HOW does fretboard wood thickness effect the sound of fretless bass?

jibreel · #1 03-07-2011, 10:10 AM

Searched a lot but I want to ask this question as directly as possible.

I have a bass and the fingerboard has been sanded down a number of times and is now quite thin. I am wondering if that is the problem. I remember that bass sounding better in its earlier state.

It does not sound good playing an open string. Slightly better fingered. Tried different strings to check. Obviously whether open or fingered, the tone is resonating through the neck.

How much will the thickness of the fingerboard effect the overall sound?

Musiclogic · #2 03-07-2011, 10:17 AM

this is more a question of conjecture, as there are many schools of thought and no real definitive answer. We know that FB's effect sound as they act as a direct influence on the vibration of the string, but to what effect with thickness, and what amount of change occurs from 1 size to another is anyones guess. good luck with it.

jibreel · #3 03-07-2011, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Musiclogic

this is more a question of conjecture, as there are many schools of thought and no real definitive answer. We know that FB's effect sound as they act as a direct influence on the vibration of the string, but to what effect with thickness, and what amount of change occurs from 1 size to another is anyones guess. good luck with it.

Thanks

pilotjones · #4 03-07-2011, 10:33 AM

An enormous impact on tone in a fretless will be due to the action height of the setup. This affects both how the string scrubs against the fretboard just ahead of the fretting finger, and also how it is muted/scrubbed by the fretting finger in the same area. So, you should be sure to check that aspect first.

jibreel · #5 03-07-2011, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotjones

An enormous impact on tone in a fretless will be due to the action height of the setup. This affects both how the string scrubs against the fretboard just ahead of the fretting finger, and also how it is muted/scrubbed by the fretting finger in the same area. So, you should be sure to check that aspect first.

Yes for sure !!!

Thanks again.

Rocky McD · #6 03-07-2011, 11:32 AM

I think you have asked a question that no one knows the answer to. However, I'm sure many will have an opinion

HogieWan · #7 03-07-2011, 08:37 PM

you are saying that the open tone suffers most - the only difference there is a slightly thinner overall neck. The nut should have been modified each time the fingerboard was leveled to compensate - was it replaced? different material? Maybe the nut slots need attention.

Have you adjusted the pickups to compensate for the strings being lowered? Maybe the p'ups are too close and the magnets are causing some muting.

What type of bridge do you have? any modifications there?

Omnipharious · #8 03-07-2011, 09:05 PM

Probably in a severely miniscule way; not as much as the wood used. Probably about as much as the tonal difference between bolt-on and neck-through.

Larry Davis · #9 03-08-2011, 06:11 AM

All that being said about action, wood vibration, etc., it still must travel down and jump into the pick up!! Easy to see some of you vets have given up banging your head against this.

Arthur Strand · #10 03-08-2011, 06:29 AM

As you say you have sanded down the fingerboard and it is now thinner, I cannot see why it should affect the open strings. Perhaps you have sanded it down too much and the fact is you will need a replacement fingerboard - ebony is the best because it is the most durable and resilient of tone wood hardwoods.
As was mentioned before everything needs to be taken into consideration before any work begins. from the nut, to the bridge to the truss rod to the pick ups. That is why it should be done by an expert professional.

jibreel · #11 03-08-2011, 01:12 PM

Thanks to all for these suggestions and thoughts !!

Musiclogic · #12 03-08-2011, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry Davis

All that being said about action, wood vibration, etc., it still must travel down and jump into the pick up!! Easy to see some of you vets have given up banging your head against this.

I'll help ya out on this Larry; because the string comes directly into contact with the FB(fretless more so than fretted) the FB actually plays a part in the vibration of the string(the wood acting as a direct source of dampening rotational vibration) the FB will play a part in the sound sensed by the pickup, unlike body woods(solid body) that play a much lesser part because of the lack of vibration transfer through the mass of the bridge after the sensing areas of the pickup. FB's can contribute to sound differential through the electronics whereas vibration from a solid body will make very little (if any) to the sound sensed.

We continue to hammerhead our way through the solidbody tonewood debate...LOL