gypsyjazzer Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Would there be a difference in volume / tone of a Bass top made from laminated spruce & solid spruce? Your knowledge welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRev Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 In theory yes but in practice maybe not. A solid wood top would resonate more and therefore be louder than a laminate top as the laminate will be much stiffer than solid wood. However, a well made laminate could resonate more than a poorly made, cheap solid top. The only way to find out which is louder would be to play the basses in question. You should also be aware of the difference between a pressed solid top and a carved solid top. A pressed top has a curve formed by a steam press and if done on the cheap, may eventually want to return to being a flat piece of wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsyjazzer Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 Thanks for the very useful information 'TheRev'--much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 I would imagine there would be a difference but what exactly the difference would be I don't know. Certainly my laminate bass is a lot louder than my carved bass despite the two having near identical dimensions. I suppose the setup is important? The carved bass has a much nicer tone but the laminate booms out louder than any other bass I've played. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsyjazzer Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 Thanks 'thisnameistaken' for your reply. Has your laminated bass a spruce top?--[b]or[/b] is it the back & sides that are laminated? I have a fair knowledge of guitars and I do know that a guitar with a solid spuce top [b]but laminated back & sides [/b]makes a guitar a lot louder than a guitar with solid wood sides. Solid wood tends to absorb some of the sound. A good setup on any stringed instrument is very important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 The top is definitely laminated - there's a little ding in it and it's sort-of 'crushed' the way laminate does rather than cracking like a single piece of wood. The thing is so loud though it's brilliant for unamplified playing with guitars. It has a very deep sound to it though, really boomy, it's not a very cultured sound but it makes up for it with LOUD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basstroker Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Hi! One thought: A carved top in average has a thickness of 4,5 - 9 mm [url="http://www.kontrabassbau.at/bilder/DickenDecke.jpg"]http://www.kontrabassbau.at/bilder/DickenDecke.jpg[/url] . A laminated top - also side and back - is stiffer but can have a thickness of about 5 mm over all. So it should be able to vibrate more -> louder - but with less quality of sound. Best Thomas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsyjazzer Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 Many thanks guys for all your useful info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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