Tone = Pickups, Body Woods & Strings

[Boogie.Man]

I know that two basses with identical strings and pickups will sound differenct depending upon the wood used in the body. I know this to be true but I can't understand why it's true.

An "E" string will vibrate at a certain frequency with all of its under and over tones, right?

A pickup will convert the vibrations into electrical energy, producing a current, right?

How could the wood used have a bearing in the sound?

 

[mynan]

The string is anchored at both ends to (even as solid as they are) points that vibrate when the string is plucked. The way that those points vibrate affects the way that the string vibrates, thus the difference in sound...IMO, of course.

 

[MadMatt]

I know that two basses with identical strings and pickups will sound differenct depending upon the wood used in the body. I know this to be true but I can't understand why it's true.

An "E" string will vibrate at a certain frequency with all of its under and over tones, right?

A pickup will convert the vibrations into electrical energy, producing a current, right?

How could the wood used have a bearing in the sound?

Well people have done doctorates on this subject but I will try for the simplest answer.

The string and pickup are both mounted to a big chunk of wood. The E string you mentions sets the body and neck in vibration. The strings themselves swings in in many different frequencies (think flageolets). The wood has its own harmonics and dampens and strengthens the resonate swinging of the strings. Additionally the vibrations in the wood are transfered the pickup and this has a small effects on how the vibrations of the string are magnetically picked up.

Building basses is a fabulous art based good physics

 

[Jimmyb]

Exactly what the other two say.

The string isn't in isolation, what it's screwed into makes a difference.

 

[Boogie.Man]

Well people have done doctorates on this subject but I will try for the simplest answer.

The string and pickup are both mounted to a big chunk of wood. The E string you mentions sets the body and neck in vibration. The strings themselves swings in in many different frequencies (think flageolets). The wood has its own harmonics and dampens and strengthens the resonate swinging of the strings. Additionally the vibrations in the wood are transfered the pickup and this has a small effects on how the vibrations of the string are magnetically picked up.

Building basses is a fabulous art based good physics

I guess I'm thinking too digitally here and we're talking about an analog instrument. A string either vibrates at a certain frequency, which we call a note, or it doesn't, right? Wouldn't any variances in the string vibrations tranlate into making the note sharp/flat? I realize that the acoustic sound of a bass is very much influenced by the materials because the vibrations of the neck and wood figure into the sound. But don't pickups only pick up the magnetic disturbances by the strings?

This is one thing where the end results, defy the logic to me.

 

[mynan]

A string either vibrates at a certain frequency, which we call a note, or it doesn't, right?

Harmonics.

 

[Manfloozy]

The key is that while Electric it is still all analog as is your ear. Even a digital 40hz tone is going to sound different based on what speaker or analog device reproduces it for the analog receiver, ear.

Think about a double bass without a pickup. Now realize that a pickup is more of a microphone for magnetic fields then an analog to digital converter (or MIDI device).

Hope that helps.

 

[shakinbacon]

I know that two basses with identical strings and pickups will sound differenct depending upon the wood used in the body. I know this to be true but I can't understand why it's true.

An "E" string will vibrate at a certain frequency with all of its under and over tones, right?

A pickup will convert the vibrations into electrical energy, producing a current, right?

How could the wood used have a bearing in the sound?

That is a very good question. Here's my take on it

The wood and the pickup don't reproduce all of the frequencies/overtones produced by the string equally. Some frequencies are damped heavily while others resonate. This property can be quite different from one piece of wood to the next - not to mention one species to the next.

The pickups probably have tight enough tolerances that the differences between any two identical models are indistinguishable to most people.

 

[MadMatt]

I guess I'm thinking too digitally here and we're talking about an analog instrument. A string either vibrates at a certain frequency, which we call a note, or it doesn't, right?

Dont worry, I had to learn it too I suffer from not being able to play/use something without rudimentarily understanding how it works. That means I spend way too much time in Wikipedia.

Check this out, it's a good explanation: Harmonic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Boogie.Man]

That is a very good question. Here's my take on it

The wood and the pickup don't reproduce all of the frequencies/overtones produced by the string equally. Some frequencies are damped heavily while others resonate. This property can be quite different from one piece of wood to the next - not to mention one species to the next.

The pickups probably have tight enough tolerances that the differences between any two identical models are indistinguishable to most people.

Now that makes sense.

 

[Big Poppa]

resonance....

 

[Powman]

resonance....

Resonance is like a preferred customer. Every object has certain preferred frequencies that it likes to vibrate at. We can vibrate the object at any frequency we want, but certain pitches will be enhanced while others damped.

So, the wood has preferences and those get enhanced.

 

[oli@bass]

In general, and that might be a way of thinking that is logically to you in terms of items you know, each element of the instrument (body, neck, bridge, pickup, etc) acts as a complex filter on the frequency spectrum put out by the string.
Think of it as a large multiband EQ with resonance capability. An EQ never changes the pitch of the frequencies put into it, but it alters the volume of them.


To make things a bit more challenging, these "filters" all interact with each other and in their sum interact with the string, this even being able to alter the vibrations on the string itself (again, not the pitch, which is determined by the lenght, but the harmonic content).

 

[keko]

Tone = Pickups, Body Woods & Strings

OK, but in the next order:

Tone = Body woods, Neck woods, Hardware, Pickups, Strings and finally Preamp (if exist)!

Anyway, bass must unplugged sound good!
If this is OK, than plug it in the amp and try pups & electronics...etc!

 

[Boogie.Man]

Bp

resonance....

I know that the body and strings resonate and that you can hear it. But how does it makes its way into the circuitry? I'm under the impression that a pickup works by the vibrations of the string causing changes in its magnetic field.

I'm one of those people who really like to know how things work. Is there any good reading on this that is in layman's terms?

Thanks for all of the replys.