Staining basswood!

[Jasflip]

Alright. I have a ltd SC-207 that I've been modifying over the last few months, and have slowly grown to despise the gloss black finish. Being a huge fan of stain finishes, I decided to do some research regarding refinishing it in a black stain. The only threads I've come across regarding staining and basswood is that there is a chance of the wood having a green tint. Would this have any effect if I were to stain it black? I'm not too worried of ugly wood patterns, as I'm looking to go so dark with the colour of stain. I'm also very new to this refinishing aspect of guitar modding, so any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Pikka Bird]

The green streaks would become a slightly different shade of black/dark grey if you went for it. I say do it. Basswood grain looks awesome when stained- the growth lines seem to highlight themselves rather than darken, and it looks phenomenal, IMO.

 

[J7string]

Ask Ibanez, they are basswood experts.

 

[thebunfather]

I think you'll be safe using a black stain. You could dye it, as well. I had good luck with black ink mixed with some water. Most pros will use analine dyes, though. The basswood looks great stained/dyed IMHO.

 

[Pikka Bird]

Here's SilverEvolver's 7321 stained and oiled. Notice the light grain lines, which I totally love, and that seems to be how basswood tends to turn out on all the stained ones I've seen.

...a black/dark grey version of this type of stain would rule.

 

[vansinn]

Basswood often receives too many down comments, both as a tonewood and for looks, which I believe is due to many el cheapos having been made from less good varieties, as this is a fast-growing, inexpensive, and easily tooled wood.
Fact is that basswood, being a member of the poplar family, have good varieties which can yield pretty good reuslts.
Have a look at EBMM's JP70 series; not'n wrong with those in terms of looks and tone..

 

[Konfyouzd]

When I stained my RG7620 I did a BSB finish and took a heat gun to the wood prior to staining so it had some crazy discoloration anyway...

That said, I tend to agree with the above poster. I've stripped many an RG to find some very pretty wood underneath. YMMV

 

[Jasflip]

Ah, that makes me feel so much better, haha. Thanks for all the reassurance, everyone

 

[OfArtAndArsenal]

Do it. It looks awesome.

 

[ApteraBassist]

Here's how my basswood RG7321 turned out after staining with a water based stain and then using tung oil

 

[ApteraBassist]

I had so much fun doing it I'm getting an itch to do it over in a darker stain