'Dutchman' advice...

[paul_5]

I've finally settled on the definitive pickup array for my Jazz Bitsa (well, for now) and am left with a body cavity leading into the neck pocket from pickup placement experiments (it's a big, MM hum bucker sized cavity). I'm looking to fill the gap with a dutchman initially for strength, as that's where the neck joins the body, but I reckon there's the possibility of choosing a 'proper' wood to fill the gap that will benefit me tonally.

I like quite a bright sound in my basses, so the obvious ones to go for would be ash or maple, but does anyone have any other ideas. I likes 'em a bit growly too, so would it be unfeasible to shove a lump of wenge in there, or would that just be too pricey?

Advice sought.

[JPJ]

Hmmm this could be a very interesting experiment

Personally, I'm still in the 'jury's out' camp when it comes to whether the wood alone is the source of either 'growl' or 'brightness' etc. Most basses made today will be from two or more pieces of wood glued together, so in theory, the glue is also 'contributing' to the overall sound. Warwick basses, famed for their growl use wenge but the also use a separate bridge and tailpiece, active electronics and very often, the growlier ones are neck thru's. Contrast that with a typical F type with the BBOT bridge, passive pickups and bolt on necks and there are a lot of variables between the string and the amp to affect the 'sound'.
I accept that neck thru's are a very different beast to bolt-on's and, personally, I prefer bolt-on's as the amount of detail you hear with a neck thru shows up my sloppy playing
After saying all of that, I would just go with a piece of timber that is the same as the rest of the body and make a structural repair. I can't imagine that the amount of wood that you are adding versus the amount of wood remaining from the original body would be sufficient to make a noticeable change to the sound of the bass.

[paul_5]

Cheers JPJ, I reckon I'll just source a chunk of ash and have done with it….