Alan Wilkes Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 Hi, Wanting to build a bass from scratch, any advice would be appreciated regarding woods to use for the body and neck, obviously with a sensible budget in mind. Cheers Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamIAm Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 Maple is a great choice for the neck. I can highly recommend https://www.luthierssupplies.co.uk/ to get it. S'manth x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Wilkes Posted October 3, 2022 Author Share Posted October 3, 2022 1 minute ago, Smanth said: Maple is a great choice for the neck. I can highly recommend https://www.luthierssupplies.co.uk/ to get it. S'manth x Thanks On 11/03/2021 at 18:55, daz70 said: Agreed. Unsurpassed stock and always keen to help. Bought a Genz Benz Streamliner head and 2x12" cab from Mark several years ago, purchased a few bits over the years via website and I'm eagerly awaiting the delivery of my Dingwall D-roc Standard 5 string ( hopefully this month ). A shop I'm always keen to buy from. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 Take lots of photos and upload them. You may get advance notice of potential upcoming disasters from the old hands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 Within reason, you can be fairly adventurous with the body wood/woods. As long as the timbers are seasoned and the bridge can be held rigidly, most other characteristics are not critical. For neck wood, though, it is best - especially for a first build - to ensure that the blanks are from someone who supplies specifically for instruments to ensure that the cut and consistency is fit-for-that-purpose. The most common (for common, read 'relatively reliable and workable') timbers used are mahogany or maple. Maple is harder to cut/shape/sand but is stiffer and more durable. Mahogany is generally lighter-weight, softer, easier to work with but a little more prone to dints and scrapes. It's a generalisation, but David Dyke (www.luthiersupplies.co.uk) neck timbers tend to be available planed and 'ready to glue' ...but therefore can be quite pricey. Some of the other suppliers' neck woods will be more 'ready to plane' but sometimes correspondingly cheaper. You will find most of the bigger specialist suppliers quite approachable and will generally be happy to advise - David himself or any of the team at David Dyke's and Kirk Bolton at www.exotichardwoodsukltd.com are particularly helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelDean Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 I got a glued up body blank to my specification from https://guitarandbassbuilds.com/ as I don't own the required clamps. They were really helpful and it was dispatched quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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