Although the pickups … May 30, 2008 #1. telepbrman. If I had a P-bass body made out of the 4 different woods mentioned, which one would be the lightest in weight? Basswood used for the guitar body on an Ibanez RG7. But, basswood certainly has poor sustain, especially when combined with a bolt on neck. Maybe Agathis is like Basswood used to be, in terms of respectability. A basswood, or Ash, or Adler, or Agathis body? Page 1 of 2 1 2 Next > Feb 17, 2014 #1. What are the differences between basswood and agathis bodies? I often hear about agathis and basswood as guitar body materials, but have no idea about the properties of these woods. Good tone for what it is, but not my particular taste. I'm thinking about putting the same pup in a basswood guitar (sterling JP50) along with a jazz in the neck. I've seen and heard plenty of American made higher priced guitars that sound like **** because the blank sucks; and that's regardless of whether its alder, maple, mahogany, poplar, ash, or basswood. Basswood comes from Linden trees, and it is soft and easy to work with. Agathis is like any tonewood; there are going to be blanks that sound good and blanks that sound like ****. Depends on the age of the tree, the cut, density of the grain and other factors. That said, “agathis” makes my stomach turn in knots. Because it doesn’t have much of a grain or color, it’s most commonly used on instruments that have an opaque paint-job, though this isn’t always the case (as in the photo above). I have a duncan distortion in my tele custom which has an agathis body. Joined: Aug 28, 2013 Location: Rock Hill, SC. Wood weight: Basswood vs Ash vs Adler vs Agathis. Anyway I don't know about tone wood but yeah Agathis is one … I thought my agathis viper 200 sounded good, until I got a mahogany EC, and now I realize it sounds like shit. What is the difference between these three types of woods in terms of tone, resonance etc? Just hearing a bass made of agathis makes me feel sick (and yes, I really can tell the difference). There is a new Squier P being made and the info says it's of basswood. In a former life, I was a cabinet maker and joiner for 25 years - we never made guitars just reproduction furniture, Bars (as in pub's) and shop fronts - this was when wood was actually wood and not plastic pretending to be wood. Basswood. Jan 24, 2003. i found two squier strats at my local guitar shop that are cheap as dirt and both play and sound great . Discussion in 'Tele-Technical' started by Tatercaster, Feb 17, 2014. Reply. Discussion in 'Luthier's Corner' started by telepbrman, May 30, 2008. How different will the duncan sound in the basswood as apposed to the agathis? A side effect of being soft is that it also dents easy. Tatercaster Friend of Leo's. Posts: 3,494. Nov 10, 2003 #1. Dec 11, 2007. Basswood vs. Agathis vs. Alder Discussion in 'Luthier's Corner' started by Vince S., Nov 10, 2003. Like (0) Dislike (0) max_power wrote February 25, 2008 19:42. Vince S. Resident Former Bassist. I bought my MH100 in 2002 when they were basswood, so I have no personal experience with agathis. The tone is somewhere between the warmth of mahogany and the “pop” of alder. Haha.