Staining Ovangkol

I'm curious as to how well ovangkol accepts or displays a stained color (other than nirvana black which I think looks stunning). If the result is not pleasing, would ordering a Thumb BO with ovangkol body and thin maple top be a great deviation from the original sound of a Thumb BO? Also, what are your opinions on going with a wenge neck? I love the sound of the Thumb and don't really want to stray - just a couple of mods. Thanks.

 

I think it depends on the shade of ovangkol you start with.It can be a light orange to a very dark brown.I dunno how an ovangkol body with a maple top might sound but the CS can tell ya that.Imo Thumb BO's sound nicer with wenge necks.

 

Woods with tighter grains are a bit harder to stain... But like mentioned about it will all depend on the lightness of wood... I used a bit of black india ink (tattoo ink) in my oil mixture awhile back and it darkened the bass up a bit... The things I do when I'm bored.

 

Stain does not really look that good on Ovangkol, of course aesthetics are more of a matter of choice and preference, but in my opinion color stains look better on woods like maple, ash, maybe zebrano than they do on dark woods like ovangkol, mahogany and such.

 

Stain does not really look that good on Ovangkol, of course aesthetics are more of a matter of choice and preference, but in my opinion color stains look better on woods like maple, ash, maybe zebrano than they do on dark woods like ovangkol, mahogany and such.

Would capping the ovangkol body with a thin maple top severely alter the tone characteristic of the Thumb?

 

i think it depends on what color you want to stain it too. darker colors would make it look too muddy you wouldnt be able to see the grain. whereas if it was a lighter stain like G orange or honey violin, amber, maybe even turquise blue might look preety good.

 

Tops or caps or facings do have quite a profound effect on the basses tone.As for ovangkol with a maple top I really cant advise you but someone will.

 

It depends on how thick the top is, in most case we need very thick tops for contoured basses. When it's a Corvette (with a flat body) these tops can be quite thin. In terms of tone, adding a maple top will make the bass sound brighter. If you go with Ash for example, it will sound darker and lower.

 

Thank you everyone for the input. I love the sound of a Thumb BO. I probably shouldn't screw with its integrity by making constructional changes - just wanted to personalize a bit. Thanks again.