What woods to use?

[lronMaiden]

I'm going to build my first custom bass but before I can start making it, I need to choose the woods... So I thought that maybe some of you more experienced guys could help me choosing good woods for it  :icon_smile:

So here are the woods I've considered using:

Neck will be all-wenge, protest if you think it's not a good idea.

Body:

Swamp ash
Alder
Bubinga
Mahogany
Walnut
Wenge

A few weeks ago I got this wild idea of making the whole bass just from wenge! I know it would sound awesome (it has been done before) but how hard is wenge to work with?

The body would absolutely be chambered if made from the heavier woods.

The tone I'm looking for is Warwick-like but not too bright. A little warmer is good too. I play 80's rock/heavy so the better it sounds in that genre, the more I like it.

 

[tfarny]

An all-wenge bass would probly be way cool and sound great. It would probably also weigh 20 lbs.

Link to my Korina - Wenge - Ebony bass (shameless plug alert): http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=5536.0

I don't think you can get a wenge fretboard, the pores are too wide I would imagine. Wenge - ebony is popular here and it really is nice.

 

[lronMaiden]

Yeah, the body would definitely be chambered  :icon_smile: And you can get a wenge fretboard but ebony is nice too. Oh, and you've got a pretty nice bass, especially the body looks great  :icon_thumright:

 

[thumb55]

That is a great looking bass.  I'm sure it sounds great too.  I really couldn't dream of a better combo of woods.

 

[DangerousR6]

I'd say chambered wenge body bubinga top, bubinga neck, wenge fretboard...That would be cool,and call it "opposites attract"..... :icon_biggrin:

 

[lronMaiden]

Nice idea! Really worth considering  :icon_thumright: The sound would also be pretty close to what I want it be  :icon_smile:

 

[DangerousR6]

Nice idea! Really worth considering  :icon_thumright: The sound would also be pretty close to what I want it be  :icon_smile:

:headbang1:

 

[tfcreative]

Shouldn't we back up and ask what sound and feel you're going for? What type of music will you use it for? Live or studio? Pickup preferences?

 

[lronMaiden]

Shouldn't we back up and ask what sound and feel you're going for? What type of music will you use it for? Live or studio? Pickup preferences?

I would like it to sound somewhat like Steve Harris' bass (precision with basswood body and all-maple neck). So if there's a bright-tone body, I'd like the neck to have a pretty warm tone and opposite. Or both from the middle section. Warmer tone is also okay but very bright overall tone is no good in my opinion. I'm not going to finish the neck so the neck wood should feel pretty fast and nice. I play rock, mostly from the 80's. Meaning bands like Iron Maiden, Skid Row, Twisted Sister, Guns 'N Roses, Mötley Crüe... Because I'm just 14 I only have two basses and they are not the best possible - and they both have finished necks  :icon_biggrin: So this would be my first (hopefully) "good" bass. That's why I'd like to use it pretty much everywhere, most importantly live because I have a pretty nice design for it. But good studio sounds wouldn't be bad at all  :icon_smile: I don't know much about pickups but the ones I have bought for it are these: http://www.activemusician.com/item--MC.SEP (passive).

 

[tfcreative]

Hmmm....

This is just one opinion, but I would do a walnut body for that. For the neck, bubinga makes a good neck that has tight lows, but I've also got a bass with a Goncalo neck that's got some real zing on the top end with the right strings. If you want to make sure that you have some brightness, I would stick to an Ebony board. Still, wenge boards are very nice, and I would never turn that down either. This probably doesn't help, does it?

 

[Wyliee]

Shouldn't we back up and ask what sound and feel you're going for? What type of music will you use it for? Live or studio? Pickup preferences?

I would like it to sound somewhat like Steve Harris' bass (precision with basswood body and all-maple neck). So if there's a bright-tone body, I'd like the neck to have a pretty warm tone and opposite. Or both from the middle section. Warmer tone is also okay but very bright overall tone is no good in my opinion. I'm not going to finish the neck so the neck wood should feel pretty fast and nice. I play rock, mostly from the 80's. Meaning bands like Iron Maiden, Skid Row, Twisted Sister, Guns 'N Roses, Mötley Crüe... Because I'm just 14 I only have two basses and they are not the best possible - and they both have finished necks  :icon_biggrin: So this would be my first (hopefully) "good" bass. That's why I'd like to use it pretty much everywhere, most importantly live because I have a pretty nice design for it. But good studio sounds wouldn't be bad at all  :icon_smile: I don't know much about pickups but the ones I have bought for it are these: http://www.activemusician.com/item--MC.SEP (passive).

Recognizing you're a beginner that wants a nicer bass, I'd have to suggest looking for a used MusicMan or Pbass.  Don't expect an all exotic wood bass to sound like the guys you list above.  If you still want to build something, how aboule alder body, maple/rosewood neck with a clear satin finish.  Sink the money you save into lessons and/or a decent amp.

 

[nathan a]

Recognizing you're a beginner that wants a nicer bass, I'd have to suggest looking for a used MusicMan or Pbass.  Don't expect an all exotic wood bass to sound like the guys you list above.  If you still want to build something, how aboule alder body, maple/rosewood neck with a clear satin finish.  Sink the money you save into lessons and/or a decent amp.

+1 on the amp.

 

[dbw]

I agree with Eric about saving money on body wood.  But raw necks are the best

 

[lronMaiden]

Hmmm....

This is just one opinion, but I would do a walnut body for that. For the neck, bubinga makes a good neck that has tight lows, but I've also got a bass with a Goncalo neck that's got some real zing on the top end with the right strings. If you want to make sure that you have some brightness, I would stick to an Ebony board. Still, wenge boards are very nice, and I would never turn that down either. This probably doesn't help, does it?

No, it does help  :icon_biggrin: Walnut might be a little too bright but a warmer neck would balance the tone a little and the outcome would be pretty similar to what I was thinking. Thanks!

Recognizing you're a beginner that wants a nicer bass, I'd have to suggest looking for a used MusicMan or Pbass.  Don't expect an all exotic wood bass to sound like the guys you list above.  If you still want to build something, how aboule alder body, maple/rosewood neck with a clear satin finish.  Sink the money you save into lessons and/or a decent amp.

I don't expect it to sound just like these guys, in fact I don't even want it sound like them. I want it sound like me  :icon_smile:  If I'd want to sound like Steve Harris I'd buy a Fender P and change the bridge, string and pickups. And alder sounds good for a body but I'd rather not use a maple neck since it has to be finished and I'd like to try an unfinished neck  :icon_smile:  And I already have a amp that's good enough for me, a bigger one wouldn't even fit to my room... I think that a better bass is more important at this moment than a bigger/better amp or lessons. I've already played for four years and I should have taken lessons when I was beginning to play, not now...

 

[blue313]

No shame in lessons at any skill level, you just have to be pickier on the teacher. 

I don't expect it to sound just like these guys, in fact I don't even want it sound like them. I want it sound like me 

Now that's a good attitude, tone is largely in the fingers.  These guys do have a point about the amp though, it's a big contributing factor too. What amp is this going to be plugged into? 

 

[lronMaiden]

No shame in lessons at any skill level, you just have to be pickier on the teacher.

That's true  :icon_smile:

The amp is not the best possible: Behringer BX1200, but it works. Since I mostly play without amp and always use school's amp at gigs, it's not so big deal (that's also the reason I don't already have a better amp)... I will also buy a better amp when we get some gigs where I have to use my own amp or if we don't I'll buy it anyway  :icon_biggrin: The amp would probably be something like Marshall or Gallien Krueger (4x10 cab and some head), the model and brand depend on how much money I have at the moment...

ATTENTION! Updated the first post. Added some possible body woods and removed some. I also have decided the neck to be all-wenge but if someone has something bad to say about all-wenge necks, say it now before it's too late...

 

[lronMaiden]

Ok, I decided it to be all-wenge. However, I haven't bought the wood yet so you still have some time to make some recommendations if you feel it's necessary. Merry Christmas to everybody  :icon_biggrin:

 

[NonsenseTele]

To u2 man!  ccasion14: