Is there a diference?

[Allan Todd]

Hi,
I'm about to buy my first smith 6 string but there are two that i'm looking at & was wondering if there would be a difference in sound?

1st one is a bsr6eg, mahogany core,quilted maple top & back with walnut laminates,

2nd one bsr6 elite, walnut core,cocobolo top & back with western maple laminates,

Any help would be geatly appreciated,

[Bob Faulkner]

There will be slight tonal differences, but honestly, Smiths are extremely consistent basses, so you really should probably just sit down and play both and decide based on how they feel (again very consistent basses) and look.

The cocobolo and walnut bass will probably be heavier than the mahogany and walnut bass. Ken might be able to give you a better idea of the tone you can expect, but again.. VERY consistent basses.

these are both bsr6eg basses right?

[Allan Todd]

Hi Bob,

Yes they are both bsr6 elites, problem is i'm in the uk & one is in germany & the other is in the us, there doesent seem to be any for sale over here so i'm looking further afield,

[Bob Faulkner]

honestly then, pick based on looks, condition, weight, price, etc. Any discussions about the tonal differences is so full of subjective opinion as to be called almost useless.

[Allan Todd]

Ok the sexiest one wins, i'll let you know what one i go for

[Bob Faulkner]

We want pictures!

[Tim Bishop]

Were are the pics?

[Maurice Hason]

I have a similar question. I am going to finalize my order tomorrow, once everyone gets back from labor day vacation.
I am in Israel, there are no Smith dealers here.

I was "locked" the whole week on a specific BSR6TN and then the dealer offered me a BSR6EG as an option, with Maple top/back.
What is the tonal difference between Walnut top/back and Maple top/back?

Is there a tonal difference between 3 pc. and 5 pc. wings?

I play soft jazz, blues, R&B. I like a round, mellow tone with focused mids, but sometimes I enjoy slapping too.

I know that I can't get wrong. It's like choosing between a black or white Mercedes. Either way it's a Mercedes. But still, what will work better for me?

Thanks
Maurice

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Maurice Hason

I have a similar question. I am going to finalize my order tomorrow, once everyone gets back from labor day vacation.
I am in Israel, there are no Smith dealers here.

I was "locked" the whole week on a specific BSR6TN and then the dealer offered me a BSR6EG as an option, with Maple top/back.
What is the tonal difference between Walnut top/back and Maple top/back?

Is there a tonal difference between 3 pc. and 5 pc. wings?

I play soft jazz, blues, R&B. I like a round, mellow tone with focused mids, but sometimes I enjoy slapping too.

I know that I can't get wrong. It's like choosing between a black or white Mercedes. Either way it's a Mercedes. But still, what will work better for me?

Thanks
Maurice

Everything has a difference in the acoustic tone and feel in your hands. 3pc/5pc, oil finish/laq finish, maple/walnut..

If it was all the same, why would we bother making so many models and variables.

If the bass was covered in a quarter inch of bar top finish then with the tone smothered like cement, it would matter much less. But with a high quality close to the wood finish, it really maters.

Once you start playing with the EQ, you can see what you can get and what you can't as fat as making maple sound like walnut. Dogs flying or birds barking.. not as much difference as that but there is a difference..

Example; ..around 1990 or so.. give or take a year I had 12 basses in the rack for set-up and parts assembly. All 12 were the exact same model.. Neck, fingerboard, top, back and core. The difference is that each piece of wood is different. Glue several pieces together and you get even more variables. In that rack of 12 I had about 3 variations in tone combined. Now if I have another rack of 12 walnut topped basses and the same everything else, I would maybe have a few basses that sounded similar as all the woods contribute to the sound, body and neck as well.

Back then we used only Mahogany for the Cores but I could hear the Tops in their variations. Mix up the core woods and you have even more. Steak, chicken, fish.. etc.. Not every cow tastes the same. Then you have the chef and the veggies as well.. Many ways to alter the dish..

The bottom line is that they are all good combinations otherwise we wouldn't use them. The differences are slight but there. Ask a few people that own or have owned a few different basses. Also, try and find someone who owns a few of the same model.

I don't think questions like this can really be answered accurately. If a company does answer you with exact information concerning multiple woods in a single bass, keep walking.. They are just trying to tell you what you wanna hear or sell you what the have..

My Tuners, Bridges and Circuits are pretty consistent as compared to wood by far. Wood has a mind of its own. There is no fighting it.

The 6EG and the 6TN you were offered are quite different in ones hands. Try asking the girl in the back of the room dancing if she can tell!..

[Maurice Hason]

This is now my new bass, getting it in a few days

[Bob Faulkner]

very nice!

[Bill Bernhard]

WOW! very nice

[Emre Tufekci]

My ears are not tuned as well as most the pro's here but when I recently got my BSR5EG, there were two identical basses in the shop. One had been sitting on display and the other had never been taken out of the case.

After playing them both for 15-20 minutes I could hear that one had a slightly more bottom end on one and the other was sharper in the mid range. I ended up getting the one on display as opposed to the nicely stored one as it was more to my liking.

My BSR5EG (cocobolo) and BSR4EG (Quilted maple) sound nothing alike and serve completely different purposes. Of course my BSR5J is completely different then those two but there is also the factor of pickups, neck, wood...etc involved on that so that doesn't count.

I think it's nice to have the contribution of the wood to the sound as opposed to the mass produced "consistent" waves of the big manufacturers.

[Tim Bishop]

Originally Posted by Emre Tufekci

I think it's nice to have the contribution of the wood to the sound as opposed to the mass produced "consistent" waves of the big manufacturers.

I would argue that you can find differences, all things being equal; even when the same order of woods are used on any instrument. It's up to the player to determine what works for them.