BigRedX Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 17 minutes ago, rmorris said: Amongst talk of different wood species - the issue of construction seems ignored here. eg one piece vs laminated Vs flat sawn Vs quarter sawn neck construction. Bolt on / set neck / thru neck... And the fact that "ash" alone encompasses over 40 different species of trees, which may grow in totally different environments all of which affect the way the wood is created. Also "swamp ash" isn't a distinct species but simply one of those 40+ grown in "swampy" conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassybert Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 (edited) The amount of passion/effort that people put into justifying the pros and cons of tonewood is always guaranteed to bring a smile to my face, it's got to be one of the most debated/divisive topics ever 😂 For me personally it's snake oil selling. Wood by it's very definition is organic matter that can have different properties from piece to piece, even within the same tree. How people can quantify all of this to say this wood sounds better or gives more definition in the low end etc is beyond me. I don't care what wood a bass is using as long as it sounds good to my ears, that's the true litmus test regardless of what it's made of - I've played plywood bodied bitsa basses that sounded great and expensive basses that sounded crap. As soon as you rock up to a gig and you're faced with a low ceilings, reflective surfaces, an empty room 😁 it all goes out the window. Edited July 19 by Bassybert 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted July 19 Author Share Posted July 19 By the way, here is the definition of empirical, so you'll stop, at least, mismatching its meaning which is kind of the opposite of using scientific theory... (Having studied ancient Greek and Latin helps a bit to understand etymology and the correct use of words) Search results for 'Empirical': empirical and empiric adj 1 based on experiment, observation or experience, rather than on theory. 2 regarding experiment and observation as more important than scientific law. empirically adverb by means of experiment rather than theory. ETYMOLOGY: 16c: from Latin empiricus, from Greek empeiria experience. The Chambers Dictionary (13th edition) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 Oh, please; you know exactly what I was referring to by using the terms empirical and non-empirical. Bandying semantics changes nothing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Blank Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 27 minutes ago, Muzz said: Bandying semantics changes nothing. Frank Blank & The Bandying Semantics. Hmmmm, anyone play fiddle? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 (edited) 2 hours ago, Rich said: OK folks, the nasty jibes and passive-aggressive (or just aggressive) snideness stop right now or the thread gets locked. There is no place here for that sort of childish nonsense. If you're going to debate, do it like grown-ups. Fair enough, but you have left replies to me up and deleted all of my posts (and those of others), including those which were strictly factual. If you're going to moderate, do so impartially. Edited July 19 by Dan Dare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 (edited) Thank you for the lecture and for pointing out my minor failings, when I have a spare moment (believe it or not, this isn't actually my day job) I'll go through and "moderate it impartially". Oh, and cheers for the suggestion that it's deliberate inequality rather than genuine error. Much appreciated. However, you've missed one important point regarding the deleting of posts: IT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN NECESSARY IN THE FIRST PLACE. Edited July 19 by Rich 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeEvans Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 Maybe the arguments are especially bitter and unproductive because the question hasn't been clearly articulated? Are we asking: 1. Would a specific bass sound different if you changed the body or neck for one made of a different species of wood? Or a different piece of wood of the same species? 2. Do individual wood species give specific tonal qualities to all basses made from them? 3. Do the characteristics of the individual pieces of wood a bass is made from (density, growth ring spacing, quarter sawn / slab cut etc) generate specific tonal qualities, regardless of species? 4. How important is wood species relative to the other factors affecting the tone of a bass? These are all quite different questions, and I feel like a lot of the arguments come from confusion about what exactly is under discussion. My own ill-informed opinion, for what it's worth, is that the physical characteristics of a piece of wood have a modest effect on sustain and attack and a tiny effect on tone, but that species is irrelevant other than as a very vague guide to what those characteristics might be. And that other aspect of the bass such as strings, pickups, electronics and the person playing it are so much more important in terms of tone as to render the effect of the wood more or less irrelevant. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 Careful now 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 1 hour ago, Dan Dare said: Fair enough, but you have left replies to me up and deleted all of my posts (and those of others), including those which were strictly factual. If you're going to moderate, do so impartially. If you're going to be a member of this forum, do so in a nature that wastes as little of our time as possible. We're volunteers, and we do the best we can. Try doing the best you can, please? 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asingardenof Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 On 17/07/2024 at 23:40, peteb said: But he is also somewhat of a contrarian (to put it mildly)! I believe that Alex from Barefaced also has an engineering background (in addition to very successfully building high-end, high-tech musical equipment beloved by many on this forum), but Dad is quick to dismiss his views. Very serendipitously here is Alex stirring the pot from both sides... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 1 hour ago, Rich said: Thank you for the lecture and for pointing out my minor failings, when I have a spare moment (believe it or not, this isn't actually my day job) I'll go through and "moderate it impartially". Oh, and cheers for the suggestion that it's deliberate inequality rather than genuine error. Much appreciated. However, you've missed one important point regarding the deleting of posts: IT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN NECESSARY IN THE FIRST PLACE. Just effin lock this thread already. What a burlap sack full of bile it is. I think I said something about picking scabs. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 3 hours ago, Rich said: Thank you for the lecture and for pointing out my minor failings, when I have a spare moment (believe it or not, this isn't actually my day job) I'll go through and "moderate it impartially". Oh, and cheers for the suggestion that it's deliberate inequality rather than genuine error. Much appreciated. However, you've missed one important point regarding the deleting of posts: IT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN NECESSARY IN THE FIRST PLACE. There's so much I could say in response, but I fear it would fall on deaf ears. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 6 hours ago, rmorris said: No. I read your post. I quoted selectively to focus on the basic error in your thinking. Yes - you may get a signal from knocking an unstrung bass. That is due to some microphonic response. Most likely ime from the magnetic pickup. If potting maintained the relative geometries perfectly then there would be no such signal produced. That's how this magnetic induction stuff works. But, of course, nothing is 100% perfect. There are other possible sources of microphonics here - capacitor vibration and even wire movement. But this is all tiny signal stuff. No error in my thinking at all in my post or point I'm making👍 the error is in what you believe I'm saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 Mods are a bit giddy aren't they. You have Frank Blank saying folk are "tossers" and his post remains. I post genuine replies to people who quote me and they get removed. Nice 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 Give the mods a break, lads, FFS 1 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 2 minutes ago, Tobe said: Mods are a bit giddy aren't they. You have Frank Blank saying folk are "tossers" and his post remains. I post genuine replies to people who quote me and they get removed. Nice 👍 Unfair, though. Mr Blank was using a generic term, non-nominative, and in a humorous context, suggesting that some character traits may be revealed with topics of this nature, and should not be unduly curtailed. This is quite different to pointed barbs aimed at specific members, in an unseemly manner. Disclaimer : I am no longer a Mod, simply a member as everyone else. I do know how to use the 'Report' function, however. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 13 minutes ago, Tobe said: Mods are a bit giddy aren't they. You have Frank Blank saying folk are "tossers" and his post remains. I post genuine replies to people who quote me and they get removed. Nice 👍 Thanks for reading what Rich and I had to say and taking it on board, top chap. That about wraps this thread up I think, cheers all. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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