives it flame or sparkling. Maple has lots of minerals in it too. As for the green stuff, that goes away with proper drying of the timber.

And Basswood can have quite a bit of figuring in it. This is my kit P-bass before final assembly:
IMG_2718.jpg


Here it is with the first coat of stain:
IMG_2679.jpg
 
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#35
bassman10096 said:
There's no sonic magic to alder or any of these woods. None of the "budget" choices seem to find their way into acoustic instruments (where "tone wood" is the real issue). As I understand it, Leo's choice of alder had nothing to do with sound - rather milling qualities and cost. Alder was regarded as nothing special and had never been used in instrument building. But it was easy to work and took paint easily. Most important it was available in the 50s in huge quantities for next to nothing. The rest is urban legend. If anyone can correct the foregoing information with verified facts, please feel free. The story had been repeated to me by several, unrelated instrument marketing old timers who were in the business in the 60s and 70s.
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This is the story I've always heard as well.

Warmoth says Alder is very middle of the road in their tone chart, same with Poplar...the Poplar being slightly heavier weight.
 
#36
fretter said:
Basswood seems to be a very popular choice of tone wood for budget basses nowadays. Most older budget basses used poplar wood. Are they comparable? Why don't they use poplar anymore? Any ideas?
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I don't know the price of basswood, but judging by the local lumber store (which don't have much selection) poplar is expensive. I 1x12 board costs $5.51 a foot at Homedepot. That's about double what common board "pine" costs.
 
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