Every bass is different, and even two basses made from the exact same woods can sound subtly different. But there is no doubt that the woods the instrument is constructed from impact the way the strings vibrate. There are generalizations by species of what tone you can predict, and then there are individual pieces that defy the norms.
Do you play every bass the same way? Coming from the land of pianos and flutes, I had to learn early that my approach had to be unique to each individual instrument. I think the whole point of making instruments out of different materials, different scale lengths, different electronics, then you use different strings, amps, etc, is to make unique experiences. If they all sound the same, why make more than one?
Now there is a question I didn't ask myself before posting my comment. "Do you play every bass the same way?". Kind of stumped me on how to respond to that one. I will give that some thought because if I do play each differently then i need to understand why that is. I know there are some physical aspects the design of my basses such as neck pickup location, string spacing, string tension and how the bass hangs on the strap that means my playing technique has to adjust to those things. I don't really know if i consciously or sub consciously play any of my basses differently to maximise their unique sound.
