Matt R. wrote:
Jules1 wrote:
This one doesn't look like basswood. Too much of a grain pattern, although I'm no expert. Looks like alder, and a terribly matched body. A solid color would've worked great for this one. Pretty unsightly
Looking again, it looks like one piece could be basswood and the rest, something else. The one piece barely has any grain, and the rest of the body has a decent pattern.
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I agree with all of Matts observations, it would be a hard call. Some basswood can have a decent grain pattern, but not usually as prominent as the one side of this bass. Alder however can also have a lack of grain pattern such as the other half. I've seen more examples of the plain alder than the prominent basswood. Take a look at the grain on the logo P bass at the Top of this page, it has both grain patterns, actually more plain than prominent. If I'm correct in assuming that it is a vintage era Fender it would likely be alder. Weight can be a clue also, basswood tends to be lighter, but my alder body 73 P is much lighter then most of the Basswood Squires I've owned, so that's not conclusive either. All things considered if I had to make a call I think it's a good possibility that it is alder, but it is a hard call none the less.