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Poplar Wood For Guitars And Basses...Yay Or Nay?


crunchee

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There's a early '00s MIM Fender P Bass Special for sale in my local area, owner doesn't know if it's made from Poplar or not...it's finished in a solid color so I can't really tell one way or the other (no, I don't think he'll let me look inside the neck pocket), but most of the info I've found online seems to indicate Poplar was used by Fender Mexico on their basses and guitars at that time.  I really dig the original P/J pickup combination (like my 1st Gen Cruisebass B) or a Blitz), which seems to show up primarily on more expensive Fender basses and on (ugh) Squier basses, plus it's got the original passive PU setup (they later went to active PUs, and I don't like active PUs, or the factory-made holes for battery access!).  Affordable Fender MIM P-Bass Specials with the non-active P/J PU setup aren't all that common for some reason.  Plus, Duff McKagan used a 80's MIJ version in G'N'R, so there's that to drive up the resale value of those, too.  <_<

I'd prefer a bass made from Alder, and there are used P/J bass variants out there with Alder bodies, but they're all Pacific Rim imports and they don't appear to be any cheaper as used than a MIM bass, including the one I'm looking at locally.  Fender's USA-made (and long discontinued) 'Hot Rodded' P-Bass has the P/J PUs but is expensive even as used; and there is a very similar Fender bass made with a Okoume wood body, which is supposedly as soft as Basswood (a Janka rating of 400), so no thanks there.  The Poplar that Fender Mexico used seems to be Yellow Poplar, which is nearly as hard as Alder according to the Wood Database (Janka rating of 540 vs. Alder's 590).

So, anybody here have any experience with Poplar wood guitars and basses?  Any thoughts?  Pros and cons?  Good, bad, or indifferent?   TIA!  :)

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BTW, apparently Music Man/Ernie Ball has also used Poplar bodies for some of their guitars and basses...also, 80's Guild Pilot guitars and basses had Poplar bodies (the solid color ones, not the figured Maple bodied ones, natch).  Again, any experience with, and opinions on those too?  

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I'm sure someone knows better than men but I'm reasonably certain that a lot of the Charvels and Jackson's from the early 80s were poplar.

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3 minutes ago, Stike said:

I'm sure someone knows better than men but I'm reasonably certain that a lot of the Charvels and Jackson's from the early 80s were poplar.

Yeah, my ‘89 Charvel 650xl is maple neck thru with poplar wings. Sounds great and has held up well. 

Granted, between a set of Josh’s pickups and a big brass block on the Schaller Floyd blocked for dive only; the body wood matters less…. 😂

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I generally like poplar basses. I think tulip poplar is the most common variety used and lots of companies have used it over the years. I have a mid-80s Peavey Foundation bass that I'm about 90% sure is poplar and it sounds great. Like any given wood species used in guitars, there are good ones and bad ones... heavy ones and light ones. In my opinion, it's pretty comparable to alder in the final outcome. 

I made this one using poplar for the body and it sounds pretty great. 

uRVaA0m.jpg

Using poplar on my current build as well. 

ePfOdrQ.jpg

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The biggest knock against poplar that I've heard is that the green streaks in it make it unattractive for transparent finishes. On the other hand, several years ago I was at one of the national big-box home improvement stores buying some wood for a small furniture project when I found this piece. Once I got it in some better light it really popped. I'm wondering if that section of the glued-up board was actually poplar? In any case it looked good enough to give it only a clear coat.

 

Poplar Label.JPG

Poplar Outdoor.JPG

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Years ago there was a consensus among Ernie Ball Music Man players that the 5 string basses with poplar bodies had a better low end.  How they determined better is beyond me.  It could have been a deeper sound or a tighter sound. 

Try out the bass to see if you can tell a difference in the wood.  You may like it.  Not every alder or ash bodied bass sound the same.  The poplar can vary, too. 

Knowing what MIM Fender instruments are like, you will probably be happy with that bass. 

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24 minutes ago, stobro said:

The biggest knock against poplar that I've heard is that the green streaks in it make it unattractive for transparent finishes. On the other hand, several years ago I was at one of the national big-box home improvement stores buying some wood for a small furniture project when I found this piece. Once I got it in some better light it really popped. I'm wondering if that section of the glued-up board was actually poplar? In any case it looked good enough to give it only a clear coat.

 

Poplar Label.JPG

Poplar Outdoor.JPG

That looks like maple to me. A now defunct company I used to work for started using poplar for some of the bodies and most all of the lumber we got was paint grade in appearance.

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On 2/6/2023 at 8:45 PM, crunchee said:

BTW, apparently Music Man/Ernie Ball has also used Poplar bodies for some of their guitars and basses...also, 80's Guild Pilot guitars and basses had Poplar bodies (the solid color ones, not the figured Maple bodied ones, natch).  Again, any experience with, and opinions on those too?  

The Steve Morse model is poplar.  He seems to do all right with it. 

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On 2/6/2023 at 9:45 PM, Stike said:

I'm sure someone knows better than men but I'm reasonably certain that a lot of the Charvels and Jackson's from the early 80s were poplar.

A lot of Ibbys are poplar too.

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Since this discussion on Poplar seems to have (mostly?) run its course, I'll change the subject.  What about Nyatoh tonewood?  I've looked it up, but I'm curious if anyone's had any experience with it.  There's a Harley Benton Les Paul copy on my local craigslist that caught my eye, mostly because of the shape, price and color, and while I've never wanted a Harley, I could say I've got one. Ha.  I'm tempted but thought ask about Nyatoh.  I've seen and played some of the entry level Gretsch Jet models that I believe are made of that Nyatoh, and they were decent guitars for the price.   Does anyone have any experience or opinions on Nyatoh?

 

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My Ibby GB10em hollowbody has a nyatoh neck w/ a walnut fretboard, seems legit to me.

Honestly I think the differences in hardwoods tone can be so subtle that most of us weekend types would be hard pressed to tell in a blindfold test. I think scale length, construction (solid/semihollow/full hollow), and pickups make a much bigger difference in tone.

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