Bass Emporium Newsletter - Volume III, No. 9 Woods Primer for Bass Guitars New Fender Models Added to the Bass Emporium Line Ed Friedland Bass Clinic at Bass Emporium - Wednesday, October 11, 2006 @ 7:00pm - FREE! Upcoming Brian Bromberg Clinic - Time & Date TBA Ed Friedland Now Teaching at Bass Emporium New LOWER String Prices Owners Manuals Missed a Newsletter? New Bi-Monthly Contest Specials Page
Hello LowEnders!
What's in this issue:
Woods Primer for Bass Guitars
New Fender Models Added to the Bass Emporium Line
Ed Friedland Bass Clinic at Bass Emporium - Wednesday, October 11, 2006 @ 7:00pm - FREE!
Upcoming Brian Bromberg Clinic - Time & Date TBA
Ed Friedland Now Teaching at Bass Emporium
New LOWER String Prices & Shipping Discount
Owners Manuals On-Line
Missed a Newsletter?
New Bi-Monthly Contest
Specials Page
Here at Bass Emporium we are being constantly asked about wood types, grades of wood and how these materials and combinations affect the sound of a bass. There is a threshold of how the quality of a wood will affect the sonic signature of an instrument - past that point it passes into the asthetic realm. Some players will be willing (or able) to pay more for the looks and other players will not. The sound of a bass comes primarily from the materials used in the body and neck construction while the bridge, tuners, pickups, preamp, etc. will add the finishing touch or the "patina" to each instrument, but the woods used are King. Some believe that each species or wood type is what makes a difference and others believe that the particular cut of wood makes the difference (not the wood species). In this issue we are going to explore some wood drying techniques with a general description of wood grading and outline some general wood types. Next month we will delve into general wood tonalities and combinations.
Wood Drying
Broadly, there are two methods by which timber can be dried: (i) natural drying or air drying, and (ii) artificial drying.
Air drying is the drying of timber by exposing it to the air. The technique of air drying consists mainly of making a stack of sawn timber (with the layers of boards separated by stickers) on raised foundations, in a clean, cool, dry and shady place. Rate of drying largely depends on climatic conditions, and on the air movement (exposure to the wind). For successful air drying, a continuous and uniform flow of air throughout the pile of the timber needs to be arranged. The rate of loss of moisture can be controlled by coating the planks with any substance that is relatively impermeable to moisture; ordinary mineral oil is usually quite effective. Coating the ends of logs with oil or thick paint, improves their quality upon drying. Wrapping planks or logs in materials which will allow some movement of moisture, generally works very well provided the wood is first treated against fungal infection by coating in petrol/gasoline or oil. Mineral oil will generally not soak in more than 1-2 mm below the surface and is easily removed by planing when the timber is suitably dry.
The process of kiln drying consists basically of introducing heat. This may be directly, using natural gas and/or electricity or indirectly, through steam-heated heat exchangers, although solar energy is also possible. In the process, deliberate control of temperature, relative humidity and air circulation is provided to give conditions at various stages (moisture contents or times) of drying the timber to achieve effective drying. For this purpose, the timber is stacked in chambers, called wood drying kilns, which are fitted with equipment for manipulation and control of the temperature and the relative humidity of the drying air and its circulation rate through the timber stack.
Kiln drying provides a means of overcoming the limitations imposed by erratic weather conditions. In kiln drying as in air drying, unsaturated air is used as the drying medium. Almost all commercial timbers of the world are dried in industrial kilns.
Regardless of drying method used, a good builder will ensure that the wood is properly dried. This takes more time and thus adds to the expense of the the instrument, but without proper materials you cannot produce an excellent bass guitar. A way to cut corners in building instruments is obvoiusly one in which the wood is not properly dried due to either not giving the wood time to dry or not installing the proper equipment to dry the wood. The result is "green" or wet wood and the results are typically a bowed neck which cannot be adjusted and a body which has little resonance.
Wood Grading
There is an industry standard "5A' scale (A, AA, AAA, AAAA, AAAAA) that has been used for years primarily for Maple tops. You might often see this for other wood types, but there is such a variance in expections for wood patterns that it either does not apply or this might not be desirable. One factor that affects wood grading is how a top is cut. There two techniques for rough cutting lumber for instrument manufacture; Flatsawn (Slabsawn) and Quartersawn. As you can see in Fig.1, Flatsawn is more economical (you waste very little lumber) and is easier to mill.
This is one factor in producing a less expensive instrument (less waste & labor costs yields a less expensive bass). Straighter grain (Quartersawn) will also ofter some stability to a neck because the wood will not have a tendency to twist or to "cup" if it is exposed to extreme conditions. But remember, vintage Fender basses that sell for $25,000 all have Flatsawn plain Maple and no graphite bars - so.... Quartersawn lumber (Fig.2) allows for the more dramatic tops that you see and provides wonderful Maple in bass necks as you get a lot of even and dramatic grain.
General Wood Grading Terms
Grain - Some people refer to the annular rings as the grain. Straight grain in this case refers to the lines of the annular rings being straight and prallel to each other. 'Fine Grain' is when the annual rings are close together or are seen as fine lines. 'Course Grain' is farther apart or the lines are wider and more visible.
Figure - Words like Flamed Quilted, Curly, Fiddleback, Birdseye all refer to different kinds of Figure. Figure is genetic, is only found in a small percentage of trees, and is highly prized by furniture makers and luthiers alive. Other climatic conditions such as disease, insect infestation, deterioration and rot can also add dramatically to the appearance of a piece of wood.
Flame - Flame figure (also called curly, fiddleback, tigerstripe), runs perpendicular to the grain and adds a three-dimensional, liquid quality to the surface of the wood (especially when it is finished).
Quilt - The term used when the figure has pillowy, oval shapes. It is rarer than flame and is sometimes even more three dimensional in appearance.
Bees-Wing - Here the figure is more random, sporadic and disconnected, but can be very beautiful and intense. Commonly found in Bubinga.
Spalting - Spalting is caused by a pattern of bacterial decomposition in dead wood that eventually looks like a black ink line. It is often very irregular and does not follow any other grain patterns. Wood with spalt should be handles very carefully during the build process as it is often destabilized. This is a wonderful choice for a bass top as each piece is dramatically different from any other top.
Burl - A burl is an outgrowth on a tree. Burls are often misunderstood. A burl is a burl only if it is filled with small knots from dormant buds. The famous bird's-eye maple superficially resembles the wood of a burl but is something else entirely. Some say that burls are near knots but cannot have knots themselves. Burls yield a very peculiar and highly figured wood. In some tree species, burls can grow to great size. Some of the largest occur in redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens); when moisture is present, these burls can grow new redwood trees.
Wood Types
Instrument woods are typically divided into two categories; Softwood and Hardwood. Softwood and hardwood differ in microscopic structure. The structure of softwood is fairly uniform, with only two types of cells: tracheids and parenchyma cells. Softwood never has vessel elements for water transport, but relies on tracheids. The categories of Softwood and Hardwood usually apply as to how hard/easy the wood is to work, not about the acceptabililty for instrument construction. The wodd iiself, the thickness of the piece and the contstruction will all work together in concert to determine whether a wood will be suffieient for use.
Softwood
Softwood is the wood from conifers. In addition "softwood" is an adjective applied to the trees that produce such wood: softwood trees include pine, spruce, cedar, fir, larch, douglas-fir, hemlock, cypress, redwood and yew As the name suggests, the wood of softwoods is softer, on average, than that of hardwoods, but only on average - the wood of yews, for example, is much harder than many hardwoods, as is the wood of Longleaf pine, while Balsa wood (technically a hardwood) is extremely soft.
In general softwood is easy to work: it forms the bulk of wood used by man. Softwood has a huge range of uses: it is a prime material for structural building components, but is also found in furniture and other products such as millwork (mouldings, doors, windows). Softwood is also harvested for use in the production of paper, and for various types of board such as MDF. The finer softwoods find many specialty uses - BASSES!
Cedar (Cedrus)
Cypress (Chamaecyparis, Cupressus, Taxodium)
Redcedar - (Juniperus virginiana), (Thuja plicata)
Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
Spruce (Picea)
Hardwood
The term hardwood designates wood from broad-leaved (mostly deciduous, but not necessarily, in the case of tropical trees) or angiosperm trees. Hardwood contrasts with softwood, which comes from conifer trees. On average, hardwood is of higher density and hardness than softwood, but there is considerable variation in actual wood hardness in both groups, with a large amount of overlap; some hardwoods (e.g. balsa) are softer than most softwoods, while Yew is an example of a hard softwood. Hardwoods have broad leaves and enclosed nuts or seeds such as acorns. They often grow in sub tropical regions like Africa and also in Europe and other countries.
Hardwood species are more varied than softwood. There are about a hundred times as many hardwood species than there are softwoods. The vessels may show considerable variation in size, shape of perforation plates (simple, scalariform, reticulate, foraminate), and structure of cell wall (e.g. spiral thickenings).
Hardwoods are generally far more resistant to decay than softwoods when used for exterior work. However, solid hardwood joinery is expensive compared to softwood (in the past, tropical hardwoods were easily available but the supply is now restricted due to sustainability issues) and most "hardwood" doors, for instance, now consist of a thin veneer bonded to MDF.
Afzelia (Afzelia)
Alder (Alnus)
Ash (Fraxinus)
Basswood (Tilia americana)
Beech (Fagus)
Birch (Betula)
Bocote (Cordia alliodora)
Boxwood or Box (Buxus sempervirens)
Brazilwood (Caesalpinia echinata)
Bubinga (Guibourtia)
Buckeye (Aesculus)
Cherry (Prunus)
Cocobolo (Dalbergia retusa)
Ebony (Diospyros)
Grenadilla (Dalbergia melanoxylon)
Horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
Mahogany - (Khaya spp.)
Maple (Acer)
Poplar (Populus; in N.Am., wood sold as poplar is usually Yellow-poplar)
Rosewood (Dalbergia spp.)
Spanish-cedar (Cedrela odorata)
Next month I will talk about the agreed-upon/argued about "sonic-signatures" or certain wood types and give my spin on what woods can do to a Bass Guitar's tone.
We are excited to announce that we have added some additional Fender Basses to our offering. We have added the Fender Artist Series, American Vintage Series, Classis Series and the Deluxe Series to our Custom Shop, Custom Shop Team Built and Masterbuilt Series of basses. We can now get all of the really basses that Fender has to offer. Below you will find a list of what we currently have on order (check out the website for specs and pics) and if you don't see what you want, give us a call so we can get your dream bass on order!
Ed Friedland, Senior Editor of Guitar World's Bass Guitar Magazine and author of many well known Hal Leonard instructional books and DVDs will hold a clinic at Bass Emporium, 1720 W. Anderson Lane on Wednesday, October 11th starting at 7:00 pm. Ed will spend part of the clinic performing on various instruments, and part talking about bass concepts that are universal to players of all styles and levels. We will have Pizza and drinks provided as well. So, please join Ed for a fun, informative evening of bass.
We are having a clinic with Brian Bromberg in the store and would love for you to attend. We don't have all of the information nailed-down yet and the exact date and time has not been set, but it will be the last week of October or the first week of November. So, I hope these dates stay open for you and when we get the information I will share that with you. For more information about Brian Bromberg check out our website at "http://www.bassemporium.com/clinics.php" or Brian's website at "http://www.brianbromberg.net".
Bassist, author, educator Ed Friedland is offering private lessons at Bass Emporium, starting June 2006. A former Contributing Editor for Bass Player magazine, Ed is now Senior Editor at Guitar World's Bass Guitar Magazine. In addition to hundreds of articles, Ed has authored 13 books and 2 DVDs, including Building Walking Bass Lines, Building Rock Bass Lines, Bass Grooves, The Working Bassist's Toolkit, Reggae Bass, The Way They Play - The R&B Masters, Blues Bass, the second edition of the Hal Leonard Electric Bass Method, and the best-selling Slap Bass DVD.
Ed has taught at Berklee College of Music, Boston College, Arizona State University, as well as privately since 1979. His performance credits include Larry Coryell, Michal Urbaniak, Robben Ford, Johnny Adams, Robert Junior Lockwood, Mighty Sam McClain, and hundreds of others.
Lessons are $30 per half hour, all styles, and levels taught. Beginners Welcome!
Call 512-663-9336 or email Ed Friedland for scheduling, lesson and payment information. Also, check out http://www.edfriedland.com/ for more information on Ed Friedland!
We have started looking at the string survey that many of you have already taken part in and have reassessed our string selection and pricing. We have lowered almost all of our string prices and we now feel confident that we are the LOWEST price that you can find for quality bass strings. The shopping cart has been updated and all pricing information is current. We are still evaluating whether to add more brands and models of strings, so if you haven't done the survey yet, now is the time to stand up and be counted. String sales have been increasing quite a bit, so if we run out of something, please be patient while we restock. Go to "http://www.bassemporium.com/catDetail.php?1090076928" to check out our string offerings. Remember, free shipping with order of $100 or greater!
Some of our customers were not aware ouf the collection of owner's manuals and specification guides that we have on our website. If you go to "http://www.bassemporium.com/manuals.php" you will see 275+ owner's manuals, specification sheets, wiring diagrams and brochures. This is a great resource and we are adding to this repsoitory all the time. If you can't find what you are looking for, please let us know and if we can find it, we will add it to the site!
All of our back-issue newsletter (excpet for the New In Stock information) is archived at "http://www.bassemporium.com/newsletters.php". So, take some time and go back through and see if any of this information is informative or helpful in your quest for tone!
We have a new contest in which we are giving away a Boss TU-2 Chromatic Floor tuner. Chances are that you are already registered (or you wouldn't be getting this newsletter), but pass this along to a friend so they can have a chance to win! The link to register is "http://www.bassemporium.com/subscribe.php".
Here is a reminder if you know (and a tip if you don't) about our Specials page. We list any discontinued items or any special buys that we may get on a singular page to help you find items that will make it a little eaiser on your wallet. Items will vary from a single bass string up to amplifiers and basses - we've also added a lot of videos, DVDs and Publications, so check out the Specials page at "http://www.bassemporium.com/specials.php" and save some dough! Here are just a few of the current specials we currently have:
D'Addario H610 Helicore 3/4 Size Orchestral Series Medium Tension String Set $89 (regular price $119.99) - http://www.bassemporium.com/item.php?sku=H6103/4
La Bella SS45 "Super Steps" Stainless Steel Stepped Roundwound 4-String Set $14.99 (regular price $19.99) - http://www.bassemporium.com/item.php?sku=SS45
La Bella SS45B "Super Steps" Stainless Steel Stepped Roundwound 5-String Set $19.99 (regular price $26.99) - http://www.bassemporium.com/item.php?sku=SS45B
La Bella SS45CB "Super Steps" Stainless Steel Stepped Roundwound 6-String Set $24.99 (regular price $29.99) - http://www.bassemporium.com/item.php?sku=SS45CB
Mesa Boogie 12AX7 (SPAX7) Preamplifier Vacuum Tube $10.99 (regular price $20) - http://www.bassemporium.com/item.php?sku=SPAX7
Mesa Boogie 6L6GC (STR430) Power Amplifier Vacuum Tubes (pair) $22.99 (regular price $40) - http://www.bassemporium.com/item.php?sku=MESA6L6GC
Rotosound SM55 "Solo Bass" 4-String Long-Scale Stainless Steel Pressurewound Strings $19.99 (regular price $24.89) - http://www.bassemporium.com/item.php?sku=SM55
Let us know if you have anything that you would like to see in the upcoming issues of our newsletter. Thanks and let us know how we can serve you!
John