If you are particular about the wood in your bass...

Rigsby

This guy is a renowned luthier in the USA. He did this experiment and poll. Interesting that 50% could not tell the difference in the recorded sound. Makes you wonder....


http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/scrap-lumber-bass-vs-alder-bass-can-you-tell-difference-743932/

Connavar

The wood makes a difference but it it extremely slight(pretty much negligible) compared to the pickups and the amp/speakers that are used.

Ravelleman

That´s consumerism for you. People these days look for a product that offers an experience rather than just pure functionality as they did in the past. The psychological element of most purchases is just as important as any other consideration. Both may sound similar but we can easily explain why one would sell and why the other wouldn´t!

Alvin Toffler wrote some interesting stuff on the subject in the 1970s.

Rigsby

I basically agree with the above two posts. However, when wood is talked about in conjunction with basses (I assume it's the same for guitars), it is usually, apart from weight, to do with bright versus dark versus warm tones. This is why I find the poll so interesting. Also, a fair portion of your tone can come from the fingers i.e. how you pluck, how close to the bridge/neck you pluck etc.

I'd say that the type of wood used for acoustic guitars might play a bigger part in the tone.

Connavar

Yep, acoustics are a different matter altogether

firefly08

This guy is a renowned luthier in the USA. He did this experiment and poll. Interesting that 50% could not tell the difference in the recorded sound. Makes you wonder

Actually that's not quite correct; at least 77% could not in fact tell the difference. That's assuming that the 3rd answer was correct. I didn't check which answer was right but the number of people who could identify the Alder one could be as low as 12.8%!

Interestingly, even if the 3rd answer is correct, that means less than half of those who claimed to know actually did know. Which is slightly worse than what you'd expect if they had flipped a coin :eek:

On the other hand, I didn't see a comment from the guy to say if he could tell the difference in the actual sound, as opposed to the recording, but that would be interesting to know.

unclebill98

Interesting.

I can defo tell the difference between my maple and rosewood necks. My 5 string has more punch low end than my 4, however it's a slightly larger body. Both MM Stingrays.

However none of the stingrays compare in high end punch of the MM Bongo. Never really paid to much attention to the wood in the body.

A lot of the end tone is the different pick up configs, finger and amp settings. I'm a finger player but have recently jammed with a rock band and started using a pick for some songs and the sound difference was very interesting.

Of all my basses the most versatile is the bongo with dual hum buckers. It's a rosewood neck.

Bootsy.

That's really interesting, fair play to him for doing it.

I've always been of the opinion that the most important aspect of the sound of any instrument is the person playing it!

Incidentally, I was able to pick out which one was the alder clip and that the other two were lumber.
That's not going to stop me from playing on cheap gear though! (like I have a choice )

il gatto

In a guitar, the contruction method (bolted or glued neck mainly), body cavities and wood type have a pretty big bearing on sustain. One of the reasons a Les Paul will ring forever compared to a Strat/Tele. In a bass, sustain isn't really an issue with the low frequencies.
I remember an interview I read with Matthew Priest (the excellent drummer from Dodgy) where he said he played Premier drums because Keith Moon played them. When it's miked up, any kit can be made to sound right (except maybe the snare). Alot of truth in that for other instruments too. I also read that Jimmy Page has hinted that he used Danelectros and other guitars in the studio, that people assumed were a Les Paul.A good musician (or drummer:p) with a bit of technical nous is more important than just buying spendy gear.