Maude

By the tonewood label, if it's used to make an instrument then it's worthy of the tone prefix.

I'm sad/bored enough to have done a little research. It appears that any wood used to build a guitar is labelled a tonewood, regardless of any actual tonal properties it may, or may not, have. So as long as it is structurally capable of being used to make a guitar, it's a tonewood. It's as stupid as that. So when adverts/luthiers blither on about magical tonewoods then as long as they've built an instrument with it it's a tonewood, and by default means that every guitar or bass ever built from wood is built using a tonewood. So let's just call it wood. I also found out the best way to get spalting started in a wood is to pee on it and store in damp, humid conditions to let the bacterial growth develop. Mmmm 'Tonepiss'. 🙂

Anarchy in Woolworths - Chaotic Dischord

I Am The Law - Anthrax

This Charming Man - The Smiths

I can't remember now as I've had it (Boss app) so long, but I've a feeling I may have turned the sensitivity down a touch to stop it jumping about quite so much. Another one use for adjusting intonation at home which is very good, if a touch manic to look at is the 'Tuner Time' strobe app by Galexand. I find it very accurate for an app but nowhere near as simple as the Boss one.

Float On - The Floaters 💩

Can we have a whole band? Massive Attack up front.

I hadn't seen that tri line tape. That was kind of what I meant with the fine line tape, two strips 5mm apart and lacquer/nail varnish between them. The tri line will be even easier. The join line might not need sealing in at all, but if you do, try to peel the tape either side of your lacquer off while the lacquer is still wet. This will allow the edges to flow ever so slightly and leave a nice smooth edge rather than the sharp edge you get when left to dry first. Work out how you can pull the tape off in one easy action as you don't want to let it touch anywhere else with wet lacquer on it. It's not vital but just makes for a slightly nicer finish.

What's tone got to do with it though? If it has the required weight, strength and stability then it's suitable. Those same attributes would make it suitable for a tabletop, what do call it then?

I don't consider any tonewood. It's either wood suitable for building a bass, or it isn't. A post of mine further back in this thread explains that. I've been trying to get someone to tell me a wood that is structurally suitable for bass building but isn't used due to its poor tone. If there isn't one then surely it's just wood suitable for a bass or not.

I Wanna Be Your Dog - Iggy

Very, very little is my opinion, hence why I've said the tonewood debate is nonsense. I'll happily believe that the body wood can have a slight affect on string vibration as it's the wood that holds either end of the string apart. If the wood is denser I reckon it will have less damping effect on the string vibrations. But I don't believe that any wood used for guitar construction would have a detrimental effect on how it sounds. The changes are so minimal as to be negated by many other factors. If 'tonewood' was a thing, as opposed to just plain old wood for guitar building, then would a bass built from the best tonewood available with a poor pickup sound better than a plywood bass with a very good pickup? I'd say no chance. In theory air temperature and density will have an affect on string vibration, just as wood type will, but it's so negligible as to not be worth mentioning, much like what wood the body is made from.

Vinyl wrap doesn't need the edges to be sealed, so technically, either an overlap or butt joint will be fine. In the real world the more wear an edge sees, the more likely it is to start lifting. So a butt joint where the two edges are touching would be preferable, as one edge isn't higher than the other, so wont get snagged. That said, an overlap joint somewhere where it won't get rubbed by your arm or shirt would be preferable to a butt joint in a high wear area. I don't know what sort of thing you're planning but if it could be done neatly, a sealing line of clear lacquer or nail varnish might be a good idea, just to stop the edge getting caught on clothing. You could mask a 5mm stripe over the butt joint with 3M Fine Line tape, neatly brush nail varnish on then peel the Fine Line off while still wet to get a really neat edge. This 5mm stripe of varnish would seal the joint line. If going for a solid matt colour then the varnish will stand out, but if gloss or a pattern then you'd barely see it.

That debate would scale new heights.

Colours appears as the colour you see due to the varying amounts of lightwaves they absorb, and therefore reflect back to your eye. If a surface absorbs the longer lightwaves towards the red end of the visible spectrum then it will appear as a colour towards the blue end of the spectrum with shorter lightwaves. The frequency of wave it absorbs, and thus reflects will determine its appearance somewhere in the spectrum. To appear red the surface will need to absorb all the, other increasingly shorter frequency waves, shorter waves being denser than longer waves means that the surface will be denser than a blue surface, or any other colour, so it will resonate better sending more of its sound frequencies back out to the strings, resulting in a louder instrument. So yes, you're correct. 😁

Yup, another Boss user here. Works well but the main reason is looks just like the pedal. Shallow? Moi? 😉

@tegs07, agreed different woods might sound slightly different, as they will resonate differently due to density, and I agree that none will sound bad. That's why I feel the word 'tonewood' is pure marketing waffle. The differences in wood used, and how they are used, is just that, differences. You might prefer your three piece Ash Squier, I might prefer your blockwood with ply caps. I prefer Precision to a Jazz, that doesn't make the Jazz bad, just different. As @Doctor J said, let's just call it wood.

That's just it though, I don't think any wood is chosen for its acoustic properties, despite what a luthier trying to advertise their wares might tell you. I think the wood sounding good is a happy coincedence, a by-product of a certain wood having suitable strength and density to make a bass with. Can anyone name a wood that is strong enough to make a bass with that doesn't/won't sound good?

Ah I see, that makes complete sense now. Good luck with your dissertation. 🙂👍

@Doctor J, we seem to have been typing practically the same reply at the same time. 😁

I'd hazard a guess that many factors come before tone when choosing wood. Strength, stability, cost, availability, appearance and weight are a few off the top of my head. The balance of importance between these factors will change depending on other factors, whether budget or high end, painted or natural/stained finish, etc. Some woods might have gorgeous grain but are too heavy, some woods might be very light but lack strength. Imagine various woods and their attributes in a Venn diagram and the ones in the centre that have the required mix of qualities have become the standard woods for guitar/bass building and have become known as 'tonewoods', but I suspect tone has had little to do with the choosing of these suitable woods over the years. Now in the day of excess wealth marketing is king and 'tonewood' is an important word in marketing only. Find any wood that has the required strength and stability and I'd be very surprised if it couldn't be used to make a great sounding bass, it just might be very heavy, expensive or boring to look at. To take it to its extreme, are they any woods that have the needed strength, stability and weight but are unsuitable purely because of their bad tone?

Peter Steele from Type-O-Negative at over 2m tall needs to be in goal.

I guess so. Have you got anything at home you could use instead? 🤔 😁

Ben - Michael Jackson