| Author | Message | ||
| wishbass
Advanced Member Username: wishbass Post Number: 228 Registered: 5-2011 |
I've studied the section on neckwoods, gone over the COTM section,and took note of any reference I could.I've only played a few Alembics (all maple)so I don't have much practicle experience.My question is for thoughs of you with practicle experience.I know the benefits of ebony,but tell me, what are the real world differences between maple, and mohagany.Is one that much more "mellow",and one that much more"bright"? What about walnut vs purpleheart lams?What are your observations? | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 519 Registered: 2-2011 |
Karl, the only experience I can comment on is the differance between a Brown Bass & my Stanley Clarke Signature Deluxe. They are both the same body style with essentially the same electronics as far as pups & filters. The difference is the Brown Bass has a mahogany neck & the SCSD has a maple neck. The SCSD has a much brighter tone than the Brown. The Brown has a more "woody" tone & the SCSD is more piano like. | ||
| s_wood
Advanced Member Username: s_wood Post Number: 351 Registered: 5-2002 |
Karl, it's generally accepted that on an neck-through instrument the woods used in the neck play a much more important role in the tone of the instrument than the woods used for the top, or even for the body. I agree completely with Rusty: as a neck wood maple is, indeed, noticeably brighter in tone than mahogany. This is an imperfect analogy, but maybe it helps. Maple is a Fender P Bass or Jazz bass with its passive tone control wide open, while mahogany is the same bass with the tone control rolled off 25%. Does that make sense? As far as the neck lams go, I personally don't hear much difference between purpleheart and walnut. However, the impact of ebony neck lams on the tone of a bass is significant. Even just one ebony lam will noticeably add to the amount of the fundamental present in a given note. I have a Series bass with 3 ebony neck lams, and I often find myself backing off on the bass EQ on my rig when I use that bass live. Sorry for bringing this up..but ebony fingerboards are brighter sounding than rosewood or pau ferro. Just though I would make things even more confusing  As for me, I typically prefer an inherently brighter instrument because (as Gregg Allman reminds us) you can't lose what you never had, meaning you can always roll off the high end if there's too much, but you can't add it if it's not there in the first place. That said, a mahogany necked Alembic will still be brighter than nearly any bass you can find as a result of the electronics, neck-through construction and heavy brass bridge. Best advice: call Mica. She is very good at describing what the different wood options sound like. Have fun with your custom! | ||
| wishbass
Advanced Member Username: wishbass Post Number: 229 Registered: 5-2011 |
Steve,that analogy makes perfect sense, and supports my intuitive guessing.I also agree about the ebony lams,as I have seen them on other custom basses.I was concerned about how much to weigh looks against sound with lams.Seems like aside from ebony,on a maple neck ,it won't factor in as much.Thanks Steve. | ||
| s_wood
Advanced Member Username: s_wood Post Number: 352 Registered: 5-2002 |
Karl, perhaps this thread might help on the ebony neck lam issue: http://alembic.com/club/messages/393/18726.html | ||
| keith_h
Senior Member Username: keith_h Post Number: 1742 Registered: 2-2005 |
Karl, From my experience the body woods do make a difference in the sound. I have been able to hear two maple/purple heart Series basses. They were both owned and played by Moderator Dave. One has a walnut top and the other a maple top. I could definitely hear a difference in the maple top being brighter and the walnut being rounder. Keith | ||
| wishbass
Advanced Member Username: wishbass Post Number: 230 Registered: 5-2011 |
Thanks Steve and Keith,very helpful.One of the things that got me thinking on this was the "Dragonfly" COTM,and also "Raging Bass".I liked the look of the neck recipes on both.I just want to be careful to maintain that tone that I like when I build.Any input is helpful,and the voice of experience carries great weight! Karl | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 2960 Registered: 6-2002 |
Here is an interesting link I found on UK Basschat today as part of a thread on Tone woods. It's Michael Tobias. He does also mention Alembic in his interview. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQy4jyf-Yps Jazzyvee | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 613 Registered: 2-2011 |
It didn't seem like he took very much care putting the bass together! The way he drilled the holes for the neck screws, he didn't even hold the drill perpendicular to the body! Thanks for sharing Jazzyvee! | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 2961 Registered: 6-2002 |
Yeah I noticed that, and the way the hole to for the tailpiece to control cavity was drilled was very confidently done. So I guess he knows what he's doing more than I do and his basses are well respected. I found the comparison between his view of electronics and woods to Alembics practice interesting and to a novice like me it seems to make sense since i've read it here many times that the sound neck through alembics is mainly in the neck and the body woods are more a refining factor rather than a primary tone producer . I guess that's why it's good to have makers doing different things so we have choice. A pro bassist friend of mine has an MTD 6 string through neck bass and I saw him playing it a few weeks back at a gig and it sounded great. Jazzyvee (Message edited by jazzyvee on June 14, 2012) | ||
| rustyg61
Senior Member Username: rustyg61 Post Number: 617 Registered: 2-2011 |
I'm sure he sells a lot of basses, I'm just anal about perfection & would have used a drill guide to make sure the holes were perpendicular to the body. That's why I play Alembic, they are "Perfection Personified!" :-) Rusty | ||
| 811952
Senior Member Username: 811952 Post Number: 2234 Registered: 10-2003 |
Having played a handful of his basses, I'd say he knows what he's doing! John |
