I do have one
old Shen that does not have Chinese wood. Either Canadian or European but the couldn't remember at the time. Some of the New Amati models I have had wood that was not Chinese looking either. More British Columbian or European looking.
Maybe weight of the wood and where it grew have something to do with the subtle differences, maybe?
I have several English Basses and the wood looks and feels different on each one. For the Maples, the
Hart and
4/4 Gamba look similar. The Gamba is light weighted and the Hart is heavier. The Hart seems thicker but as we checked the Gamba and it is not as thin as it looks measuring away from the edges which are worn to some extent. The
modern Lott model I have is closer to the Gamba in look but is heavy in weight like the Hart as far as the maple is concerned. The Lott model I was told is Bosnian Maple. The
Gilkes on the other hand has more of a wavy type flame/curl like on the back of a Strad.
One dealer once noted that it was the great English wood that built the ships that helped to make the English Basses so good using the same wood. Now, is this the Back/Rib wood (Maple/Sycamore) or is he referring to Pine, Spruce and Deal, the Top woods?
The Top of my Hart is considered to be American Yellow Pine (or pitch pine?). The new Lott model is old Pitch pine that was taken from an old support beam about 200 years old. The Gilkes is beautifully grained Spruce I assume and has never cracked other than a few edge type splits. The 4/4 Gamba is extremely fine grained Spruce of which the rings can barely be counted by the naked eye.
My Storioni appears to have the look of American flamed Sugar Maple on the Back and burled Veneer on the Ribs. I have also seen Bass Guitars made in Canada years back that was reportedly made from Yugoslavian Birdseye Maple. Where there is Birdseye, there is Flame in the same forest. I was told by that maker that this was the best Maple available. It looked 100% exactly like American Sugar Maple.
I have a newish
Hungarian/Romanian 5-string Bass that is either a 4/4 or 5/4 in body size with a normal string length. The lower bouts being over 30" and the rest in proportion. This Bass is lighter in weight than most of my English Basses if not all of them. The Back and Ribs are highly flamed and the Back is carved. How can this Bass be so light?
Even the Neck/Scroll is well flamed. I had another large Bass of similar origin a while back and even slightly smaller, it was heavier than this Bass.
Now, I have been told that maple wood for Basses with high flame from the Romanians are hard to come by yet I see many of the larger or antiqued basses made with this wood. Are they only using the prettier woods on the 'special' type basses and not the production ones? The Calin Wultur basses made in Romania are quite light by comparison but rarely high flamed. Is it just the woods or the graduations and interior work as well?
By the way, this is totally on topic as the origin or woods are so misunderstood and often misrepresented as well.
A few years ago I was talking with a wood supplier and he told me a cute story of a recent trip he had made. He was out in Western Pennsylvania early one morning having breakfast at a Truck Stop on the way to a Lumber Mill to look at Logs. A Truck pulls in the Lot loaded with Cherry Logs headed West as well. My friend asks the Driver about his Load and where it was going. He was told that it was Cherry Logs cut in New York and on the way to a Mill in Pennsylvania. The famous cabinet wood known as 'Black Cherry' grows only in the Allegheny Forest in N.W.PA.. This wood from NY was most likely cut, milled and sold as PA Black Cherry. Only the Driver, my friend and the Mill would know this Lie!
Although Cherry grows all over the world, the Lumber field usually only calls it 'Black Cherry' if grown in a specific region. American Cherry and PA, NY etc. based on the state of origin is the more usual description used.
Welcome to the world of wood!
