Neck woods make all the difference

[usedtobeachacha]

some say that its the pick-ups, some say its the wood, some even say its the metal the frets are made of but i'm a firm believer in the importance of neck woods. To that end i'm wondering if anyone's heard anything about a maple option for the Bongo. Maple fingerboards and necks have the clearest and brightest sounds of any woods i've used. Hey Sterling! Can i get my Bongo with a maple neck and fingerboard.... and maybe and actice/passive switch if you've got one lying around.....

 

[bovinehost]

I think it's the color.

You know, white and yellow basses sound bright while black and brown basses sound dark.

I don't know about this neck wood thing. How much of the string touches the fretboard? But my ears are shot so don't trust me.

 

[cdb]

It IS the color. You can play red basses faster, but black basses sound best in my opinion.

 

[fearofcups]

I'd rather eat an orange one then a brown one, don't know where that color's been...

 

[Figjam]

I agree that fingerboard wood has an affect. Jack I'll have to respectfully disagree with your facetious comment about the string touching the fingerboard. In my eyes (ears) basses are all about vibration. The strings directly touch the frets, which are implanted in the fingerboard wood. To me this has a very immediate affect on vibration, and in turn, sound.

 

[bovinehost]

Where's Dudley when we need him?

 

[StingRayzor]

Red may be faster, but it costs more to insure a red bass than a white one. White ones are also much more visible, decreasing the likelihood of being hit by other bassists while playing.

 

[maddog]

I like Bongos.

 

[strummer]

if you want an active/passive switch, just wire one up.

I don't really know why, and do not take this as a personal attack, but your original post annoys me a little.
Are you saying you are lacking in the clearness/brightness area with your bongo?

While it is true that all the wood bits, along with the hard ware, the glue, the pick ups, the electronics, the fret alloy, the finish(es), the truss rod, the strings and a lot of other more or less easily identified parts or procedures involved in building a bass affect the sound of the finished product, I think it is downright wrong to claim a certain fret board wood will give certain caracteristics. You simply cannot be sure of the effect before you have actually tried it. To prove my point, pick up a G*bson Ripper, all maple that one, and tell me it is clear and bright.
I personally wouldn't mind a maple fb option on a Bongo, but I won't claim to know in what way it would effect the sound of the Bongo. Who knows, the head stock mass might give you a dip in the 2.4 kHz area?

 

[usedtobeachacha]

yeah i think maple would be a great addition. But what "strummer" said is true. There are many factors that contribute in varrying degrees blah blah blah to resonating characteristics. However i think it is logical to assume that there are some components that have larger effects than others. For instance i don't think the type of screws used, pickguard material, or what type of springs you use in the bridge effect tone as much as the large resonating masses ( the neck, body, and bridge) or electronics.

I've never played basses with similar electronics, strings, and materials that did not sound definitively different with different neck and fingerboard materials. Rosewood sounds warmer and sweeter in the low and high end while maple feels clearer and has more fudimental.

Of course i think the bongo is a very incredible instrument or else i would not own one. It has a tone that i most closely relate to piano. The e string is the clearest and strongest of any bass i've ever owned or played. And an active passive switch would be a good addition to the standard musicman electonics in my opinion. they can be a gig saver in a bad situation. But if they never add it i'll keep buying these basses.

 

[strummer]

an active passive switch would be a good addition to the standard musicman electonics in my opinion. they can be a gig saver in a bad situation.

The wiring itself is, of course, simple enough. Also, there are push-pull and push-push pots that could be used so you wouldn't have to drill.
The real trick would be to lessen the output from the preamp so that it matched the passive mode.
Someone here (a canadian I think) gutted a Bongo and but an Aguilar preamp along with an active/passive switch, and he seems happy with the results. pesonally, I like things the way they are, except that I'm still thinking about bypassing the tone controls. Not the preamp, just the controls.

We are all crazy, one way or another

 

[KennethB]

Where's Dudley when we need him?

I remember a Bass Player issue where Dudley was interviewed about this and he said something like : "Rosewood is warmer and has a stronger fundamental, while maple is smoother and brighter." This was way back in 94 or something. The article was written by Michael Tobias and contained several manufacturers opinions about the sonic characteristics of different woods.

 

[usedtobeachacha]

yo strummer, but you do see my point? I personaly have been in that situation where i was running across town, had to skip the drug store, made it to the club only to kill the first set, and then go from hero to zero when my active bass died.

I would never personally tinker with the electronic in this bass. I think they're perfect. Screw aguilar preamps. I love this preamp. i hear what you mean on the tone control bi-pass. I think i'd like both actually. the gig saver and then "stop messing with it" saver

Also, Kenn i read this same article. I gotta say i that i think they are right. Rosewood does have a strong fundimental. What i mistake for that are the clearer overtones of maple. I have three maple neck squire II basses that are the **** to me. And if EBMM gets blown off the planet they'll be the only basses i'll play.

 

[smallequestrian]

If you're gigging without a backup bass, you're just asking for it not keeping a couple of spare 9v's in your bag.

 

[usedtobeachacha]

well yeah man, we all have the back up batts, but every bass player has an unfunky day or two here and there you know? not to mention that won't help until after the song is through....

PS Strummer, the reason the Ripper sucks is its god awful electronics not the maple! Don't blame maple for all that ****ty tone

 

[Big Poppa]

Number 1 I stay away from chicked vs egg questions and opinions...but having said that I think that the bridge is a huge factor in sound along with pickups...I can take 10 different bridges on the same axe and it will sound so different/. Body woods next and then neck wood and then fretboard a distant 4th or 5th.

 

[TheDirtyMoocher]

i think there might be more to jack's reply than meets the eye (although he may not know it) If you're going to take all the components of the bass into consideration i think you also need to take all the ways you perceive the bass into consideration. maple necks are a brighter color and have a less porous look to them which would suggest both logically and subconciously that they are tonally brighter. i know i play my defretted maple olp alot more agressively than my bongo because it feels like a faster, brighter instrument, but i couldnt back that up by listening to it, its just the look and feel that are influencing the sound.

i will never get involved in this topic again

 

[bovinehost]

i think there might be more to jack's reply than meets the eye (although he may not know it)

Or, you know, he may.

 

[Aussie Mark]

A two page thread about woods, and no mention of attackiness?

 

[midopa]

sparkle finishes have the most attackiness