Corvette STD Ash Vs Corvette STD Bubinga

Eberbachl

Eberbachl

Joined
Aug 6, 2006
Messages
3,740
Reaction score
13
Hi Guys,

To celebrate my recent purchase of a STD Ash 'Vette, and to help out Ronald I'm doing a little comparison between my Bubinga 'Vette and his new sister Blondie the Ash 'Vette.

The aim of this experiment is to provide as much of an illustration of the differences between Ash and Bubinga as possible, so I'm taking great care to ensure all other factors are the same.

I've given both basses identical setups (as close as possible) - including relief, action, pickup height etc...

Both basses are strung with fresh Warwick Black Label strings.

Both basses are Active 'Vettes with Active J+J MEC pups. On board EQ is all set at the centre detent, volume wide open and pickup blend in the middle.

Recording methodology is:

Bass plugged into Active input of my Blue Cab 20.
All EQ on amp set flat.
Line out from Blue Cab into M-Audio Mobile Pre USB.
Recorded in Audacity under Ubuntu Linux 9.04.
Drum track made in Hydrogen.
Mixed down and exported to a 192k mp3 file using lame encoder.
The drum track sits way behind in the mix on purpose...I wanted the bass right out front for obvious reasons. ;)

So....I figure what you should be hearing is pretty well all factors being equal aside from the Ash Vs Bubinga.

Here are the first two clips:


Ash Corvette Fingerstyle


Bubinga Corvette Fingerstyle


:d

Over the weekend if I can summon up the courage to expose you guys to my terrible slap technique I'll try to give you some slap samples too.

;)
 
Last edited by a moderator:




Listening thru the crappy little speaker in my
office PC, there is such lack of nuance in the
playback that only a single difference is really
very plain, and it's no small thing. The lowest
notes from the ash bass break up the speaker,
while the bubinga never does in the least. So,
by that measure I quanititively sense a bigger
bottom from the ash ax. Any other difference,
any tonal coloration in the mid or upper range,
is lost by an office PC, but that bigger bottom
made itself very plainly evident.

​



 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi Luke!

I am amazed by your generousity! Thank you so much. I have a Dell XPS 400 with woofer and the usual tinny desk top squeakers. I got some distortion from the ash Corvette just like Golem did, and I bow to his asessment that the bottom of the ash seems bigger and dare I say more "raw". I just tried to a/b the corvette bubinga and swamp ash at the local GC in the Mark Bass 102p but it was hopeless! Too much background from the treble area. None of the Corvettes were set up or tuned but the Mark Bass amps really barked with either Corvette! Thats what makes your generous effort so valuable. Maybe this forum will make your comparasion a permanent fixture since it is a valuable tool in making a decision.
 
Hey - Ron...no sweat at all...I like doing this kind of stuff - I'm the eternal tinkerer.

:lol:

;)

I agree that the bigger bottom is plainly evident in the Ash 'Vette - I find it a very interesting comparison. I'd love to hear other people's thoughts!

:d
 
Ash vs Bubinga

Hi Luke,

I was curious as to why you have both the ash and bubinga Corvettes. Is this to service many types of music? I got more versatility with the Sans Amp and didn't have to talk to the wife about visiting the GC again with the check book. Could an external sound shaping unit do the same? Hopefully this is not a silly noobie question. I must admit the wood grain on some of the bubingas are absolutely wonderful. Thanks again for your thoughts.

Peace,

Ron
 
Ronald Torrito said:
Hi Luke,

I was curious as to why you have both the ash and bubinga Corvettes. Is this to service many types of music?
Click to expand...

Nah - not at all.

It's just because I like them both!

:lol:

I could easily do with one bass, but why would I want to do that?

:d

;)
 
OK Guys - I've just recorded a couple of slap clips.

Firstly - I apologise for my sloppy slap technique - I feel embarrassed posting these clips amongst you guys! :x The playing's not brilliant - but they illustrate the tonal differences between Ash and Bubinga pretty well - even more so than the fingerstyle clips.

Slight difference in recording methodology here - I used my Pro FET 5.1 with WCA211 Pro Cab for this so I could add a little compression from the Pro FET head.

Other than that - everything else is the same as the first recording - all EQ flat etc....no deep or bright switches engaged.

Here are the clips:


Ash Corvette Slap


Bubinga Corvette Slap


I'd love to hear your comments!

(feel free to critique my slap technique too! I'd love to improve my slapping)

;)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I could barely hear a difference through my
bose headphones. The Bubinga was slightly
more compressed and more midrangy. But
other then that, i don't think that there is a
really audible difference. At least not to the
trained ear ;)

I don't think wood makes that much of a
difference in sound, i think its a a combination
of the pups and the strings and the bridge, that
make the sound. The wood just gives it a touch
of color.

End of rant ;)
 
Really? I'm sitting in front of a pair of pretty cheap Behringer Monitors at my desk and I think the difference is stunning!

Of course there are similarities - the basses obviously share the same heritage, neck, fretboard, pickups, strings, setup, electronics etc......but the difference in body timber is clearly audible.

I hear the Bubinga being alot tighter - a much bigger growl - nice snappy highs, but lacks a little bottom. The Ash 'Vette still growls, but not as much as the Bubinga - also has lovely snappy highs - maybe slightly less tops than the Bubinga, smoother in the mids and a bigger, rounder bottom.

:d

That's what my ears tell me.

My wife was even stunned at the difference. She didn't believe that timber would make such a difference.

;)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I too hear a difference between the ash and bubinga, and it's similar to what you hear. The ash seems to have a bigger, looser low end and a flatter midrange while the bubinga has a much tighter, almost slightly compressed low end and a fatter midrange. It's this perceived difference that has kept me from picking up a $$... I just love that tight, focused bubinga sound.
 
Extra said:
It's this perceived difference that has kept me from picking up a $$... I just love that tight, focused bubinga sound.
Click to expand...

I tried a $$ Ash 'Vette with a Tas Blackwood top the other day. The bass was lovely, but I just couldn't get into it. I love my J+J's.

:d
 
That was really interesting Eberbachl!!

Thanks for posting these. It's nice to have these comparisons. I think your clips are a great example of how woods can make a difference in the sound.

I have a PNUT I and II, both have their own kind of setup and diff strings, but sometime after I move, I am going to get them as close to identical as I can and do a side by side comparison like this.

Thanks, and I like your new addition!!
 
hey luke! Great comparison mate.. i can hear a fair bit of difference in sound between your two vettes...and a lot of it is in the mids mate. Really cool man thanks for sharing.
 
As I was expecting the difference is more obvious with slap.
I think this is the perfect example of why the sound clips are not always a very good indicator. I know very well what is the difference between them, especially in a band context, and you cannot hear that difference in those clips. I mean, you hear a difference, but it is hard to say.... they feel totally different, and they have a very different character in the mix.
I like the ash one for slap and pick better, and the bubinga one for fingerstyle.
Nice slap technique :-)
Do you know to play with a pick? The slap is pretty much similar in one way... you have to let your hand loose, to roll. Always an up- down unstoppable movement. I feel like you treat each note separatelly, and don't let the arm - hand move like a big unstoppable rolling ball :-)
 
Thanks Florin...I'm away overnight for a gig, and posting from my phone, but I'll take your advice when I get home!

;)
 
Eberbachl said:
OK Guys - I've just recorded a couple of slap clips.

Firstly - I apologise for my sloppy slap technique - I feel embarrassed posting these clips amongst you guys! :x The playing's not brilliant - but they illustrate the tonal differences between Ash and Bubinga pretty well - even more so than the fingerstyle clips.

Slight difference in recording methodology here - I used my Pro FET 5.1 with WCA211 Pro Cab for this so I could add a little compression from the Pro FET head.

Other than that - everything else is the same as the first recording - all EQ flat etc....no deep or bright switches engaged.

Here are the clips:


Ash Corvette Slap


Bubinga Corvette Slap


I'd love to hear your comments!

(feel free to critique my slap technique too! I'd love to improve my slapping)

;)
Click to expand...
Hi Luke!

Thanks for the A/B on slap for the bubinga and ash. I had a harder time trying to pick out the difference between ash and bubinga-probably because of my noobie ears, but I did hear a difference! The bubinga sounded to me a little "sharper" in attack. Boy how I long for the days when I used to set up 10 platter disk drives on IBM equipment and had my trusty HP ocilloscope. I could see the attack and waveform on that dual channel scope-no problem and at least do away with the variables of cheap speakers. I commend you for again going out of the way to help a noobie retiree. These instruments are a bit pricey for me and I take seriously their purchase as an investment. Perhaps there are more variables with slap technique than with finger style? Could that be why there seems to be less of a difference? Again, you have done a fine job of contributing and I thank you.

Peace,

Ron
 
Eberbachl said:
OK Guys - I've just recorded a couple of slap clips.

Firstly - I apologise for my sloppy slap technique - I feel embarrassed posting these clips amongst you guys! :x The playing's not brilliant - but they illustrate the tonal differences between Ash and Bubinga pretty well - even more so than the fingerstyle clips.

Slight difference in recording methodology here - I used my Pro FET 5.1 with WCA211 Pro Cab for this so I could add a little compression from the Pro FET head.

Other than that - everything else is the same as the first recording - all EQ flat etc....no deep or bright switches engaged.

Here are the clips:


Ash Corvette Slap


Bubinga Corvette Slap


I'd love to hear your comments!

(feel free to critique my slap technique too! I'd love to improve my slapping)

;)
Click to expand...
Hi Luke!

Thanks for the A/B on slap for the bubinga and ash. I had a harder time trying to pick out the difference between ash and bubinga-probably because of my noobie ears, but I did hear a difference! The bubinga sounded to me a little "sharper" in attack. Boy how I long for the days when I used to set up 10 platter disk drives on IBM equipment and had my trusty HP ocilloscope. I could see the attack and waveform on that dual channel scope-no problem and at least do away with the variables of cheap speakers. I commend you for again going out of the way to help a noobie retiree. These instruments are a bit pricey for me and I take seriously their purchase as an investment. Perhaps there are more variables with slap technique than with finger style? Could that be why there seems to be less of a difference? Again, you have done a fine job of contributing and I thank you.

Peace,

Ron;)
 
cool stuff man !
i'm glad to finally hear the a nice A/B of those corvettes !

the ASH corvette has a lot better low end, that really can be called "fundamental".
the BUBINGA corvette doesn't have that.
other than that, i can't hear any differences. it sounds, like you rolled off the lows on the bubinga corvette, that's all.

in the slap clips, if you listen only to the very last note, you can hear a huge difference.
the ash corvette has a huge sound, the bubinga corvette seems to have loud low mids, and loud high frequencies. it almost seems like there is an octaver in that one...

but i'd say florin is right when saying that soloed they sound totally different than in a band setting.
i brought my 2 basses to the rehearsal.
when i asked the band, which one they liked more, they looked at me like there was no difference.
but i'm the only one who knows how much i had to struggle with the one bass to get my sound, and how easy i got the perfect sound with the other one.

so, what matters it not only if you can get the sound you want, but if it is easy or difficult to achieve it.

which corvette has a snappier, brighter high end when you dig in hard playing fingerstyle ? ash or bubinga ?
 
Thanx mate, this is actually the first time that I could check and hear the differences between the different kinds of wood myself.... If I had to choose the one I like the best (of these two), I would definitely pick the Ash !!
 
iuserneim said:
which corvette has a snappier, brighter high end when you dig in hard playing fingerstyle ? ash or bubinga ?
Click to expand...
I'd say Ash.
The bubinga one is a little bit darker.
But the bubinga one is more present in the mix.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top