3 or 2 piece vette body?

anghel

anghel

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hi guys! why and when are used these two options? if custom is 2 piece, if normal is 3 piece? you can specify if you want 2 piece body? the sound is different or is just a design thing?

thanks.
 
Finally,

someone with the same thought as mine: I definitely prefer the 2 piece body design over the 3 piece; the 2 piece design comes across as "more luxurious", and I wouldn't be surprised if it actually is: I believe when they cut a tree into "large" 2 piece design blanks, you will waste a lot of wood of the log. By making the pieces smaller, you will get more usable wood per log. Of course, I think in practise it's a combination of the two: cut large blanks when possible, and try to use the remaining part of the log for smaller 3 piece blanks. This ratio also varies with the diameter of the log................larger blanks should be more expensive than smaller blanks............
Off the shelf Corvettes (and Thumb bolt on) can be either two piece or three piece. Maybe you can specify a 2 piece design, I guess it depends on how nice the dealer is to have that checked out when ordering an off the shelf bass.
Anyway, I guess if you specify your CS bass to be a 2 piece design, it should be possible; I've seen a CS bass with a 3 piece design as well, so you cannot assume that a CS bass is 2 piece design only.



I even thought about a one piece body (!) made out of Ovangkol or Bubinga Pommele, but haven't asked yet..................

:D
 
ThirdthumB said:
Finally,

someone with the same thought as mine: I definitely prefer the 2 piece body design over the 3 piece; the 2 piece design comes across as "more luxurious", and I wouldn't be surprised if it actually is: I believe when they cut a tree into "large" 2 piece design blanks, you will waste a lot of wood of the log. By making the pieces smaller, you will get more usable wood per log. Of course, I think in practise it's a combination of the two: cut large blanks when possible, and try to use the remaining part of the log for smaller 3 piece blanks. This ratio also varies with the diameter of the log................larger blanks should be more expensive than smaller blanks............
Off the shelf Corvettes (and Thumb bolt on) can be either two piece or three piece. Maybe you can specify a 2 piece design, I guess it depends on how nice the dealer is to have that checked out when ordering an off the shelf bass.
Anyway, I guess if you specify your CS bass to be a 2 piece design, it should be possible; I've seen a CS bass with a 3 piece design as well, so you cannot assume that a CS bass is 2 piece design only.



I even thought about a one piece body (!) made out of Ovangkol or Bubinga Pommele, but haven't asked yet..................

:D
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One piece bodies rule! I saw a fucking beautiful Ovangkol 1 piece vintage thumb BO about a year back in a local shop, and it blew my mind!

I also have a sweet Dean Edge 10-string bass with a one piece mahogany body.

Wonder if this is something you could specify in a custom shop order?
 
Well,

I put a new topic (CS section) that hopefully answers the question whether it's possible to have a 1 piece body.....................we'll see.......... :D

Oh and hey Anghel, about the sound difference between 2 and 3 piece bodies: I can only speculate, but I think it makes no difference; I think the sound difference between 2 "identical" basses may be bigger (which would be very very subtle) due to different batch of woods used, than the sound difference between 2 and 3 piece bodies with the same batch of wood used.....................just my guess........ :D
 
Wouldn't a 3 piece body be very unstable? I've never heard of such a thing anyways. A good ol' 2 piece body serves me just fine.
 
M Maverick said:
Wouldn't a 3 piece body be very unstable? I've never heard of such a thing anyways. A good ol' 2 piece body serves me just fine.
Click to expand...

All Corvette BO and Thumb BO, and some other basses as well are either 2 or 3 pieces; really, you don't know what to expect.............Ian's CS Streamer LX with the fabulous Bubinga Pommele is also a 3 piece design. I don't think it influences stability at all............You can check for the number of pieces easily: a 2 piece design has got a seam in the centre of the bass, whereas a 3 piece design has got two seams dividing the three pieces to approximate same width. Check out the link to see many basses with 2 and 3 piece design.
 
Yeah, I just noticed Ian's bass was a 3 piece after I posted here. I'd like to know more on this topic as well. Especially what tonal differences a 3 piece body has to a 2 piece.
 
M Maverick said:
Yeah, I just noticed Ian's bass was a 3 piece after I posted here. I'd like to know more on this topic as well. Especially what tonal differences a 3 piece body has to a 2 piece.
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Surely Warwick should mention if there were tonal differences between these designs; otherwise people might complain ?? Dunno...........I sure don't like 3 piece designs this way...... :( On the other hand, a 3 piece "sandwich" structure (core, top and back) is a totally different story of course........... :D
 
thanks guys, i like a lot the 2 piece design, and i'm sure that there are some differences between the sound of a large grain wood and a small grain wood (acoustic instruments). i preffer to not have one piece of large grain, one of medium grain and one of small grain, i think that if you have 2 piece of wood with the same kind of composition, age, etc. will sound a little bit different than a compund body. i don't know .. maybe? :)
 
maybe it isn't very important if you like the look and the sound. i'm just thinking about the maximal performance of a bass body.
 
I find this to be a difficult,

interestingly, Warwick claims (at least I think) that the sound of Bubinga is the same as Bubinga Pommele, and that of Swirly Bubinga (which contains sapwood, at least I think it's sapwood). How on earth can they sound the same (probably similiar) ?? Nature is a mystery........ :D
 
Yep, my CS Streamer LX has a 3 piece body... Design-wise, it's visible on the back but very discreet on the front.

Lutherie-wise, I read that 2 or 3 pieces are much more stable than 1 piece. If the wood needs to "move", it will be better with 2 or 3 pieces.
 
It doesn't really matter when they match the wood as well as the have on yours! :D
 
that's right. more pieces+small pieces = more stability and less "movement" that is clear in furniture design too, and other works with wood...but..it matters how it looks and if the sound is uniforme and equilibred by the density of wood etc.
 
It is about design. Sometimes looks better to use 3 pieces of bubinga, than only two and viceversa.
 
KrisG said:
It doesn't really matter when they match the wood as well as the have on yours! :D
Click to expand...

it's good to know what you want from a CS bass. it is different.
 
anghel said:
it's good to know what you want from a CS bass. it is different.
Click to expand...

Indeed, so make sure to specify you want a 2 piece design; I certainly would. :D
 
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