castlemaine22 Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Hey all, I've recently acquired a black Encore P bass for free and I'm toying with the idea of making it a project bass. The deciding factor at the moment is what type of wood the body is made from, as I will no doubt be ripping everything else off and replacing it! I was wondering if anyone knew what wood the body is? I have searched the internet with no luck, different sites say it is basswood (good!) others say 'composite'! Or, is there a way of telling the type of wood from visual inspection? Any input on this would be greatly appreciated, I don't want to end up, as the phrase goes, 'polishing a turd'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I was looking at one of these in a local secondhand shop recently. It actually looked ok, just a bit too heavy for my frail old bod. Can't answer your question about the body wood but I'm sure there is a thread somewhere on the forum about Encore projects. Try a search. If the neck is ok, I would go ahead and replace some parts, esxpecially as it hasn't cost you a thing as yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Yeah if you take the neck off or the pickup out you'll be able to tell if its solid wood or plywood. If it's plywood you will see distinct, evenly spaced layers inside the routes. If it's solid wood then the routes will be relatively smooth and uniform. If it's made from solid wood there's every chance it'll be some obscure, cheap weed wood even Encore themselves wouldn't know the exact name for so don't worry too much about it! Either way, if it cost nothing you've already got a bargain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillbilly deluxe Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I had one years ago,it was actually very good,i also saw an identical one in Bass Doc's shop a few years later that had broke in half and it looked like MDF,or something with no grain pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 (edited) A friend of mine had one which used to hang around our rehearsal space. This one had been partly stripped, seemingly using a chisel (!), and was very definitely solid wood. It looked a bit like the rubberwood they use for chopping boards and cheap furniture, so I presume it's a mystery Asian hardwood. It was nice and light though, and sounded like a respectable p-bass once we'd put in a decent pickup. Edited June 1, 2011 by Beer of the Bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squire5 Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I bought an Encore P Bass on this forum from Ancient Mariner, and can say that it is most definitely plywood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Jamin Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 (edited) [quote name='castlemaine22' post='1252330' date='Jun 1 2011, 08:07 AM']I was wondering if anyone knew what wood the body is? I have searched the internet with no luck, different sites say it is basswood (good!) others say 'composite'! Or, is there a way of telling the type of wood from visual inspection?[/quote] I'm in the middle of an Encore project at the moment - mine's basswood, and it's definitely solid! All the Encores I've come across have been basswood, but no doubt there are some other woods kicking around in some models. Edited June 2, 2011 by Ben Jamin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wil Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Mine is plywood. Mid 90s model. With new pickups though it sounds pretty good, it's got bags of P character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silentbob Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I could well be wrong here, but i was led to believe that the early versions with the Fender style headstock were made from solid wood, and the later types were plywood, although if you can find one, the LTD 83 version is made from ash. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=78831&hl=encore+ltd"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...p;hl=encore+ltd[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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