The (B)Asswood thread

[Newc]

Ok, I see all the time here that basswood sucks, even though most (if not all) the beloved Charvel Model models were made of it.

I've owned basswood-body guitars, and cannot recall anything bad about them (other than my simply not being a "Strat" guy).

So, where did the (B)asswood myth start, and who has solid evidence that it sucks?

What guitar did you have that put you on the Anti-Basswood path?

[TrendkillDBD]

I'v got an ESP LTD KH-202 made of basswood, its not bad, but its not the greatest... I think that the EMG-Hz's are what makes it kinda inbetween more than the wood does.

Also, Joe Satriani's signature is basswood.

I don't think that it's bad, I just think that there's better woods (I'm a Mahogany/Maple man myself) and also what pickups you use.

[CharvelRocker]

What theh el is wrong with basswood? Other than if you're cutting you have to use EXTREME care (found this out the hard way making room for a pickup and cut accidently with milimeters of the floyd springs)

[nonamemx]

Its really soft, so it has muffled low end and muffled highs.

Shops like to use it because its easy on router bits.

It sounds fine if you use ALOT of gain and effects, but. . if your a rock and roller type who plugs straight in. . .You'll notice it just seems to be kinda "missing something" in the sound. Just doesn't have much balls or brilliance on its own compared to something with an alder, or mahogany, or ash body.

[soc_monki]

i dont like it because of the feel and the sound. just not my bag. i prefer Alder or Poplar...better highs, tighter lows, and more present mids IMO.

[sully]

the basswoood guitar that i had was my iceman ic500. loved the neck, loved the body, and everything about it until i plugged it in. i had 3 pickup swaps in it (59, distortion, custom) and it never sounded as good as my other guitars. broke my heart b/c i loved everything about that guitar except it's amplified sound. oh...and it was very soft.

sully

[jgcable]

Basswood is fine with the correct pickup combination.

[skorb]

my Model 2 is basswood of course, and I love the tone and sustain. the JC-90 may help with those, I guess.

the Model series is mostly basswood bodies and they are universally loved, more so as they get older. the wood can't be a problem, or people wouldn't hold them in such high regard.

[mm2002]

Ed made millions of dollars playing basswood guitars, so it must not suck that bad.

[akoch]

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.

[MountainDog]

Basswood is fine with the correct pickup combination.

My Tom Anderson guitar in basswood with anderson pickups and maple fingerboard is one of the best sounding guitars I have. I even mentioned that Thursday at NAMM to an employee of Tom's that basswood has a bad rap and they shook their head and laughed.

From Anderson's website:
Basswood
Pronounced bass like the fish. This wood gained popularity in the 80s and for a time was probably the most used wood for locking tremolo guitars. It is very light weight and produces a fairly even and full mid-range response throughout the entire band width. Many people feel it is extremely well matched with humbucking pickups because it produces a lot of the same frequencies that humbuckers easily reproduce. This is not to say that single coil tones aren't great as well. Toward the end of the late 80s, a few other species of woods were mistakenly thought to be basswood and this seemed to lead to a decline in basswood's popularity. However, true basswood does produce a very pleasing midrange tone and is the only type of basswood used here at Tom Anderson Guitarworks. Ifs natural color is light blonde to of white with little to no discernible grain. For this reason, an opaque paint color is usually chosen for a solid basswood body.

[Chad]

the basswoood guitar that i had was my iceman ic500. loved the neck, loved the body, and everything about it until i plugged it in. i had 3 pickup swaps in it (59, distortion, custom) and it never sounded as good as my other guitars. broke my heart b/c i loved everything about that guitar except it's amplified sound. oh...and it was very soft.

sully

My IC500BK is mahogany/maple cap with maple neck?

[Newc]

Is it softer than mahogany?

[shreddermon]

Yes.

Basswood is very good tone-wise. I was VERY pleasantly suprised by the tone of my EVH. IMHO, the knock on basswood is more due to older construction & durability issues.

It's so soft that in the 80s - before the insert-style posts started being used - guys using their Floyds would find that the old screw-style post routes would widen out with heavy back-and-forth usage, and eventually just pull right the heck out of the body. It can also ding or chip paint much easier, too.

[Newc]

From Anderson's website:
Basswood
Toward the end of the late 80s, a few other species of woods were mistakenly thought to be basswood and this seemed to lead to a decline in basswood's popularity. However, true basswood does produce a very pleasing midrange tone and is the only type of basswood used here at Tom Anderson Guitarworks.

Interesting, thanks for that.


So could this be where the hate comes from? Anyone know what those "other types" of wood were? Japanese Sen, maybe?