Bubinga and Purpleheart

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Greg Lorisco

Thanks Ken, this is great info.

I have two more questions:

• What are the tone differences between these woods for the neck? Will the newer basses using only Shedua and Morado have a different tone than the current or older Smiths using Bubinga and PH?
• Will the Morado neck laminate be more stable than Shedua or the others due to the oil in the wood? My understanding is that necks shift due to moister changes and wood that is more oily would seem to not have as much change. True? So would this be why the Morado is on the Elite (higher end materials, more expensive, etc)?

Morado was the first wood we used for neck strips since the beginning. When the Oiled models came out after doing Lacquers we found that the Oil was harder to do. Before the Laq. models, we just did it, period.

There is no 'in-service' difference that we can point a finger at one way or another. The Strips under the Fingerboard are partly routed away for the Graphite bars that are inlaid so the darker wood strips that you see are partly cosmetic at that point as far as structure goes. The Graphite is a great equalizer.

The mass in a Neck is mainly Maple with an Ebony FB in most cases. That is where the sound comes from. There are as many variables between the maple pieces from neck to neck to alter the sound in a minuscule way that the laminated strips in the neck make little difference in the sound that you hear. I have yet to hear a difference. A 7-pc neck with the wider exotic center vs a 5-pc neck with a maple center is noticibly different to my ear. Maybe a 2-5% change in tone overall to my ear. The 7-pc construction on its own is the main change. Like in the MS models with 3-pc maple only, I hear a difference as compared to a 5-pc with exotic features.. still, 5% at most.

The EYES play tricks on us. Like eating food. Don't eat or order with your eyes. Taste the food!