In German, it's called Linde and it's THE tree for authentic Biergartens. They grow tall, fat and straight and sitting under them on a warm summer evening with friends and good beer is a magical experience.
Chestnut is actually better for beer gardens, at least in Bavaria: early wide leaves for shades and no sticky dripping when the tree blooms as is the case with Linde. ;) Might not be used for guitars, though.
Unfortunately their guitars aren’t made out of basswood those basswood bodies are made for the public if you want to get a true artist guitar get a kiesel
Many Mosrite models are made of Basswood, too. Light, nice wood, but it *does* dent super easily, so don't even touch the body to a wooden chair. My 66 has many dents; some I put there, some I didn't. It was missing its original finish _and_ original electronics when I got it, don't worry, I didn't ruin the guitar. It still needs refinished.
I have a pricey Charvel made with a basswood body. It is nice because it's light and the body material makes negligible different to the sound of any electric guitar.
Well said and well presented Chris. As Ernie Ball Music Man's Coordinator from the mid-80's to mid -90's I was witness to the development of a number of the Ernie Ball Music Man guitar models. The development of each artist model was a timely endeavor where we worked closely with the artist and the body woods chosen was often through an arduous trial and error testing process. For the original Steve Morse model, Steve's body choice was basswood. For the original Albert Lee model, Albert's body choice was ash or what some referred to as "swamp ash." Edward's choice for the original EVH model was a basswood body with a book-matched maple top. Luke's choice was alder. If my memory serves me, the Silhouette, Sting Ray, Sting Ray 5 and Sterling models were either ash, alder or basswood depending on the color.
I know I sound like a broken record but your playing is just incredible! The way you structure your solos is particularly inspiring. They all build so beautifully.
I would use the word unique rather than unparalleled. Then again everybody’s tone is unique. After all, although there is electronic signal colouration all along the signal pathway, it’s the organic input from the players fingers and emotional feedback response that creates a big component of the ultimate tone that listeners pick up in their ears and hearts.
As well as playability of the guitar and fixability of the minor things on not as quality guitars to be more quality if they are too much work like needing a new neck due to the one on guitar being twisted or bowed too much for use then you have a dud.
I bought a basswood tele body from Warmoth, finished it with oil, and put a Dimarzio PAF humbucker in the neck position. Best solid body jazz guitar I've ever played.
I used to be a guitar snob when I was younger. Amassed a collection of tens of thousands of dollars worth of guitars searching for my tone. With age, came my technique and finding my tone in my picking hand. I can play one of my custom Gibsons, or a $100 Squire, and I can make them all sing.
Same here man... I ended up selling most of my guitars.... rarely played them, good money just sitting there... kept the only ones I was comfortable playing and kept going back to... a MIM Cabronita, a MIM HSS Strat, a Chinese Ibanez Artcore and my Aussie made Maton Acoustic (that one is never going anywhere).
I just can’t get enough of your content. The stuff you talk about is very informative and educational. But your playing ............. Exceptional. I would love to see more videos of just you playing. Keep up the great work.
My 1983 Ibanez Roadstar II is Basswood. It'll do me as it's contributed to the best memories of my childhood. Sustains for days, falls into feedback beautifully on C (anywhere over the neck), and has served as a great temporary table & tray for carrying the essential refreshments a young garage band needs.
Squiers are hot right now. Phillip Mcknight and other guitar and gear gurus are actively hunting down indonesian squiers. I got a squier strat last year $250 it sounded and played amazing. Since ive stripped it bare, painted it and put 500 in parts into it and now its a monster custom. Totally worth every penny and some. Common question i get is "holy shit that is sweet, howd you afford a custom shop strat?" Im always on a budget. Im not even good at playing but having a sweet sounding, smooth playin guitar makes you want to play and learn all the time.
@@bwise4691 yeah I went and tried one the other day and quite frankly the difference between an American and a Squier is noticeable, but not quite as much as one would think.
My last electric guitar purchase was made with swamp ash. It's seems to gain weight every time I pick it up. Today it feels like oak. Makes me glad I sit while playing. And I thought the Silvertone I had 52 years ago in HS was heavy !!!
I once special ordered a G&L Tribute 2500 bass with a fat alder body. I was gigging almost every weekend that summer and it killed my back. Had to have surgery within a year. Granted, there were other factors like my job, but i had to switch basses. I now play an Ibanez ergodyne with the Luthite body and an 87 Ibanez RG550 made of basswood. They both play and sound exactly the way I want them to, and even after two spinal surgeries, I can stand for hours with them. Whatever sonic magic is missing because I don't have the right wood attached to my strings is compensated with an equaliser, or is an acceptable compromise for the comfort of light weight.
Hi Chris Buck. Your live clip at 6:00 led me to check out your band. Watched the song Slow Train. Wonderful. Always interesting talks on your videos here. Thanks
Keep in mind that a 335 is LAMINATED maple...most "experts" say laminated construction is inferior to solid wood...HaHaHa...the 335 is one of the finest gits ever created...
@@Epiphoneplayah ...hello there...Chris' video is about wood choices used in modern electric guitars...specifically Basswood but the underlying point of the vid is that some people have a snobbish attitude about guitar construction...maybe you are one of those people...IDK...but I personally believe that a quality instrument can be built from a huge variety of materials...and your childish name calling stunt is just plain SAD ...Oh well :)
Well the pickups and neck are joined to a solid piece of maple. But your point stands. Its also why i think epiphones and gibsons can sound very close to each other when you install the hardware in both.
I totally agree with you, it’s all about each one’s taste and ears, although there are studies that show how different types of woods resonate differently it all boils down to what you like. Your music quality depends on how YOU resonate with it and not only on how expensive, unique or adequate your instrument is. Finally I have to say your compositions and solos are awesome and your technique is very interesting to watch.
You rock brother! You're the only guitarist on UA-cam that I can spot just from a picture of you holding a guitar because of the way you hold that pic when you play!
Good laawd that’s an intro! Sick man! If you love the sound of the guitar....hey Chris I’m expecting delivery of ID Chris Buck pickups anytime now, can’t wait to install them!
To my ears your solos bring something modern to a style that has been rehashed and reinterpreted for over 50 years. It's a joy to be systematically surprised by your play. And killer tones! Absolutely sick the final solo tone.
I had a Parker Fly Deluxe, anything but entry, that was basswood body and poplar neck with a carbon fiber backing exoskeleton. Badass guitar that weighed just under 5lbs.
Chris, gosh, while all of your intros are exceptional this piece today is wonderfully emotive. Especially so when you switch to the Tele's bridge pickup (a place I'm sure you'd call home), really, really powerful work Sir. Thank You for the great content as well as sharing your music with us.
I have a Fender (Japan) stratocaster that is made out of basswood, I've played a LOT of other stratocasters made from ash and alder, for my money basswood is a perfectly good tonewood, it's slightly different in tonality, my personal view is that it emphasises the mid range of the guitar and to be honest you have to be a real tone devotee/anorak to hear the difference. My only minor gripe is that it does ding quite easily.
@@sojerz1044 Yes, the original pickups were ok without being anything special, I replaced them with some bespoke handwound pickups made by a company that doesn't exist any more (Wizard Pickups), the improvement in tone was significant.
Thank you so much for your brief description on the choice of guitar wood. In the 50s manufacturers (Fender and Gibson) selected their wood mainly on the basis of availability, price-point and machinabilty or paintability. You can't economically produce a smooth gold top finish on an open-pored mahogany surface. (Keep in mind the original les paul custom was dark and had no maple top!) And no-one would like a three-tone sunburst if the body was made of ash. On the other hand you have to create a unique selling point in your pr-story. That's been done a lot. And the manufactures took advantage of one side effect. There is an impact on the tone characteristic. Mainly because of humidity and density. That's why we hear differences between different guitars. Fender had to adjust their pickups in order to achieve a suitable sound when they changed the wood species . But there are huge deviations between different wood production lots and depending on the heat treatment. I personally doubt, that there was any tonal intention when the manufactures made their choice. But naturally, they have to manage the consequences. If one of the big manufactures chooses basswood they will adjust pickups and electronics to achieve their trademark sound. So everything will be fine. There's only one major drawback with basswood. It has a pretty ugly grain od better, it has rather no grain. That's why manufactures hide this wood under rather thick layers of paint. If they choose polyurethane, then the habtics are rather like plastic. This contributes a lot to the cheap image of basswood. I suggest, go and test your desired guitar. If it's good, it's good. If not it's not. Don't care too much about the name of the wood species
Once I mounted an 11-hole vintage pickguard on a basswood body that previously had a regular 11-hole pickguard, so one hole had to be drilled. I mounted the pickguard and used a small phillips screwdriver to manually drill a mark and a bit of a leading hole into the finish at the right spot. I applied some moderate pressure while turning the screwdriver to actually hurt the polyester armor and next thing I know is that I punched through that finish and the entire screwdriver shaft was sliding into the wood underneath like into cardboard. I removed the pickguard, thinking that I had somehow missed the wood but that was not it, it was simply the wood being incredibly soft. No surprise that this guitar had to have a thick polyester shell to make it somewhat resistant against dinging it... I'd appreciate the reduced weight too but I'm not exactly crazy for this combination of materials.
I love the fact that you were up there crushing it up on that stage with a Squier. All of the guitar brand snobs can suck it. You rock Chris and I hope to see you in concert soemday.
Ihv been playing guitar for a decade and seeing people playing...but You realllllllly paly fluently and seems enjoying it so much...and act you dial and change volume and all is awesome ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🤫🤫🤫🤫❤️❤️🤫❤️❤️🤫❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🤫❤️❤️❤️😍🥰🤫❤️🥰🥰🤫❤️😍🥰🤫❤️😍🥰🤫❤️😍🥰🤫❤️😍🥰🤫
I used to know a luthier who needed a guitar to install his newly acquired 10cc band Gizmotron (bridge with mechanised rotating rubber wheels to 'bow' the strings) so he knocked up a Strat body out of pine. He didn't even put any finish on it, left the wood bare but in his opinion it was hands down the best sounding Strat he had ever played. This from a guy who'd built, repaired and refretted guitars including Eric Clapton's Strats
I hadn't bought new gear in years but over the past two, I've had to replace a Telecaster and finally acquired a Les Paul. There is so much variety out there I realized the best thing was to just sit down and try out the gear and if it sounded good, felt great, and in my price range...I should get it. Now that being said, I worked three summers during college in a factory that made roll up porch shades out of basswood. I unloaded it, planed it, sawed it, stained it, baled the sawdust and shipped out the finished product. If I never see a stick of basswood again I will be just fine with that! LOL! Yes it is light, even grained, easy to work, and pale in color. And I am surprised that it would be a choice for a guitar body...but from what I heard in the video...it seems to work just fine if properly manufactured.
You would make a fibreboard body guitar sound fantastic I'm sure.... I have 2 Squier bullet strats from 2008 with basswood bodies which have upgraded pickups - I love the fact that they are so light - to me the body does not negatively effect the sound - so yes for me.... great playing and love your videos
As so often Chris, you nailed the objective assessment of basswood that others seem so unable to get to grips with. It's a knotty problem, the knot-free world of basswood.
I totally agree, I have a few basswood guitars from Squier and Fender and love that they are light and resonant. Pine is another maligned wood, however there seems to be some love for Pinecasters!
lighter woods are brighter in tone and project more treble response. And, many people older players especially, have lost the ability to hear upper midranges and bright tones. I find Bass wood and Paulownia/Empress wood great for recovering semi deaf aging electric guitar players with sore backs and shoulders and ears.
@@lorenzomcnally6629 I'm a strong guy with good hearing, nonetheless I still love the lightness and resonance of basswood and other lighter woods. It's very liberating, you can think about playing rather than struggle with your instrument. Also using very light string gauges really adds to playability and sound quality. Rick Beato does an appraisal of lighter string gauges, it debunks the heavier string theory re tone. Lighter strings = better sound dynamics.
@@eltimbalerdelbruc1414 I couldn't agree more. Jimi Hendrix played light gauge strings strung a half step down for his voice primarily. The guitar is voiced MIddle C in the lowest fret position. aka its meant to be a TREBLE LEAD & Rhythm instrument that can be clearly distinguished from Mid Ranges and Bass freq's. Watching Guitar players hang out on a BRIDGE PUP for 50 years got me to asking WHY? When EQ's on AMPS are readily available to tune a guitar's sound properly without piercing highs and WALLS OF MUD and ear splitting volume to keep up with BASS & DRUMS. Once you realize this that Neck PUP becomes a whole new ADDED dimension of Upper Mid ranges and musicality to your sound and mixes. Especially when you use the that TONE KNOB that barely anyone uses anymore on their guitars. Peace out and keep up your points about these basic sound and mix issues.
If the wood makes a difference, it is so small and negligible that most people won't notice it, and certainly not in a mix. If you want to change the tone, use the guitar and amp tone knobs. The main thing that makes people sound good ... practice.
I'm pretty sure the type of tone wood is irrelevant or, as you explained, companies wouldn't be using basswood for their high priced guitars. Guitar players probably don't like that it's called "bass"wood and not guitar-wood. Lol
Around 2016 fender made a stratocaster out of cardboard, and it sounded great. I don’t know if wood matters with electric guitars, but they do with acoustic. And just like me, most of the guys complaining about tonewood did not try enough guitars to earn an opinion.
I believe that the wood is very important to tone. Wood varies greatly within any given species, so generalizing about the sound of one type of wood is impossible. I have found, like many others,that an electric guitar that sounds good amplified also sounds good acoustically.
My Squier Affinity Telecaster has an Alder body and at the time of purchase it was their entry level Telecaster yet more expensive Squiers used Basswood bodies, I also had a Vintage Modified series Stratocaster (Black with lacquered Maple neck) which cost twice as much as the Affinity Telecaster yet had a Basswood body as did my Vintage Modified 70s Jazz Bass
I bought a guitar kit with a basswood body & I intend to fit a Floyd Rose to it. I choose basswood because I saw someone on youtube recommend it. then I saw a lot of scary vids about the trems ripping out of them. Seeing this vid gives me more confidence in what I'm building. Tele with a Floyd I hope. My first build.
Love your playing Chris!!! Your style is so unique, you have one of those tones, like some of the (other) greats that I can identify without seeing you play. Just soooo good!!!!
First , Chris. You're playing is really finding a great groove. You are by far the most influential player for me. Please make a album of just you doing you !!??? Please.... It's a fact that some woods are more harmonic , which with a string instrument is very important. Bass wood isn't really that cheap as in quality. Even though mahogany is much better. Koa, spruce , etc...
The last guitar I made had an ayous body, which is lighter (and easier to ding) than basswood generally. Put on a wenge cap for aesthetics and durability of the front of the guitar. Thing sounds great, maybe my best guitar ever. It's a neck-through, and sounded the same before and after the wenge cap almost doubled the weight of the body. I'm in the enlightened position of being able to experiment with body woods relatively easily, all other things being equal, and I've never heard a difference. Neck wood makes the tiniest of difference, but I use laminated neck construction nowadays so its just a case of what I have in the wood pile! Electronics and bridge mass have a vastly greater effect on tone than wood. I said to my daughter last time we were trying guitars in music shops, "Firstly it's how it feels and plays, not how it sounds, because I can generally make any guitar sound how I want with a bit of tweaking"
I have 3 identical Strat/Fender Musicmaster style guitars with a single pickup which the bodies are all made of Basswood; sometimes called Lindenwood. I also have a dreadnaught acoustic also made of Lindenwood, all of the guitars including the solid bodies have a great accoustic tone that rings out a long sustain. I think some of Eddy Van Hallen's early guitars had Basswood bodies, as you say Basswood is very light in weight, good if weight is an issue.
Thanks mate for yet another great episode. If you prove there is one more important contribution to sound than the tone wood, it is you, the creator of the sound. Like any other guitar player, my heroes used to be Satriani, Vai, Malmsteen. The faster the better. A Ferrari on German autobahn. But now, my God, tone is of more importance than speed, and you've nailed it.
Listening to that music first thing in the morning brightens up my day...And that Squier Tele Cabronita sounds SO good in your hands...As for basswood it's not a bad tonewood at all, it can actually be quite good...It all depends on where it's taken from... Obviously what's at the core of the tree will have a lot more density, be nicely figured, sound amazing etc...And the closer you are to the outer shell of the tree the less density and resonance you'll have and it's of course much cheaper... Obviously a $69 Glarry will not use the same quality of basswood as a $2700 MusicMan John Petrucci model...And you could say the same about any tonewood...
I wonder if that original poster knew that the accepted tonewood recipe for all of EVH’s post-Kramers is basswood with a maple top. It’s not just the Specials. The USA and Japan made ones were always like that, not just the current Fender-owned EVHs but the Music Man and Peavey guitars too. Also, Gibson has always used Poplar for one of the laminated layers on 335s, another “cheap” wood.
Basswood is also called Lime (not the citrus fruit) or Linden (a common pub name in the UK). The name Basswood comes from the Bast - the inner bark that is used to make cordage and ropes.
Oh do you know, how basswood rustles In moonlight of a night in spring? The love does sleep, the love does sleep. Go wake her, kiss her eyes The love does sleep Oh do you know, how them old woods do sleep? Through mists they do see deep. The moon, the stars, the nightingales... Ye ole men hear 'I'm yours' And nightingales!.. You know, how them the old woods sleep. Pavlo Tychyna, Ukrainian poet, 1911
Botanically we’re talking about the American name for Lime/Linden or the genus Tilia (various species as manufacturers are never precise about species used for any woods). It was popular with sculptors in Germany especially as it’s easy to carve.
My Squier Classic Vibe Tele Custom arrived today. Wasn't sure if it sounds good because it's body is made out of poplar. Heard it's not a good tonewood. Long story short it sounds amazing and I love the guitar.
In the Uk basswood is known as lime. It’s used for violin family blocks, it’s great to work. I’ve made bodies from it and it works just fine. It was also used for violin family necks, especially by inexperienced makers because it’s so easy to carve.
Pretty sure Chris Buck could strap a noodle to a popsicle stick and make it sound great. After decades of guitar tinkering and design Eddie Van Halen considered a basswood body capped with maple to be the “Holy Grail” of tone. Food for thought. Hard to argue with that guy.
I have a Squier Strat SE (full-size, 1¾ thickness body) partscaster mated with a WD maple, soft-V neck, and the body is made of agathis wood. The guitar is resonant and lightweight at 6.9 lbs (3.13 kg). I replaced a couple pickups on it, and the guitar is a fantastic player that certainly measures up to its expensive American-made cousins.
I believe that bass wood comes from the Lime tree, ( nothing to do with the citrus fruit ), it is a bastardised version of the old English / Germanic word Lind. Lind became Line as the tree’s bark was traditionally used for making cordage and eventually became Lime through misspelling in old texts. In America I believe that it is called the Linden. It has bees used for furniture for hundreds of years. In the U.K. we have the small leafed and the Large leafed Lime. The flowers of the lime tree are dried and made into a tea which is very popular in France and America. The family genus is Tilia. The flowers can also be dried and smoked which gives a mild high similar to cannabis but no where near in reality. Also you can eat the young leaves like lettuce.
I have never spent one second looking down my nose at basswood. I always consider the rather large number of superstar signature guitars with this wood used in their manufacture. Let us remember that the late, more-than-great Edward Van Halen used basswood in many of the guitars that he played onstage and in studios. We're talking about the guitarists' guitarist and the tone chaser of tone chasers. I personally own 9 guitars (8 six-strings and 1 bass); 2 of them are mahagany and the other 7 are basswood. The bass guitar is a basswood instrument from Glarry, and one of my six-strings is a Glarry also. These were bought with modding in mind. Several of the others have been modded, as well. The low cost of acquisition has played an important role here. My experience with basswood is that it can make a REALLY good guitar -- or bass. As always, it's the way the guitar's various components mesh together and with the axe's setup that make or break the instrument. The bottom line is that the quality of the player has more to do with satisfying guitar experiences than the quality of the woods, or even of the guitar!😎❤️️🎸‼️
I’m in the “every part of the guitar from the bridge to the nut has an effect on tone” camp. However, many of those parts have such a minor effect on the tone that while it may make a difference, it’s not one worth worrying about. And clearly, guitars with basswood can produce some very good sounds. The only thing that keeps me away from basswood is how easily it dings, I would prefer a harder wood primarily for preserving aesthetics.
Incredible playing as always and a good point well made. I'm lucky enough to have one of these Cabronitas (with the Bigsby) It's an amazing feeling guitar, and the vibrato system is surprisingly stable. (Even with the slightly fickle jazzmaster bridge) I've just popped a Hi-lotron single coil pickup in the neck position, and just fell in love with it a little bit More! Lovely to see my pride and joy in the hands of a legend.
I used to be a tonewood snob. A basswood guitar wasnt worth my money unless it was to harvest parts off the basswood. A couple years ago I got a hankering to try a Floyd Rose and wanted a shreddy guitar. My main concern was a wide flat fretboard and low action for shredding. If it wasnt swamp ash, or alder, or mahagony, that was okay, as long as it could shred, I could fix the tone with effects. I ended up with a 1987 RG550. It looked cool with a stripped bare(down to the basswood) body, three ply black pickguard and zebra duncan pickups. The neck was straight the frets were decent. Because the paint was stripped I got it for a cheap $350 with a case. After changing strings, and tweaking the Floyd, I was immpressed with the shreddabilty of the neck. I finally plugged it in for a test drive, expecting to be underwhelmed with the tone. Unplugged the basswood sounded so dull, even with brand new strings. Plugged in, Seymour Duncan takes over, and passes the ball to my pedalboard and my ears are blessed with sonic bliss. Continuing the test drive, I test the sustain on the high E at the 12 fret, expecting it to fade into noise quickly. Instead I'm rewarded with a nice musical tone that sustains and fades smoothly. I go up and down the neck with long tones, no dead spots. Not only is the sustain "not bad," its awesome. I never leaves me hanging on a tone want to hold on to. Its my favorite guitar. Ever. I'm looking for another vintage 550 just for eb tuning, and another as a backup. Basswood. I won't say that the species of wood doesnt make any difference in sound, but it is overstated by some and understated by others. I've had basswood guitars that did suck, and some that don't. I also special ordered a $700 G&L Tribute bass that was Alder that sounded no better in passive mode than my Cort made of agathis. My point is that the wood your guitar is made out of DOES matter, and make a difference, but also that the species of wood itself DOES NOT matter. My RG is one of the first of the line and Ibanez were Vaiing (vying)for a big share of a huge market. They were out to impress. They were using premium cuts of basswood, with good density and even grain with out weak spots. I think the issue with basswood is that theres lots of it that IS too light or structurally flawed to built a good guitar. But a properly selected cut of basswood can certainly be made into a low weight, good sounding guitar that sustains a note which can then be sculpted electronically into whatever you want. They key is to match your pickups to the wood. Find one that adds a little of what the wood lacks. With basswood, it lacks upper mids and highs. My favorite bridge pickup for this guitar is a Duncan Custom5, or a TB14, as it is also designated.
I have a Chinese made Squire Strat Contemporary and maybe the Candy Apple Red paint was double coated or something its not heavy or super lite But after putting a Tusk self- lubing nut and locking Hipshot tuners on it it sounds Fantastic and I have gigged with it enough times that its proven its self much better then the $400 I paid for it ! Maple fret board med. Jumbo frets It plays Metal and I Shred on it Live and at home one of the best Budget Guitars I have ever owned !! I ignore my $1,200 dollar Schecter much to the wife's dismay but its got that IT feeling when I play it !!
I always heard it was a cheap wood, but my 2020 EVH Wolfgang signature body is basswood, and this guitar sounds incredible. LOVE your playing man! I could watch just your right hand technique for hours and be happy. You have incredible technique.
This is Chris Buck. Of course its tasty. One of the greatest there is on this planet. Watch more of his and the band .. it will open your eyes and ears
Fujigen had their own basswood forest right up until 1998 and made some of their best guitars in the 1990-1993 period in particular . The Koa in their RB1 guitar was something else but they were quickly told to stop using this material too due to its rarity. I’ve played all types of Ibanez , Fenders and had no issues with basswood whatsoever.
HAHA I love that slow headstock Squier logo reveal at the end of the jam..good stuff Chris! I have three Squiers and one of them is a Squier Standard Telecaster and it is on par with my Fender Player Tele. Great guitar!..BTW Your playing is amazing! Stay safe buddy!
*There's ultimately 2 science and experienced based perspectives on tonewoods; damping vs resonance and yes, I have a deep scientific background to get into this.* Basswood has a high resonance because it's more susceptible to vibration. Then, conversely, looking at curly maple, it has a high damping factor due to hardness rejecting more vibration, and this keeps the vibration in the string longer. A very hard wood means you get more tone off of the materials the strings reflect off of, and this is relative to why when you put a rosewood fingerboard on a maple neck, you primarily hear the rosewood, and the same is true when it's a maple fingerboard on maple. The ratio of tone from resonance to reflection is then perceived in terms of human senses in knowing why you are hearing what you are hearing. Then, there's the soundwave break up and acoustic feedback with harder materials meaning, when a soundwave hits a really hard surface, it literally fractures and distorts. This plays into the sound produced by the string due to it's feedback; this isn't to say ultra hard materials produce a ton of transient noises from soundwave distortion. Now, we look at the soft basswood. This wood absorbs the vibration, and rather than shattering it from reflection, it has a smooth decay. This being relative to the inside of speaker cabinets being layered with padding or even carpet. It's hitting something soft and decaying gracefully. *I can just get incredibly deep into this far beyond what I have, but here's the bottom line for me.* My 2 favorite woods are basswood and mahogany lol! *I say that with maple sort of being mandatory in presence, and it does actually tie for me with mahogany.* Ultimately, basswood is also one of the most reliable woods in terms of sound, and you can make 10,000 basswood bodies with almost no perceivable difference in sounds between them all based on resonance, reflection and damping factors that all woods, materials and components in guitar ultimately have. *I will close with the aspect of the veteran brands of Gibson and Fender producing such consistent instruments by actually weighing lumber, creating company specs for a body and neck after being machined, and their quality control is such that it has to be within specs or they're going to sell it off as 2nds to another branding.* I have a 20th anniversary Squier stratocaster made in Indonesia, and unlike many Squiers and Fenders made out of the country, it is exact to American specs. I have played countless American made Fender Stratocasters, and it not only weighs exactly like any I have ever grabbed and played, but the balance between the neck and body feels identical. When you deal with players who have always been able to afford expensive guitars and have been committed heavily to the Les Paul or the Stratocaster, they are very in tune with that feeling and it's why so many don't like knock offs whether they're cheap or expensive. *I shred and sweep at a bazillion notes a minute, don't believe in spending a significant amount of money on guitars, but I can also heavily rebuild a $65 guitar so it plays like something that cost over $1000 from having a background in engineering, and trades such as carpentry, metal crafting and beyond.* .....not to say every guitar I own started out a POS I had to put $300 of my own labor into lol. My collection has a broad range among the few dozens I own.
Thanks for making a great video that thoroughly answers the question that I asked in the Fender Stratocaster Players group on Facebook. I'll definitely get an EVH guitar now -- if stores ever get them again.
Really excellent video, Chris: measured, well-informed, cautious about over-definite opinions and, best of all, irrigated with some superb playing. I suppose that, ‘objectively’, the problem with making simple assessments of any one component of a guitar is that it will be affected by so many other components. Subjectively, we’ve all got different bodies which interact differently with the body of any given guitar. Then there’s fashion and the attempt to resolve confusion by looking at established masters. If Jimmy Page hadn’t played a Harmony acoustic would they be so sought after? The guitar world has seen its orthodoxies up-ended many times over, most often by the emergence of a player who sets, or reverses, a trend. But one thing that seems constant is the fascination of guitarists with every feature of the instruments they play and dream of playing. Thank you as always for the stimulus your videos and playing provide.
Absolutely love to see you playing a squire somebody of your caliber of skill as a musician. I've been Stratocaster player my whole life (telecasters or my second choice even better when it has a strat neck going to tele body). Squire is not bad guitars. If you know how to set them up right, and no a couple slight Luther skills you're fine buying a squire.
In German, it's called Linde and it's THE tree for authentic Biergartens. They grow tall, fat and straight and sitting under them on a warm summer evening with friends and good beer is a magical experience.
Prost mein Freund
Sounds like a great time!
Ja, kann es kaum erwarten.. :/
Chestnut is actually better for beer gardens, at least in Bavaria: early wide leaves for shades and no sticky dripping when the tree blooms as is the case with Linde. ;) Might not be used for guitars, though.
@Bogey of course! But by that time, beergarden season is over anyway. :)
If basswood is good enough for EVH, Steve Vai, and John Petrucci, who the hell am I to argue. Being lighter certainly helps too.
Unfortunately their guitars aren’t made out of basswood those basswood bodies are made for the public if you want to get a true artist guitar get a kiesel
Many Mosrite models are made of Basswood, too. Light, nice wood, but it *does* dent super easily, so don't even touch the body to a wooden chair. My 66 has many dents; some I put there, some I didn't. It was missing its original finish _and_ original electronics when I got it, don't worry, I didn't ruin the guitar. It still needs refinished.
I have a pricey Charvel made with a basswood body. It is nice because it's light and the body material makes negligible different to the sound of any electric guitar.
Eddie even talked about the basswood he seem to think it ruled
I think EVHs Wolfgang was mahogany with a maple top like a Les Paul.
*Superb* playing on that intro.
And the outro
Drum track was rather jarring, though...
Monstrous
Well said and well presented Chris. As Ernie Ball Music Man's Coordinator from the mid-80's to mid -90's I was witness to the development of a number of the Ernie Ball Music Man guitar models. The development of each artist model was a timely endeavor where we worked closely with the artist and the body woods chosen was often through an arduous trial and error testing process. For the original Steve Morse model, Steve's body choice was basswood. For the original Albert Lee model, Albert's body choice was ash or what some referred to as "swamp ash." Edward's choice for the original EVH model was a basswood body with a book-matched maple top. Luke's choice was alder. If my memory serves me, the Silhouette, Sting Ray, Sting Ray 5 and Sterling models were either ash, alder or basswood depending on the color.
I know I sound like a broken record but your playing is just incredible! The way you structure your solos is particularly inspiring. They all build so beautifully.
Yeah I want this backtrack for sure
Yo i was thinkin' The SAME watchin an hearin' that intro solo. There is so much that is good about what he is doing..
Yeh but too bad about that tree wood in that guitar body, hey?!
Now I can never look at a Cabronita Tele without feeling emotionally used.
Your touch and tone are unparalleled Chris. Can't get enough of these videos!
Yeah only recently saw this guy. Blown away.
I would use the word unique rather than unparalleled.
Then again everybody’s tone is unique. After all, although there is electronic signal colouration all along the signal pathway, it’s the organic input from the players fingers and emotional feedback response that creates a big component of the ultimate tone that listeners pick up in their ears and hearts.
Yeah, if we were playing more and not just watching UA-cam videos we'd sound better, hey?!
"If it sounds good, it is good"
Copyright J. Sandercoe
Not entirely true. But rather: if it sounds good, it sounds good.
As well as playability of the guitar and fixability of the minor things on not as quality guitars to be more quality if they are too much work like needing a new neck due to the one on guitar being twisted or bowed too much for use then you have a dud.
- Jesus
Chris could strangle a cat and make it sound good.
I bought a basswood tele body from Warmoth, finished it with oil, and put a Dimarzio PAF humbucker in the neck position. Best solid body jazz guitar I've ever played.
I’m convinced that Chris buck could play a stick with a wire on it and make it sound amazing. You are seriously talented my man!
That's called Diddley Bo, stick n wire. Seasick Steve plays one.
After all the talk is done, it still comes down to the person playing the guitar. This guy can play a 2x4 with strings and pickups and sound good.
Wow that solo at the start gave me goosebumps, Chris if you ever bring a CD out I'm buying it, rock on.
The band have an album out.. Buck and Evans is his band and the Album is entitled Write a better day ...
I used to be a guitar snob when I was younger. Amassed a collection of tens of thousands of dollars worth of guitars searching for my tone. With age, came my technique and finding my tone in my picking hand. I can play one of my custom Gibsons, or a $100 Squire, and I can make them all sing.
Same here man... I ended up selling most of my guitars.... rarely played them, good money just sitting there... kept the only ones I was comfortable playing and kept going back to... a MIM Cabronita, a MIM HSS Strat, a Chinese Ibanez Artcore and my Aussie made Maton Acoustic (that one is never going anywhere).
But still not spell them correctly? Not sure your story checks out, rich boy.
@@fdfsdfsvsfgsg4888 You insult and call someone a liar, based a few spelling typos in a UA-cam comment? You have a serious character flaw.
@@fdfsdfsvsfgsg4888 autocorrect changes squier to squire. Not saying either of you are right or wrong. But it could be he didnt even notice
I love how at the end of the intro you casually slide the Squier logo into view presumably to let a hoard of fans gasp.
Friday Fretworks.... always a welcome start to the weekend!
FF has now become a weekend start ritual and I love it. Chris, like always, blown away by your playing
I just can’t get enough of your content. The stuff you talk about is very informative and educational. But your playing ............. Exceptional. I would love to see more videos of just you playing. Keep up the great work.
My 1983 Ibanez Roadstar II is Basswood. It'll do me as it's contributed to the best memories of my childhood. Sustains for days, falls into feedback beautifully on C (anywhere over the neck), and has served as a great temporary table & tray for carrying the essential refreshments a young garage band needs.
If Chris uses a squire to gig, then what’s keeping me on using one to play smoke on the water (pretty poorly at that)
I thought you were talking about Chris Squire for a moment and was very confused.
Squiers are hot right now.
Phillip Mcknight and other guitar and gear gurus are actively hunting down indonesian squiers.
I got a squier strat last year $250 it sounded and played amazing. Since ive stripped it bare, painted it and put 500 in parts into it and now its a monster custom.
Totally worth every penny and some. Common question i get is "holy shit that is sweet, howd you afford a custom shop strat?" Im always on a budget.
Im not even good at playing but having a sweet sounding, smooth playin guitar makes you want to play and learn all the time.
they're just a setup away from being neck to neck with any other high-end guitar in playability.
@@bwise4691 yeah I went and tried one the other day and quite frankly the difference between an American and a Squier is noticeable, but not quite as much as one would think.
Basswood is a God send for those with bad backs.
I thought this said Dad backs. Like kind of the same as a bad back 😅
@@TurtleRocker12 I'm 48 with two back surgeries. I am also a dad, so I agree. lol
Mom broke his back a few times. 😳
My last electric guitar purchase was made with swamp ash. It's seems to gain weight every time I pick it up. Today it feels like oak. Makes me glad I sit while playing. And I thought the Silvertone I had 52 years ago in HS was heavy !!!
I once special ordered a G&L Tribute 2500 bass with a fat alder body. I was gigging almost every weekend that summer and it killed my back. Had to have surgery within a year. Granted, there were other factors like my job, but i had to switch basses. I now play an Ibanez ergodyne with the Luthite body and an 87 Ibanez RG550 made of basswood. They both play and sound exactly the way I want them to, and even after two spinal surgeries, I can stand for hours with them. Whatever sonic magic is missing because I don't have the right wood attached to my strings is compensated with an equaliser, or is an acceptable compromise for the comfort of light weight.
That intro Chris! I could listen to that all day. Exactly my style of music.
Hi Chris Buck. Your live clip at 6:00 led me to check out your band. Watched the song Slow Train. Wonderful. Always interesting talks on your videos here. Thanks
That intro was one of your best ever. Please turn it into a song.
Keep in mind that a 335 is LAMINATED maple...most "experts" say laminated construction is inferior
to solid wood...HaHaHa...the 335 is one of the finest gits ever created...
Very true. I own a China made Casino (laminated maple top) and it has one of the best sounds of any guitar I have ever played.
They only saw that about about acoustic guitars you twit, because it applies towards them not electrics.
@@Epiphoneplayah ...hello there...Chris' video is about wood choices used in modern electric guitars...specifically Basswood but the underlying point of the vid is that some people have a snobbish attitude about guitar construction...maybe you are one of those people...IDK...but I personally believe that a quality instrument can be built from a huge variety of materials...and your childish name calling stunt is just plain SAD ...Oh well :)
Well the pickups and neck are joined to a solid piece of maple.
But your point stands.
Its also why i think epiphones and gibsons can sound very close to each other when you install the hardware in both.
I totally agree with you, it’s all about each one’s taste and ears, although there are studies that show how different types of woods resonate differently it all boils down to what you like. Your music quality depends on how YOU resonate with it and not only on how expensive, unique or adequate your instrument is. Finally I have to say your compositions and solos are awesome and your technique is very interesting to watch.
Professor Buckmaster. 'Thou art wise as thou art beautiful' (Titania)😀😀 Basswood is light so I am a big fan of it. Good video.
Your channel is blowing up dude. Not hard to see why given the quality of your videos and playing. Rock on.
You rock brother! You're the only guitarist on UA-cam that I can spot just from a picture of you holding a guitar because of the way you hold that pic when you play!
i think i just melted after that intro
Good laawd that’s an intro! Sick man! If you love the sound of the guitar....hey Chris I’m expecting delivery of ID Chris Buck pickups anytime now, can’t wait to install them!
To my ears your solos bring something modern to a style that has been rehashed and reinterpreted for over 50 years. It's a joy to be systematically surprised by your play. And killer tones! Absolutely sick the final solo tone.
Wow, your playing! Superb Sir..
I had a Parker Fly Deluxe, anything but entry, that was basswood body and poplar neck with a carbon fiber backing exoskeleton. Badass guitar that weighed just under 5lbs.
Wow, love your heavy blues rock, sounds great at the festival
That solo at the end had so much emotion, wow!😎🎙🎸✅
Chris, gosh, while all of your intros are exceptional this piece today is wonderfully emotive.
Especially so when you switch to the Tele's bridge pickup (a place I'm sure you'd call home), really, really powerful work Sir.
Thank You for the great content as well as sharing your music with us.
I have a Fender (Japan) stratocaster that is made out of basswood, I've played a LOT of other stratocasters made from ash and alder, for my money basswood is a perfectly good tonewood, it's slightly different in tonality, my personal view is that it emphasises the mid range of the guitar and to be honest you have to be a real tone devotee/anorak to hear the difference. My only minor gripe is that it does ding quite easily.
Did you ever swap the pickups or kept the stock pickups?
@@sojerz1044 Yes, the original pickups were ok without being anything special, I replaced them with some bespoke handwound pickups made by a company that doesn't exist any more (Wizard Pickups), the improvement in tone was significant.
Thank you so much for your brief description on the choice of guitar wood.
In the 50s manufacturers (Fender and Gibson) selected their wood mainly on the basis of availability, price-point and machinabilty or paintability. You can't economically produce a smooth gold top finish on an open-pored mahogany surface. (Keep in mind the original les paul custom was dark and had no maple top!) And no-one would like a three-tone sunburst if the body was made of ash.
On the other hand you have to create a unique selling point in your pr-story. That's been done a lot. And the manufactures took advantage of one side effect.
There is an impact on the tone characteristic. Mainly because of humidity and density. That's why we hear differences between different guitars. Fender had to adjust their pickups in order to achieve a suitable sound when they changed the wood species . But there are huge deviations between different wood production lots and depending on the heat treatment. I personally doubt, that there was any tonal intention when the manufactures made their choice. But naturally, they have to manage the consequences. If one of the big manufactures chooses basswood they will adjust pickups and electronics to achieve their trademark sound. So everything will be fine.
There's only one major drawback with basswood. It has a pretty ugly grain od better, it has rather no grain. That's why manufactures hide this wood under rather thick layers of paint. If they choose polyurethane, then the habtics are rather like plastic. This contributes a lot to the cheap image of basswood. I suggest, go and test your desired guitar. If it's good, it's good. If not it's not. Don't care too much about the name of the wood species
Chris, you’re amazing musician! This intro jam gave me legit goosebumps! You’re a true genius, keep it up!
Once I mounted an 11-hole vintage pickguard on a basswood body that previously had a regular 11-hole pickguard, so one hole had to be drilled. I mounted the pickguard and used a small phillips screwdriver to manually drill a mark and a bit of a leading hole into the finish at the right spot. I applied some moderate pressure while turning the screwdriver to actually hurt the polyester armor and next thing I know is that I punched through that finish and the entire screwdriver shaft was sliding into the wood underneath like into cardboard. I removed the pickguard, thinking that I had somehow missed the wood but that was not it, it was simply the wood being incredibly soft. No surprise that this guitar had to have a thick polyester shell to make it somewhat resistant against dinging it... I'd appreciate the reduced weight too but I'm not exactly crazy for this combination of materials.
some say a basswood body with a maple top is the ultimate combo
That’s the combination Suhr uses on most of their Moderns. A company of that caliber wouldn’t use it if it was bad.
I really appreciated how light my MIJ Tele with basswood was. Made for a comfy guitar on the couch and standing up.
I love the fact that you were up there crushing it up on that stage with a Squier. All of the guitar brand snobs can suck it. You rock Chris and I hope to see you in concert soemday.
Amp matters more than anything else. If a rock could stay in tune u could play it.
Ihv been playing guitar for a decade and seeing people playing...but
You realllllllly paly fluently and seems enjoying it so much...and act you dial and change volume and all is awesome ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🤫🤫🤫🤫❤️❤️🤫❤️❤️🤫❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🤫❤️❤️❤️😍🥰🤫❤️🥰🥰🤫❤️😍🥰🤫❤️😍🥰🤫❤️😍🥰🤫❤️😍🥰🤫
That last peace, played on a Strat made of Buckwood? Goose bumps!
Love the playing..you really dig in!
I think, regardless of the wood, the magic is in the hands and fingers.
agreed
I used to know a luthier who needed a guitar to install his newly acquired 10cc band Gizmotron (bridge with mechanised rotating rubber wheels to 'bow' the strings) so he knocked up a Strat body out of pine. He didn't even put any finish on it, left the wood bare but in his opinion it was hands down the best sounding Strat he had ever played. This from a guy who'd built, repaired and refretted guitars including Eric Clapton's Strats
Can't tell you how much I look forward to Friday Fretworks, Chris. Absolutely superb presentation and playing 🙌🏻🙌🏻
I hadn't bought new gear in years but over the past two, I've had to replace a Telecaster and finally acquired a Les Paul. There is so much variety out there I realized the best thing was to just sit down and try out the gear and if it sounded good, felt great, and in my price range...I should get it. Now that being said, I worked three summers during college in a factory that made roll up porch shades out of basswood. I unloaded it, planed it, sawed it, stained it, baled the sawdust and shipped out the finished product. If I never see a stick of basswood again I will be just fine with that! LOL! Yes it is light, even grained, easy to work, and pale in color. And I am surprised that it would be a choice for a guitar body...but from what I heard in the video...it seems to work just fine if properly manufactured.
Yes! Best time of the week Chris!
The never ending tone wood debate. It all comes down to pickups and fingers. Imo.....
And Chris has finger tone in spades!
You would make a fibreboard body guitar sound fantastic I'm sure.... I have 2 Squier bullet strats from 2008 with basswood bodies which have upgraded pickups - I love the fact that they are so light - to me the body does not negatively effect the sound - so yes for me.... great playing and love your videos
Fabulous playing as usual
As so often Chris, you nailed the objective assessment of basswood that others seem so unable to get to grips with. It's a knotty problem, the knot-free world of basswood.
knot-free is a very nice thing
I totally agree, I have a few basswood guitars from Squier and Fender and love that they are light and resonant. Pine is another maligned wood, however there seems to be some love for Pinecasters!
lighter woods are brighter in tone and project more treble response. And, many people older players especially, have lost the ability to hear upper midranges and bright tones. I find Bass wood and Paulownia/Empress wood great for recovering semi deaf aging electric guitar players with sore backs and shoulders and ears.
@@lorenzomcnally6629 I'm a strong guy with good hearing, nonetheless I still love the lightness and resonance of basswood and other lighter woods. It's very liberating, you can think about playing rather than struggle with your instrument. Also using very light string gauges really adds to playability and sound quality. Rick Beato does an appraisal of lighter string gauges, it debunks the heavier string theory re tone. Lighter strings = better sound dynamics.
@@eltimbalerdelbruc1414
I couldn't agree more. Jimi Hendrix played light gauge strings strung a half step down for his voice primarily.
The guitar is voiced MIddle C in the lowest fret position. aka its meant to be a TREBLE LEAD & Rhythm instrument that can be clearly distinguished from Mid Ranges and Bass freq's.
Watching Guitar players hang out on a BRIDGE PUP for 50 years got me to asking WHY? When EQ's on AMPS are readily available to tune a guitar's sound properly without piercing highs and WALLS OF MUD and ear splitting volume to keep up with BASS & DRUMS. Once you realize this that Neck PUP becomes a whole new ADDED dimension of Upper Mid ranges and musicality to your sound and mixes. Especially when you use the that TONE KNOB that barely anyone uses anymore on their guitars.
Peace out and keep up your points about these basic sound and mix issues.
Dude!! You must be the reincarnation of several great guitar players!!! It's crazy how young and good you are!!
I know I made a bit of a joke of it, but I'm genuinely intrigued to hear your thoughts on 'tonewood' - fact or fallacy? 😬
I just recently got a Godin Stadium HT which is Basswood, and it's one of my fav guitars ever :)
If the wood makes a difference, it is so small and negligible that most people won't notice it, and certainly not in a mix. If you want to change the tone, use the guitar and amp tone knobs. The main thing that makes people sound good ... practice.
I'm pretty sure the type of tone wood is irrelevant or, as you explained, companies wouldn't be using basswood for their high priced guitars. Guitar players probably don't like that it's called "bass"wood and not guitar-wood. Lol
Around 2016 fender made a stratocaster out of cardboard, and it sounded great. I don’t know if wood matters with electric guitars, but they do with acoustic. And just like me, most of the guys complaining about tonewood did not try enough guitars to earn an opinion.
I believe that the wood is very important to tone. Wood varies greatly within any given species, so generalizing about the sound of one type of wood is impossible. I have found, like many others,that an electric guitar that sounds good amplified also sounds good acoustically.
My Squier Affinity Telecaster has an Alder body and at the time of purchase it was their entry level Telecaster yet more expensive Squiers used Basswood bodies, I also had a Vintage Modified series Stratocaster (Black with lacquered Maple neck) which cost twice as much as the Affinity Telecaster yet had a Basswood body as did my Vintage Modified 70s Jazz Bass
I have a 90s MIJ Tele thats made out of Basswood. Its been my solid player guitar for the past 20+ years (I am the second owner).
I bought a guitar kit with a basswood body & I intend to fit a Floyd Rose to it. I choose basswood because I saw someone on youtube recommend it. then I saw a lot of scary vids about the trems ripping out of them. Seeing this vid gives me more confidence in what I'm building. Tele with a Floyd I hope. My first build.
Love your playing Chris!!! Your style is so unique, you have one of those tones, like some of the (other) greats that I can identify without seeing you play. Just soooo good!!!!
First , Chris. You're playing is really finding a great groove. You are by far the most influential player for me. Please make a album of just you doing you !!??? Please....
It's a fact that some woods are more harmonic , which with a string instrument is very important. Bass wood isn't really that cheap as in quality. Even though mahogany is much better. Koa, spruce , etc...
very concise presentation bravo.
The last guitar I made had an ayous body, which is lighter (and easier to ding) than basswood generally. Put on a wenge cap for aesthetics and durability of the front of the guitar. Thing sounds great, maybe my best guitar ever. It's a neck-through, and sounded the same before and after the wenge cap almost doubled the weight of the body. I'm in the enlightened position of being able to experiment with body woods relatively easily, all other things being equal, and I've never heard a difference. Neck wood makes the tiniest of difference, but I use laminated neck construction nowadays so its just a case of what I have in the wood pile! Electronics and bridge mass have a vastly greater effect on tone than wood. I said to my daughter last time we were trying guitars in music shops, "Firstly it's how it feels and plays, not how it sounds, because I can generally make any guitar sound how I want with a bit of tweaking"
I have 3 identical Strat/Fender Musicmaster style guitars with a single pickup which the bodies are all made of Basswood; sometimes called Lindenwood. I also have a dreadnaught acoustic also made of Lindenwood, all of the guitars including the solid bodies have a great accoustic tone that rings out a long sustain. I think some of Eddy Van Hallen's early guitars had Basswood bodies, as you say Basswood is very light in weight, good if weight is an issue.
That ending was awesome ;)
Thanks mate for yet another great episode. If you prove there is one more important contribution to sound than the tone wood, it is you, the creator of the sound.
Like any other guitar player, my heroes used to be Satriani, Vai, Malmsteen. The faster the better. A Ferrari on German autobahn. But now, my God, tone is of more importance than speed, and you've nailed it.
Listening to that music first thing in the morning brightens up my day...And that Squier Tele Cabronita sounds SO good in your hands...As for basswood it's not a bad tonewood at all, it can actually be quite good...It all depends on where it's taken from... Obviously what's at the core of the tree will have a lot more density, be nicely figured, sound amazing etc...And the closer you are to the outer shell of the tree the less density and resonance you'll have and it's of course much cheaper... Obviously a $69 Glarry will not use the same quality of basswood as a $2700 MusicMan John Petrucci model...And you could say the same about any tonewood...
I wonder if that original poster knew that the accepted tonewood recipe for all of EVH’s post-Kramers is basswood with a maple top. It’s not just the Specials. The USA and Japan made ones were always like that, not just the current Fender-owned EVHs but the Music Man and Peavey guitars too. Also, Gibson has always used Poplar for one of the laminated layers on 335s, another “cheap” wood.
Fantastic opening piece!
Basswood is also called Lime (not the citrus fruit) or Linden (a common pub name in the UK).
The name Basswood comes from the Bast - the inner bark that is used to make cordage and ropes.
Oh do you know, how basswood rustles
In moonlight of a night in spring?
The love does sleep, the love does sleep.
Go wake her, kiss her eyes
The love does sleep
Oh do you know, how them old woods do sleep?
Through mists they do see deep.
The moon, the stars, the nightingales...
Ye ole men hear 'I'm yours'
And nightingales!..
You know, how them the old woods sleep.
Pavlo Tychyna, Ukrainian poet, 1911
Much love from New mexico Chris. Hope all is well.
Botanically we’re talking about the American name for Lime/Linden or the genus Tilia (various species as manufacturers are never precise about species used for any woods). It was popular with sculptors in Germany especially as it’s easy to carve.
My Squier Classic Vibe Tele Custom arrived today. Wasn't sure if it sounds good because it's body is made out of poplar. Heard it's not a good tonewood.
Long story short it sounds amazing and I love the guitar.
Squier CV’s are either pine or alder.
Poplar was used on Musicmaster/ Mustang family guitars & is currently used in the PRS SE Silver Sky
Really enjoyed this. Very interesting👍
interesting video, as always. Love that outro - definitely getting a Great Gig In The Sky vibe from it. Great stuff.
Superb thanks Chris
In the Uk basswood is known as lime. It’s used for violin family blocks, it’s great to work. I’ve made bodies from it and it works just fine. It was also used for violin family necks, especially by inexperienced makers because it’s so easy to carve.
Your Killing it Bro!
Pretty sure Chris Buck could strap a noodle to a popsicle stick and make it sound great.
After decades of guitar tinkering and design Eddie Van Halen considered a basswood body capped with maple to be the “Holy Grail” of tone. Food for thought. Hard to argue with that guy.
I have a Squier Strat SE (full-size, 1¾ thickness body) partscaster mated with a WD maple, soft-V neck, and the body is made of agathis wood. The guitar is resonant and lightweight at 6.9 lbs (3.13 kg). I replaced a couple pickups on it, and the guitar is a fantastic player that certainly measures up to its expensive American-made cousins.
I believe that bass wood comes from the Lime tree, ( nothing to do with the citrus fruit ), it is a bastardised version of the old English / Germanic word Lind. Lind became Line as the tree’s bark was traditionally used for making cordage and eventually became Lime through misspelling in old texts. In America I believe that it is called the Linden. It has bees used for furniture for hundreds of years. In the U.K. we have the small leafed and the Large leafed Lime. The flowers of the lime tree are dried and made into a tea which is very popular in France and America. The family genus is Tilia. The flowers can also be dried and smoked which gives a mild high similar to cannabis but no where near in reality. Also you can eat the young leaves like lettuce.
Yep - German Linden, Dutch Linde, Icelandic/Swedish/Danish/Norwegian Lind.
I have never spent one second looking down my nose at basswood. I always consider the rather large number of superstar signature guitars with this wood used in their manufacture. Let us remember that the late, more-than-great Edward Van Halen used basswood in many of the guitars that he played onstage and in studios. We're talking about the guitarists' guitarist and the tone chaser of tone chasers. I personally own 9 guitars (8 six-strings and 1 bass); 2 of them are mahagany and the other 7 are basswood. The bass guitar is a basswood instrument from Glarry, and one of my six-strings is a Glarry also. These were bought with modding in mind. Several of the others have been modded, as well. The low cost of acquisition has played an important role here.
My experience with basswood is that it can make a REALLY good guitar -- or bass. As always, it's the way the guitar's various components mesh together and with the axe's setup that make or break the instrument. The bottom line is that the quality of the player has more to do with satisfying guitar experiences than the quality of the woods, or even of the guitar!😎❤️️🎸‼️
I’m in the “every part of the guitar from the bridge to the nut has an effect on tone” camp. However, many of those parts have such a minor effect on the tone that while it may make a difference, it’s not one worth worrying about. And clearly, guitars with basswood can produce some very good sounds. The only thing that keeps me away from basswood is how easily it dings, I would prefer a harder wood primarily for preserving aesthetics.
Incredible playing as always and a good point well made.
I'm lucky enough to have one of these Cabronitas (with the Bigsby)
It's an amazing feeling guitar, and the vibrato system is surprisingly stable. (Even with the slightly fickle jazzmaster bridge)
I've just popped a Hi-lotron single coil pickup in the neck position, and just fell in love with it a little bit More!
Lovely to see my pride and joy in the hands of a legend.
I used to be a tonewood snob. A basswood guitar wasnt worth my money unless it was to harvest parts off the basswood. A couple years ago I got a hankering to try a Floyd Rose and wanted a shreddy guitar. My main concern was a wide flat fretboard and low action for shredding. If it wasnt swamp ash, or alder, or mahagony, that was okay, as long as it could shred, I could fix the tone with effects. I ended up with a 1987 RG550. It looked cool with a stripped bare(down to the basswood) body, three ply black pickguard and zebra duncan pickups. The neck was straight the frets were decent. Because the paint was stripped I got it for a cheap $350 with a case. After changing strings, and tweaking the Floyd, I was immpressed with the shreddabilty of the neck. I finally plugged it in for a test drive, expecting to be underwhelmed with the tone. Unplugged the basswood sounded so dull, even with brand new strings. Plugged in, Seymour Duncan takes over, and passes the ball to my pedalboard and my ears are blessed with sonic bliss. Continuing the test drive, I test the sustain on the high E at the 12 fret, expecting it to fade into noise quickly. Instead I'm rewarded with a nice musical tone that sustains and fades smoothly. I go up and down the neck with long tones, no dead spots. Not only is the sustain "not bad," its awesome. I never leaves me hanging on a tone want to hold on to. Its my favorite guitar. Ever. I'm looking for another vintage 550 just for eb tuning, and another as a backup. Basswood. I won't say that the species of wood doesnt make any difference in sound, but it is overstated by some and understated by others. I've had basswood guitars that did suck, and some that don't. I also special ordered a $700 G&L Tribute bass that was Alder that sounded no better in passive mode than my Cort made of agathis. My point is that the wood your guitar is made out of DOES matter, and make a difference, but also that the species of wood itself DOES NOT matter. My RG is one of the first of the line and Ibanez were Vaiing (vying)for a big share of a huge market. They were out to impress. They were using premium cuts of basswood, with good density and even grain with out weak spots. I think the issue with basswood is that theres lots of it that IS too light or structurally flawed to built a good guitar. But a properly selected cut of basswood can certainly be made into a low weight, good sounding guitar that sustains a note which can then be sculpted electronically into whatever you want. They key is to match your pickups to the wood. Find one that adds a little of what the wood lacks. With basswood, it lacks upper mids and highs. My favorite bridge pickup for this guitar is a Duncan Custom5, or a TB14, as it is also designated.
I have a Chinese made Squire Strat Contemporary and maybe the Candy Apple Red paint was double coated or something its not heavy or super lite But after putting a Tusk self- lubing nut and locking Hipshot tuners on it it sounds Fantastic and I have gigged with it enough times that its proven its self much better then the $400 I paid for it ! Maple fret board med. Jumbo frets It plays Metal and I Shred on it Live and at home one of the best Budget Guitars I have ever owned !! I ignore my $1,200 dollar Schecter much to the wife's dismay but its got that IT feeling when I play it !!
I always heard it was a cheap wood, but my 2020 EVH Wolfgang signature body is basswood, and this guitar sounds incredible. LOVE your playing man! I could watch just your right hand technique for hours and be happy. You have incredible technique.
Those were some tasty licks in the intro. A nice change from the usual chug, chug, chug in other videos on UA-cam.
This is Chris Buck. Of course its tasty. One of the greatest there is on this planet. Watch more of his and the band .. it will open your eyes and ears
Fujigen had their own basswood forest right up until 1998 and made some of their best guitars in the 1990-1993 period in particular . The Koa in their RB1 guitar was something else but they were quickly told to stop using this material too due to its rarity. I’ve played all types of Ibanez , Fenders and had no issues with basswood whatsoever.
HAHA I love that slow headstock Squier logo reveal at the end of the jam..good stuff Chris! I have three Squiers and one of them is a Squier Standard Telecaster and it is on par with my Fender Player Tele. Great guitar!..BTW Your playing is amazing! Stay safe buddy!
*There's ultimately 2 science and experienced based perspectives on tonewoods; damping vs resonance and yes, I have a deep scientific background to get into this.* Basswood has a high resonance because it's more susceptible to vibration. Then, conversely, looking at curly maple, it has a high damping factor due to hardness rejecting more vibration, and this keeps the vibration in the string longer.
A very hard wood means you get more tone off of the materials the strings reflect off of, and this is relative to why when you put a rosewood fingerboard on a maple neck, you primarily hear the rosewood, and the same is true when it's a maple fingerboard on maple. The ratio of tone from resonance to reflection is then perceived in terms of human senses in knowing why you are hearing what you are hearing. Then, there's the soundwave break up and acoustic feedback with harder materials meaning, when a soundwave hits a really hard surface, it literally fractures and distorts. This plays into the sound produced by the string due to it's feedback; this isn't to say ultra hard materials produce a ton of transient noises from soundwave distortion.
Now, we look at the soft basswood. This wood absorbs the vibration, and rather than shattering it from reflection, it has a smooth decay. This being relative to the inside of speaker cabinets being layered with padding or even carpet. It's hitting something soft and decaying gracefully. *I can just get incredibly deep into this far beyond what I have, but here's the bottom line for me.*
My 2 favorite woods are basswood and mahogany lol!
*I say that with maple sort of being mandatory in presence, and it does actually tie for me with mahogany.* Ultimately, basswood is also one of the most reliable woods in terms of sound, and you can make 10,000 basswood bodies with almost no perceivable difference in sounds between them all based on resonance, reflection and damping factors that all woods, materials and components in guitar ultimately have.
*I will close with the aspect of the veteran brands of Gibson and Fender producing such consistent instruments by actually weighing lumber, creating company specs for a body and neck after being machined, and their quality control is such that it has to be within specs or they're going to sell it off as 2nds to another branding.*
I have a 20th anniversary Squier stratocaster made in Indonesia, and unlike many Squiers and Fenders made out of the country, it is exact to American specs. I have played countless American made Fender Stratocasters, and it not only weighs exactly like any I have ever grabbed and played, but the balance between the neck and body feels identical.
When you deal with players who have always been able to afford expensive guitars and have been committed heavily to the Les Paul or the Stratocaster, they are very in tune with that feeling and it's why so many don't like knock offs whether they're cheap or expensive. *I shred and sweep at a bazillion notes a minute, don't believe in spending a significant amount of money on guitars, but I can also heavily rebuild a $65 guitar so it plays like something that cost over $1000 from having a background in engineering, and trades such as carpentry, metal crafting and beyond.*
.....not to say every guitar I own started out a POS I had to put $300 of my own labor into lol. My collection has a broad range among the few dozens I own.
Thanks for making a great video that thoroughly answers the question that I asked in the Fender Stratocaster Players group on Facebook. I'll definitely get an EVH guitar now -- if stores ever get them again.
Aha! My pleasure Steve. I hope you don’t mind me having made the video about it 🙂
@@ChrisBuckGuitari don't mind at all. I subscribed to your page.
Amazing guitar sir.
Really excellent video, Chris: measured, well-informed, cautious about over-definite opinions and, best of all, irrigated with some superb playing. I suppose that, ‘objectively’, the problem with making simple assessments of any one component of a guitar is that it will be affected by so many other components. Subjectively, we’ve all got different bodies which interact differently with the body of any given guitar. Then there’s fashion and the attempt to resolve confusion by looking at established masters. If Jimmy Page hadn’t played a Harmony acoustic would they be so sought after? The guitar world has seen its orthodoxies up-ended many times over, most often by the emergence of a player who sets, or reverses, a trend. But one thing that seems constant is the fascination of guitarists with every feature of the instruments they play and dream of playing. Thank you as always for the stimulus your videos and playing provide.
Poplar is the most underrated tonewood of all time.
Poplar and Alder are very similar in density. Light weight. Basswood is also lighter weight.
I think pine might dispute that.
Just bought a Sterling by Music Man Cutlass with a poplar body and a roasted maple neck, sounds fantastic
I have two MIJ Fender Strats traditional 60s with bass wood. Super good guitars, sound good to me. And very comfortable to play.
The intro tune is absolutely killer! Keep it up! 👍🏻
Absolutely love to see you playing a squire somebody of your caliber of skill as a musician. I've been Stratocaster player my whole life (telecasters or my second choice even better when it has a strat neck going to tele body). Squire is not bad guitars. If you know how to set them up right, and no a couple slight Luther skills you're fine buying a squire.
Tilia americana - the European relative is Lime (Linden in Germany) very similar timbers - makes light but fragile canoe paddles.