Lets talk about wood....

[nohbudi]

The Timbre is in the Timber... so in what ways does the wood affect the tonal qualities of an instrument, be it a guitar, drums, piano, and so on?

[Chris Cavera]

I guess I'm not in a position to choose the woods that go into guitars I buy. Maybe some day! So I've never really considered it. I think one of my early guitars was made from old plywood glued together. I did find this:

www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/the_guide_to/ultimate_guitar_guide_tone_woods.html

If I were going to get a custom built, I'd probably go for something light weight that would look good with a clear finish. Maybe alder with a quilted maple top.

-C

[nohbudi]

I did go custom built, and I stuck to the classic alder/maple/rosewood combo. It's great, but without a mute, and flatwounds, there is no real way to get that ultra lowend that a good Precision should have. That said, I can pust it into Jazz territory, but it will never be a Jazz either. With all the jazz/funk action going on in my musical world right now, I'm thinking of building another bass, but moving towards brighter woods, and building a narrow Jazz. I believe with a properly paired pickup I can get that dirty Lee growl out of it, and some solid pop for some good slap action...

[hambungler]

For guitars, I usually like mahogany with a maple neck. Depending on construction, you'll either get more body tone or neck tone, as is the case with neck-thru guitars, like my Ibanez V-blade which is a maple neck-thru with mahogany wings. Its a tad bright with the Dimarzios in there, I may go with something like Duncan Blackouts or opt for a good ol' X2N or D-Activator X to get some more low end goin' for it. Right now my favorite axe is my mahogany Schecter Avenger 7, which I put an X2N-7 in the bridge and it just growls! Nice low end, and a good bit of "djenty" clearness to it, especially when coiltapped.

[Chris Cavera]

I'm planning on getting a new guitar soon like after Christmas. I'm either going to get another Rocket Roll or a VBT700. I've heard the V-Blades are hit and miss on quality. I take it you like yours? Ever had any issues with it? Seems like the reviews are pretty mixed. DO you know why they discontinued them?

-C

[hambungler]

I really do enjoy my V-Blade, though some, like you said, are hit or miss. Mine, for example, was a B-stock I scored on E-bay for $400, only thing wrong was the headstock decal had chipped off a bit, otherwise the playability and sound were great. I have no idea why they discontinued them, though Ibanez tends to discontinue some of their cooler models for some odd reason. I'd say if you were interested, they should have one at Guitar Center to try out before you buy one, just to see if you like them, or if I get the chance I could maybe bring mine into class one of these days if that'd be okay. If you have any other questions, I'm happy to answer them.