Fretboard wood-meh. Does finish colour affect your sound?

[Tassie Devil]

Discuss.








Tee hee.

[cfsporn]

Black finished basses growl more, Sunburst basses thump more with 3TSB being more thumpier than a 2TSB.

[mjac28]

I agree with everyone else.

[pghjeeper]

Black basses are way more evil and therefore better for metal

[Bassist4Eris]

Fools! You mustn't ever paint a bass. Natural finishes sound way better, because they allow the wood to breathe!

Except red. Red makes your pickups hotter, so that's a fair tradeoff.

Also, purple is a good color, because a lot of women like it. Then they come up to you after the gig to compliment your bass, and you can flirt with them before the guitar player gets a chance. But unlike red, this has nothing to do with tone, so it's not a consideration amongst us serious musicians.

I also agree about black basses, but they sound better for metal if they're pointy too. It also helps if the bass player has one of those big spiky armbands, because they help with the resonance of the low mids, bringing out the growl inherent in the points and black paint.

[pacojas]

+1 to everything above!

(especially true about the black basses)

[mellowinman]

Lead paint. I swear by it.

It's hard to find, though.

[Goldmember]

Gold. Gold. Gold. Your bass will be as shexy as a pancake, and that's the way, uh huh, uh huh, I like it....KC and the Sunshine Band.

[Tmw2011]

Yeah, but did you hear about Tom Hanks?

[curbowkid]

I hear white js best for gospel and church. it is supposed to give a heavenly tone..

[atomicdog]

Isn't this thread called "fretboard wood . . . "?

[GG7]

I always prefer black! lol!

Seriously though...

I didn't realize that there was a debate about fretboard wood choice having an effect on bite and top end tone.

At least in regards to the Fender American Jazz Bass, all you need to do is go down to a local music store and take down two identical Jazz Basses, one with a rosewood fretboard and one with a maple fretboard. Set all the tone controls the same and A/B then in the same amp.

You will hear a difference. I have done this before, so I know the difference is real and it isn't so minute that you have to strain to hear it.

I personally prefer a maple fretboard because I like that extra top end bite you get from that wood. David Gilmore from Pink Floyd prefers a Strat with a maple fretboard for certain songs for the same reason. You saying he is crazy?

Now maybe some brands and models of guitar are built in such a way that the fretboard doesn't matter as much. For instance, if they use just a thin veneer of rosewood or maple on top of some less expensive wood underneath, then of course there wouldn't be an audible difference. The frets are riding on this wood and this is where the tone starts, so how could it not have an effect on a solid body guitar?

[wobble man]

an orange finish is the best of all. it's resonance makes people's skulls explode. seriously, I have scientific evidence of this....

[Tassie Devil]

Originally Posted by atomicdog

Isn't this thread called "fretboard wood . . . "?

Duh. Did you bother to read the whole thread title?

[Tassie Devil]

Originally Posted by GG7

I always prefer black! lol!

Seriously though...

I didn't realize that there was a debate about fretboard wood choice having an effect on bite and top end tone.

At least in regards to the Fender American Jazz Bass, all you need to do is go down to a local music store and take down two identical Jazz Basses, one with a rosewood fretboard and one with a maple fretboard. Set all the tone controls the same and A/B then in the same amp.

You will hear a difference. I have done this before, so I know the difference is real and it isn't so minute that you have to strain to hear it.

I personally prefer a maple fretboard because I like that extra top end bite you get from that wood. David Gilmore from Pink Floyd prefers a Strat with a maple fretboard for certain songs for the same reason. You saying he is crazy?

Now maybe some brands and models of guitar are built in such a way that the fretboard doesn't matter as much. For instance, if they use just a thin veneer of rosewood or maple on top of some less expensive wood underneath, then of course there wouldn't be an audible difference. The frets are riding on this wood and this is where the tone starts, so how could it not have an effect on a solid body guitar?

Blah blah blah

Don't hijack my thread.
Feck off and join the fingerboard wood thread.
This is all about colour and varnish. And tone. And silliness. So shut the feck up about veneer.

[Tassie Devil]

Originally Posted by GG7

I always prefer black! lol!

Seriously though...

I didn't realize that there was a debate about fretboard wood choice having an effect on bite and top end tone.

At least in regards to the Fender American Jazz Bass, all you need to do is go down to a local music store and take down two identical Jazz Basses, one with a rosewood fretboard and one with a maple fretboard. Set all the tone controls the same and A/B then in the same amp.

You will hear a difference. I have done this before, so I know the difference is real and it isn't so minute that you have to strain to hear it.

I personally prefer a maple fretboard because I like that extra top end bite you get from that wood. David Gilmore from Pink Floyd prefers a Strat with a maple fretboard for certain songs for the same reason. You saying he is crazy?

Now maybe some brands and models of guitar are built in such a way that the fretboard doesn't matter as much. For instance, if they use just a thin veneer of rosewood or maple on top of some less expensive wood underneath, then of course there wouldn't be an audible difference. The frets are riding on this wood and this is where the tone starts, so how could it not have an effect on a solid body guitar?

Blah blah blah

Don't hijack my thread.
Feck off and join the fretboard wood thread.
This is all about colour and varnish. And tone. And silliness. So shut the feck up about veneer.

[Darren Low]

Black makes it more metal like growlz and stuffz.

Red makes it sound hotter.

A relic'd finish tends to give that vintage bite.

Natural sounds more natural duh

Gold gives the tone more sparkle, and is richer too, sort of like silver

I have a rainbow bass that just sounds more colourful, like full of tone.

Off-white makes the tone creamy

If you like to muddy things up, go with brown

Just some of my observations so far...

[mcblahflooper94]

I heard if you draw on your bass, it'll sound more like you.

[Thumper]

It particularly affects my tone because I will only buy maple so rosewood wouldn't sound like anything! But everyone knows a coffee table exotic wood sounds more complex.

[Nobody]

Originally Posted by mellowinman

Lead paint. I swear by it.

It's hard to find, though.

+1000

I painted my bass with lead paint then "relic"ed it. I ate the paint chips in the process and now it's a better bass and I'm a better player.