Basswood sucks

[Geo]

It's just like many other woods, some sound great, some not so much.

 

[Greazygeo]

Actually I agree with you on the V30 thing now lol
Never heard of these Eminence Platinums. Never been a fan of Eminence before but I’m open to new developments.
Having said that I’m very happy with my early 80’s G12-65s and G12-80s.

These Eminence just came out recently. Just got them a week ago and gigged them last weekend. They don’t sound like any of the previous stuff.

 

[raakaribul]

I would love to argue but yeah, something about a basswood guitar just doesn't seem to ever sound great. I have several, they are fine, but I think they would be better built out of basically anything else.

That's the thing, they sound bland, lacking any balls & impact that's needed for rock & metal music.

Part of the reason why zoomers can probably relate to it, lacking testosterone themselves.

 

[Kelly]

It was actually Steve Vai that started the basswood thing then Eddie Van Halen

Holdsworth started the basswood thing. He had Grover Jackson make bodies out of everything he had, and chose basswood. John Suhr commented over at TGP once that most of the guitars being touted as basswood really aren't.

 

[PDC]

Would you recommend northern ash to someone that likes the sound of alder overall but just wants it to have a more punch?

Northern Ask is definitely brighter than Alder, but not harsh or brittle - at least to my ear. I will say, Northern Ash is different enough than Alder that different pickups work very differently with these 2 woods. Lower output, A2 magnet pickups with softer, rounder highs sound killer in Northern Ash and higher output pickups with A5 / Ceramic magnets tend to compliment what Alder brings to the table.

 

[vultures]

Basswood is great. I've owned dozens of late 80s / early 90s RGs & JEMs. They all had a snarl to them that I can't get with any other guitar. It sounds great for high gain and pinch harmonics.

 

[fek]

I'm a Les Paul guy so the mahogany with maple cap is probably my favorite combo. I also have a hardtail Chubtone strat with an ebony board and mahogany and maple body that is just awesome.

 

[Chubtone]

Northern Ask is definitely brighter than Alder, but not harsh or brittle - at least to my ear. I will say, Northern Ash is different enough than Alder that different pickups work very differently with these 2 woods. Lower output, A2 magnet pickups with softer, rounder highs sound killer in Northern Ash and higher output pickups with A5 / Ceramic magnets tend to compliment what Alder brings to the table.

I agree with this 100%. That is my exact recipe for northern ash and alder.

 

[gclef]

Allan Holdsworth was into basswood.

Maybe in the beginning.
I have an '02 carvin h2 holdswarth. The stock body AND NECK were alder. Yep, the neck too. The only option I selected was a maple top. That guitar resonates like nobodies business

I won't say Basswood sucks, but I also don't own any Basswood guitars.

Back in the day the only guitars made of Basswood were budget guitars, now they are using them on Boutique Guitars.

For me...

I find Mahogany (with a Maple cap) to be a main reason Les Pauls sound so good, but SGs with just Mahogany sound great too.
I like my Strats to be Alder. My Ibanez Prestige AZ2402 is also Alder and has great tone.

I do have an Ash bodied Charvel Guthrie Govan USA and my Ibanez LB1 is also Ash

When looking at guitars...

I try to stick with Mahogany, Alder or Ash, but I was looking at buying a Suhr Modern Plus and I think it was Basswood, if it sounded great I would have been OK with it.

How do you like the LB1? I've been sniffing around that one.



Throughout the years, I've heard:

Basswood is shit

Mahogany bodies with maple necks don't sound as good as other combos.

And so on.

From my collection and experience: the wood matters, but the guitar/pickup combo is the more important concept.

Get that right, and whatever wood your guitar is made of starts to matter less.

For example, I have a carvin holdworth that was a bitch to find pickups for. Due to construction and design, it was naturally light on low end. And worse, installing bassier pickups made mud. Kinda middy and flat with no zing in the highs as well.

I rolled every pickup I had thru it. All of them sounded great in my mahogany bodied rg, all sound OK at best in the holdsworth, with some just bad. Now, one could think an alder chambered body and alder neck is just a shit combo, or just a shit wood based on that.

But the last pickup swap was a game changer. It has a pafjoe/mojoe combo in it now
Well, lemme tell you, it's a great match.
The pickups have a crap ton of harmonics that fill in what was lacking in the highs.
The little bump in the mojoes low end adds just enough beef in the bridge. If I had any complaint, it's that maybe I could lose some high end here, maybe.
The pafjoe's decreased bass cuts the woof in the neck. Its added high end also works. Its about as perfect a pickups as i could ask for here.

The overall openness and eq of the set just seems to work well here.

It changed a guitar i rarely played to a main guitar. Seriously.
I played it alot when I got it almost 25 years ago. But from like '08 to last month, it got maybe 12 hours play time, total? and all that time was me trying set after set of pickups.
It got that much time this week alone!
It was always a looker and player. Now it sounds the part too.

My lone Basswood guitar in an rg921. Very even sounding guitar, but leaning to the bright side.
Tried full shreds in it. Great harmonics, but totally emphasized the brightness.
Solution? Breeds. Chopped the high end some, and made that puppy PHAT. Totally different guitar. You do not expect to hear that beef from a shed stick.

The full shreds reside in my mahogany bodied rg, where the fatter lows and mids actually compliment the pickups nicely.

Like I said, its about the combo.

Same with amps and speakers. A speaker or cab sucks until you find the amp it works well with, right? VIce versa too.

 

[HowieJams]

Maybe in the beginning.
I have an '02 carvin h2 holdswarth. The stock body AND NECK were alder. Yep, the neck too. The only option I selected was a maple top. That guitar resonates like nobodies business

How do you like the LB1? I've been sniffing around that one.



Throughout the years, I've heard:

Basswood is shit

Mahogany bodies with maple necks don't sound as good as other combos.

And so on.

From my collection and experience: the wood matters, but the guitar/pickup combo is the more important concept.

Get that right, and whatever wood your guitar is made of starts to matter less.

For example, I have a carvin holdworth that was a bitch to find pickups for. Due to construction and design, it was naturally light on low end. And worse, installing bassier pickups made mud. Kinda middy and flat with no zing in the highs as well.

I rolled every pickup I had thru it. All of them sounded great in my mahogany bodied rg, all sound OK at best in the holdsworth, with some just bad. Now, one could think an alder chambered body and alder neck is just a shit combo, or just a shit wood based on that.

But the last pickup swap was a game changer. It has a pafjoe/mojoe combo in it now
Well, lemme tell you, it's a great match.
The pickups have a crap ton of harmonics that fill in what was lacking in the highs.
The little bump in the mojoes low end adds just enough beef in the bridge. If I had any complaint, it's that maybe I could lose some high end here, maybe.
The pafjoe's decreased bass cuts the woof in the neck. Its added high end also works. Its about as perfect a pickups as i could ask for here.

The overall openness and eq of the set just seems to work well here.

It changed a guitar i rarely played to a main guitar. Seriously.
I played it alot when I got it almost 25 years ago. But from like '08 to last month, it got maybe 12 hours play time, total? and all that time was me trying set after set of pickups.
It got that much time this week alone!
It was always a looker and player. Now it sounds the part too.

My lone Basswood guitar in an rg921. Very even sounding guitar, but leaning to the bright side.
Tried full shreds in it. Great harmonics, but totally emphasized the brightness.
Solution? Breeds. Chopped the high end some, and made that puppy PHAT. Totally different guitar. You do not expect to hear that beef from a shed stick.

The full shreds reside in my mahogany bodied rg, where the fatter lows and mids actually compliment the pickups nicely.

Like I said, its about the combo.

Same with amps and speakers. A speaker or cab sucks until you find the amp it works well with, right? VIce versa too.

The LB1 is a GREAT guitar, amazing neck and playability, it looks amazing also.
I do prefer the Ibanez Prestige AZ2402 only because it has two splittable humbuckers and the bridge humbucker seems a little hotter than the on in the LB1.
Of course, I prefer the AZ2402 over my Fender American Ultra II HSS Strat for the same reason.
If the Ultra II and LB1 had two splittable humbuckers instead of just one it might be a different story.

I just bought a Charvel Guthrie Govan USA which is HSH which gives me exactly the options I wish the LB1 did.

I will say the LB1 feels much more polished and smooth to play over the AZ2402.

Stay in touch if you are going to pick one up, there is a small possibilty I might move on from mine and I would hook you up if I did.

 

[Uzi Nein Millimetah]

Maybe in the beginning.
I have an '02 carvin h2 holdswarth. The stock body AND NECK were alder. Yep, the neck too. The only option I selected was a maple top. That guitar resonates like nobodies business

How do you like the LB1? I've been sniffing around that one.



Throughout the years, I've heard:

Basswood is shit

Mahogany bodies with maple necks don't sound as good as other combos.

And so on.

From my collection and experience: the wood matters, but the guitar/pickup combo is the more important concept.

Get that right, and whatever wood your guitar is made of starts to matter less.

For example, I have a carvin holdworth that was a bitch to find pickups for. Due to construction and design, it was naturally light on low end. And worse, installing bassier pickups made mud. Kinda middy and flat with no zing in the highs as well.

I rolled every pickup I had thru it. All of them sounded great in my mahogany bodied rg, all sound OK at best in the holdsworth, with some just bad. Now, one could think an alder chambered body and alder neck is just a shit combo, or just a shit wood based on that.

But the last pickup swap was a game changer. It has a pafjoe/mojoe combo in it now
Well, lemme tell you, it's a great match.
The pickups have a crap ton of harmonics that fill in what was lacking in the highs.
The little bump in the mojoes low end adds just enough beef in the bridge. If I had any complaint, it's that maybe I could lose some high end here, maybe.
The pafjoe's decreased bass cuts the woof in the neck. Its added high end also works. Its about as perfect a pickups as i could ask for here.

The overall openness and eq of the set just seems to work well here.

It changed a guitar i rarely played to a main guitar. Seriously.
I played it alot when I got it almost 25 years ago. But from like '08 to last month, it got maybe 12 hours play time, total? and all that time was me trying set after set of pickups.
It got that much time this week alone!
It was always a looker and player. Now it sounds the part too.

My lone Basswood guitar in an rg921. Very even sounding guitar, but leaning to the bright side.
Tried full shreds in it. Great harmonics, but totally emphasized the brightness.
Solution? Breeds. Chopped the high end some, and made that puppy PHAT. Totally different guitar. You do not expect to hear that beef from a shed stick.

The full shreds reside in my mahogany bodied rg, where the fatter lows and mids actually compliment the pickups nicely.

Like I said, its about the combo.

Same with amps and speakers. A speaker or cab sucks until you find the amp it works well with, right? VIce versa too.

If you listen to Alan's work, you can see he wasn't a chugger or an ice pick guy. Something middy without extreme highs or lows makes sense for him.

 

[raakaribul]

If you listen to Alan's work, you can see he wasn't a chugger or an ice pick guy. Something middy without extreme highs or lows makes sense for him.

This, what worked for him might not work for guys who play heavier music for obv reasons.

 

[Metlupass2]

I love basswood guitars. I got a few of them.

 

[Deleted member 77333]

I love basswood guitars. I got a few of them.

I have 2 from Japan 86 & 88. Outstanding guitars. Basswood hate is a new fangled hipster tactic of someone who buys crappy guitars.
Clearly user error. Basswood guitars have had a stellar reputation for 50 years im old enough to know.

 

[gclef]

If you listen to Alan's work, you can see he wasn't a chugger or an ice pick guy. Something middy without extreme highs or lows makes sense for him.

I got the guitar because of the spec, not knowing that crucial fact. Lol.

I freaking love the guitar, so 25 years later, i really get to enjoy it.

 

[gclef]

The LB1 is a GREAT guitar, amazing neck and playability, it looks amazing also.
I do prefer the Ibanez Prestige AZ2402 only because it has two splittable humbuckers and the bridge humbucker seems a little hotter than the on in the LB1.
Of course, I prefer the AZ2402 over my Fender American Ultra II HSS Strat for the same reason.
If the Ultra II and LB1 had two splittable humbuckers instead of just one it might be a different story.

I just bought a Charvel Guthrie Govan USA which is HSH which gives me exactly the options I wish the LB1 did.

I will say the LB1 feels much more polished and smooth to play over the AZ2402.

Stay in touch if you are going to pick one up, there is a small possibilty I might move on from mine and I would hook you up if I did.

Those az necks are something. If i didnt have my js2450, id have one already.

I keep looking for reasons to get an orange one. Almost 2 grand new is almost suhr money.

My issue with the lb1 is the tele routs. Not many options without routing. Though, id just go harmonic design vintage plus and be done.
I am also finding that id rather have the humbucker voicing and a decent single coil tone, than just a good single coil neck tone.

Shoot me a pm on the lb1.

 

[HowieJams]

Will do.

Those az necks are something. If i didnt have my js2450, id have one already.

I keep looking for reasons to get an orange one.

My issue with the lb1 is the tele routs. Not many options without routing. Though, id just go harmonic design vintage plus and be done.
I am also finding that id rather have the humbucker voicing and a decent single coil tone, than just a good single coil neck tone.

Shoot me a pm on the lb1.

Let me go home and mess with it for a day or two before I make a rash decision.
It is a great guitar, I don't want to have sellers remorse.

I just did the same thing with my new Victory Sheriff 25 amp which I really liked.

My Victory MKX arrived and my son-in-law really wanted the Sheriff, so I sold him the Sheriff 25 and a new Friedman 1x12 cabinet for almost 35% off.
I could have returned the stuff for $2250, but he really wanted it, so I took a $750 hit, but it is family.

If I move on from the LB1 I will hook you up in a similar fashion.

 

[7704A]

I'll buy all of your horrible basswood guitars for 1$/lb.

 

[gibson5413]

Basswood sucks? Interesting. Some of my favorite guitars currently are basswood. Has a great midrange that sits in the band mix nicely. Records well too.

Agreed, George. I have an Anderson Pro Am with a basswood body and it sounds fantastic with the band and at home recording. Every piece of wood is different and can sound different regardless of what you have.

 

[raakaribul]

Basswood hate is a new fangled hipster tactic of someone who buys crappy guitars.
Clearly user error. Basswood guitars have had a stellar reputation for 50 years im old enough to know.

Cool, it still sucks ass