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Basswood Body Soloist

xD

no but my tastes are highly suspect....

remember... I'm the guy who wants to build THIS.

nonmoregoth.jpg
 
AGWAN said:
xD

no but my tastes are highly suspect....

remember... I'm the guy who wants to build THIS.

nonmoregoth.jpg

That's not so odd.

Just so you know, I'm the proud owner of an original Paul Stanley Iceman. 2nd guitar I ever had. I like the crazy stuff too.
 
AGWAN said:
xD

no but my tastes are highly suspect....

remember... I'm the guy who wants to build THIS.

nonmoregoth.jpg

That's not wierd at all. I thought you'd be more inclined to build something like this:

weirdguitars_front2.jpg
 
Disco Scottie said:
That's not so odd.

Just so you know, I'm the proud owner of an original Paul Stanley Iceman. 2nd guitar I ever had. I like the crazy stuff too.

I'm not a big kiss fan, but that guitar is really freaking awesome.

and.... Doughboy

WHO ON EARTH WOULD MAKE SUCH A GUITAR?!?!
 
AGWAN said:
Disco Scottie said:
That's not so odd.

Just so you know, I'm the proud owner of an original Paul Stanley Iceman. 2nd guitar I ever had. I like the crazy stuff too.

I'm not a big kiss fan, but that guitar is really freaking awesome.

and.... Doughboy

WHO ON EARTH WOULD MAKE SUCH A GUITAR?!?!

Definitely not Suhr.  :laughing7:

I'm not a big KISS fan either, but I fell in love with the Iceman when I was 14. It's been with me ever since. I keep thinking about doing a W build using the body style...
 
yeah, I am nearly settled on how I'm going to do my Iceman, a Bright Red HxS mahogany hardtail...
 
Basswood is OK. It's definitely a cheaper wood. I prefer alder with OR without a figured maple top. Basswood has more of a "flat" or balanced frequency response. It's also softer and screw holes strip easily. It's best used for solid finishes (no see-thru).  Alder is harder, and accentuates the lower midrange frequencies.
 
AGWAN said:
Disco Scottie said:
That's not so odd.

Just so you know, I'm the proud owner of an original Paul Stanley Iceman. 2nd guitar I ever had. I like the crazy stuff too.

I'm not a big kiss fan, but that guitar is really freaking awesome.

and.... Doughboy

WHO ON EARTH WOULD MAKE SUCH A GUITAR?!?!

someone who wants to impress Jodie Foster?
 
swarfrat said:
I've also known local jazz guitarists who swear by the stuff.

that makes perfect sense, since the classic archtop sound is more midrangy, for those percussive chord stabs and very present melody lines.

basswood is known for it's fairly midrangey sound that rolls off at both extremes of an electric guitar's tonal range. The reason that's so popular with shredders is that you can saturate the sound coming out with gain, and it has no bright or scratchy harsh highs and no uncontrollably boomy lows. It's very tight and focused, which gives you very articulate and often vocal lead tones. God, listen to John Petrucci's lead tone during the late 90's. A basswood guitar with maple neck and an Air Norton in the neck position. Sometimes he does these insanely fast and technical shred licks, but sometimes he just does these long, sustaining melodic lines like David Gilmour (albeit, on steroids).

i think the jury's still out on whether or not a maple cap will really make a difference. but then, most of the guys on here think the body doesn't make a difference in the first place. and then some guys think that pickups will sound the same no matter what guitar they're in.
 
Add one more to the list of basswood enthusiasts.  My Charvel Model 1A strat clone is basswood and sounds delicious, having a nice midrange that I don't typically associate with strats; I also had a Fender Aerodyne Telecaster with a similar midrangey bump to it that I loved.  Now, these guitars are both single-coil equipped; if you are thinking humbucker, I cannot opine knowledgeably about what you should expect tonally.

Anyway, Bagman sez:  Go fer it!

Peace

Bagman
 
Necroposting and barely on topic.

But I played a Squier Tele Standard today at a pawn shop. and for an Agathis guitar the tone was surprisingly bright. and even though the neck radius was listed as 9.5 it felt flatter!

140 bucks... might be a fun student guitar to mod to death.
 
140 is a lot for a pawn shop squier.....  60 - 75 would be closer.
I bought a squier strat standard for $19 in a pawn store once..
 
Did it look brand new? this thing looks untouched. If I can haggle the guy down, what do you think I should offer? he seems a little too proud of the thing.
 
if it is in good condition, I would say 100..
actually, I have a weird condition, where I can't drive past a pawnstore without going inside, and I always noticed that $99 is a bit like the standard tag for a squier. I guess most are affinities, which are a step down from the standards.

 
As per usual, I still hate Basswood with a passion.  I have a '72 Tele Custom RI with a Bass wood body.  Never again.  The wood is too soft.  If you look at it too hard, your eyes will dent it.  If Floyding it, those posts will oval out eventually.  Steve Vai's most used EVO is Basswood, and the tech says it's a balancing act to keep it one piece.  May not be a fair comparison.  He probably plays 14 hours a day and could have worn out a guitar made of marble.  For guys with more than one guitar that get played with equal use and not that often, it's probably fine, but if this will be your sole guitar and get a lot of use with a floating trem, I'd look for another body wood solely for longevity.

Suhr knows what he's talking about, but there are equally credible dissenting opinions.  Some of which say the laminate top wood contributes nothing but apearance and the neck wood effects tone more than the body.  As always, buyer beware.  Mr. Suhr is still a saleman afterall.  Buy low, sell high.
 
Super Turbo Deluxe Custom said:
As per usual, I still hate Basswood with a passion.  I have a '72 Tele Custom RI with a Bass wood body.  Never again.  The wood is too soft.  If you look at it too hard, your eyes will dent it.  If Floyding it, those posts will oval out eventually.  Steve Vai's most used EVO is Basswood, and the tech says it's a balancing act to keep it one piece.  May not be a fair comparison.  He probably plays 14 hours a day and could have worn out a guitar made of marble.  For guys with more than one guitar that get played with equal use and not that often, it's probably fine, but if this will be your sole guitar and get a lot of use with a floating trem, I'd look for another body wood solely for longevity.

Suhr knows what he's talking about, but there are equally credible dissenting opinions.  Some of which say the laminate top wood contributes nothing but apearance and the neck wood effects tone more than the body.  As always, buyer beware.  Mr. Suhr is still a saleman afterall.  Buy low, sell high.

"EVO" is alder, not basswood. Vai abuses his guitars.  I have a 19 year-old Ibanez that is made of basswood. It sounds great, has held together great, and I've never had a problem with the Floyd. It uses threaded inserts, it doesn't screw straight into the wood. It was my main guitar for years. There is no way this guitar would still be in good shape after 19 years if it was weak.
 
*FLO and you have Floyd loaded Ibanez?  Posts in threaded inserts - still oval out.  My 13 year Tele which hasn't been played regularly in 10 years didn't fair so well, and that's with a hardtail.  Just my dissenting opinion.  Take what you will from it.  Doesn't change the fact Basswood is soft.  It just goes to show for every pro, there is con.
 
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