Can you dress a maple fretboard?

[Trabo]

This is my question, my bass has a maple fretboard and it badly needs dressed however I am worried that the weak maple wood will warp in time (and not in the so distant future).

Will this happen? Should I save up a few hundred $ for a ebony board?

[Jake deVilliers]

It really depends on the thickness and the stiffness of the individual piece of wood.

I've set up and played basses with maple boards that played really well and sounded great walnut and cherry too, for that matter.

A new ebony board will run you at least six or seven hundred bucks, depending on your location, and you'll probably need nut work too to make it match.

I'd say use up what you've got first but that's only my opinion.

[Trabo]

Im going to get the fingerboard dressed even for some temporary relief untill I can afford an ebony fingerboard, it does sound good but my luthier thinks it just isnt strong enough for a permenant fix. In the end I guess a 600$ ebony board is better then carpal tunnel.

[Bob Branstetter]

Originally Posted by Trabo

Im going to get the fingerboard dressed even for some temporary relief untill I can afford an ebony fingerboard, it does sound good but my luthier thinks it just isnt strong enough for a permenant fix. In the end I guess a 600$ ebony board is better then carpal tunnel.

I agree with your luthier. The cost of planing a maple board is going to be about the same as if it were ebony. However, if you play very much, it won't be very long until you start seeing ruts (grooves) forming under the strings. With a good ebony board, you can play on it for years before the slightest signs of ruts appear. If your maple board is thin, flexing is a common problem that makes a bass harder to play. I recommend you buy that ebony board sooner rather than later. You'll be glad you did.

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