Rosewood or Maple?

PBass2004 · #1 10-06-2011, 02:56 AM

Hey guys, i realise this is a personal preference type of thread/discussion and all, but i would love to get YOUR thoughts on why YOU prefer a Rosewood or Maple Neck?

darkstorm · #2 10-06-2011, 03:23 AM

i prefer rosewood for its tone and feel for fretboard. I dont like fretboards with finish on them and maple boards require finish. Its also brighter toned then I want for fretbaord.

pedroims · #3 10-06-2011, 03:31 AM

I make the decision base on the finish, does maple looks better or rosewood, my ears are so limited that I can't hear a difference between each other.

Mister_argentum · #4 10-06-2011, 03:43 AM

For personal taste is for maple, I'd find the sound more tight. Mapple and Rosewood can look good if it is a good bass so I suggest you to make your choice according to other factors (maybe confort).

Cheers

anonymous122511 · #5 10-06-2011, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkstorm

i prefer rosewood for its tone and feel for fretboard. I dont like fretboards with finish on them and maple boards require finish. Its also brighter toned then I want for fretbaord.

An interesting idea was thrown out by someone a while back that maple boards aren't brighter than rosewood because maple is in and of itself brighter sounding but rather because the lamination of a rosewood board/maple neck is more dampened than a one piece maple neck. It makes some sense and a couple of experienced builders I know agreed when I asked them about it. One even thought that a maple board laminated onto a maple neck might be less bright sounding than a dense rosewood or ebony board.

I do prefer the unfinished feel of a rosewood or ebony board but sonically I don't care much what the board is if the bass sounds good and that is the combination of a bunch of factors.

Mytola · #6 10-06-2011, 07:22 AM

The difference in tone is vastly overrated. There really isn't one. I prefer maple, based on looks alone.

NKUSigEp · #7 10-06-2011, 07:38 AM

Depends on what the color scheme of the bass is. I'd prefer rosewood with a sunburst finish and maple with black, white or natural.

ggvicviper · #8 10-06-2011, 07:53 AM

Tonally the difference is rather subtle to my ears (as with many things that people talk about when it comes to basses), a little brighter with a maple board. I pick more for the look.

As far as looks, I like maple a little more, but rosewood just seems to go better with some basses (lighter-colored, sometimes sunburst). To me, it seems maple is far less common these days - especially with the current advent we have over many new budget instruments and instruments with black painted headstocks.

C.Linton · #9 10-06-2011, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mytola

The difference in tone is vastly overrated. There really isn't one. I prefer maple, based on looks alone.

My position as well.

snyderz · #10 10-06-2011, 10:06 AM

I agree with tonal insignificance, at least to my ears. I play only fretless basses, with flats. I have maple, rosewood, and ebony boards. I like them all, and rotate my basses each gig just for the fun of it.

Rumblefisher · #11 10-06-2011, 10:13 AM

I can deal with any, but given the choice, ebony by far is my preferred fretboard.

IMO, changes to tone are subtle at best, especially in the context of a band. I love ebony because it's very smooth and slick.

Maple too, is fun, but I dislike the laminated, glossy variety. EBMM gun-oil is more to my liking. It gets dirty quite fast though!

Rosewood is very nice, I love the look of it. Feels a bit more rough to me than the others. My brain wants to equate it with "warmth" in tone, so I like to roll off tone knob just a bit for the old school thump and feel

tri33 · #12 10-06-2011, 10:18 AM

I just ordered a SB4000 not too long ago and went with a Bridseye Maple 'board, mostly because I liked the way it looked but as people have said it is known to be a little bit brighter. For me thats hard to tell. Compared to my Jazz with a rosewood board the SB is brighter in passive mode. Although take into account the different pickups, body wood, strings, etc it is hard to truely compare.

I would love to hear from someone who had two exact basses except for the fretboards and see if they could tell the difference.

So for me I mostly like the look.

fretless_guy · #13 10-06-2011, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tri33

I just ordered a SB4000 not too long ago and went with a Bridseye Maple 'board, mostly because I liked the way it looked but as people have said it is known to be a little bit brighter. For me thats hard to tell. Compared to my Jazz with a rosewood board the SB is brighter in passive mode. Although take into account the different pickups, body wood, strings, etc it is hard to truely compare.

I would love to hear from someone who had two exact basses except for the fretboards and see if they could tell the difference.

So for me I mostly like the look.

Can You Tell The Difference??? MAPLE vs. ROSEWOOD

Can you tell the difference?

IPA · #14 10-06-2011, 10:30 AM

I like em both. To be honest a lot of times I buy a bass just by how it looks. After that, the neck profile comes into play. Then the sound. I really don't care about the board wood as long as it looks good.

**line6man** · #15 10-06-2011, 10:40 AM

Rosewood.

Smoothest neck EVER.

Fuzzbass · #16 10-06-2011, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by line6man

Rosewood.

Smoothest neck EVER.

Gorgeous!

Rosewood is harder and denser than maple, so a neck made completely of rosewood will add a noticeable amount to overall weight, and possibly contribute to neck dive if the body is very light... but that's no big deal to many.

saustindavis · #17 10-06-2011, 10:45 AM

I really dislike the look, feel, and tone of maple. Even on a natural finish body I prefer the look of a rosewood board (especially with a black pick guard), and maple always feels chunky to me, maybe because of the fact that it has a finish. As far as tone goes, I like the mellow sound of rosewood, and if I want more treb I'll just adjust it on my amp.

**line6man** · #18 10-06-2011, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fuzzbass

Gorgeous!

Rosewood is harder and denser than maple, so a neck made completely of rosewood will add a noticeable amount to overall weight, and possibly contribute to neck dive if the body is very light... but that's no big deal to many.

It's also warmer than Maple.

**jmattbassplaya** · #19 10-06-2011, 10:56 AM

I actually hear a huge tonal difference between the two - so much so that I'll pass up many good basses and deals because the neck on a bass is maple. Rosewood just seems to fill a mix better, whereas maple seems to give your bass a little bit more of a cut.

Fuzzbass · #20 10-06-2011, 11:02 AM

As for the original question: I agree that differences in tone between fretboards (on fretted basses, anyway) are minimal at best, even when all else is equal. I suggest that you don't worry about fretboard until you've got all the other factors sorted out: brand, model, pickups, etc.