FRETTED BASS FRET BOARD - Ebony vs. Pao Ferro ?

[mb94952]

Yes, I know fretless basses sound best with ebony finger boards, so I'm told, but I am curious about fretted basses.

I know Alembic uses mohagony body / ebony fret board combo on nearly all their basses. I also know that mohagony is a very "dull" sounding wood in contrast to alder or maple, for example which is very "lively".

What would the result be tonally of having say a Walnut neck thru with alder wings and a maple top, with an ebony fret board ? I know what a Pao Ferro sounds like and feels like. It is wonderful and has great sustain and a nice overall tone with little EQ required.

In other words, does the brightness of ebony and darkness of mohagony cancel each other out to make a "neutral" transparent tone ? What happens if ebony fret board was on an alder or maple body bass ?

[Belka]

I've never played or seen a bass like you described. Walnut necks are very rare, so I can't really comment there. But to talk about the body and fingerboards...

Well, firstly, I would never say that mahogany bodies sound dull. To me, mahogany is a very neutral sounding body wood. Highs, lows and mids in equal amounts. It really lets the pickups, the neck and fingerboard woods and the character of the strings shine through.

Alder is similar but a bit sweeter sounding. Resonant, dynamic, lots of high mids.

And maple...well I've never played a maple bodied bass but I understand that they are pretty bright sounding.

The idea that mahogany bodied basses sound dull is probably down to the fact that old Gibson basses had mahogany bodies. They did sound rather dull compared to Fenders of a similar vintage but you have to take into account the fact that they had those mudbucker pickups and a shorter scale. It's like when people say that bolt ones are punchier than neck throughs and neck throughs have better sustain than bolt ons. Wrong. Fenders are punchier than Alembics and other early custom basses and Alembics and their like have better sustain than Fenders.

There's a lot more in play than just the body wood or the neck construction.

And by the way, Pau Ferro is a very good fingerboard material. Lacks the ping of ebony but very balanced sounding and bright.

[mb94952]

Thanks Belka. Like I said, I used the word "dull" for a lack of a better word. I like your word of Neutral.

I've never heard ebony described as "ping" but that is a perfect word for it. Quick attack.

My Cirrus has a walnut neck thru with maple stringers and walnut wings. It has a bubinga top. It sounds tight and punchy. My alder / maple Cirrus sounds a bit brighter but way louder. Much more presence.

I thought it would be cool to have a hybrid of the two - A walnut neck thru with alder wings. Then the question is ebony or pao ferro for the fret board ?