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difference between maple and rosewood?

#2
Some people claim that maple has a brighter tone, but I think they're full of ****. The only other difference is feel and AFAIK, that only applies to Fender basses, where the maple is glazed
 
#3
I haven't noticed much difference at all.. If I could say anything, I would say maple as a bit more of a "bite" but, honestly, I think that just may be my brain lying to me because everyone claims maple is brighter.

To me, the maple/rosewood debate is purely aesthetics. I'm sure many will disagree with me, but I just can't tell enough difference for it to determine whether I should buy a particular bass or not.
 
#4
I won't get into the tone part, but,
there is an enormous difference in feel
between maple and rosewood. The difference
is even more profound when the wood is
*low end*. Wide grain rosewood feels
scratchy and like poop to me. Maple -
just about any type - feels smooth to me.
 
#5
Maple is DEFINITELY brighter. This is not in my head or other people's heads who hear it. They are different. Different woods vibrate differently.
 
#7
I have been playing for over 30 years, plenty of Maple and Rosewood boards have gone through my hands on Fenders and many other brands. I have never noticed ANY bit of difference in either feel or tone between the two. Feel? People say there is a different feel? Really, your fingers don't even touch the board, or at least very little. Mostly your fingers are on top of the strings held above the board anyway, at least on the lower strings. Some people may claim to hear some kind of difference in tone. But it is going to be so remote that it is really negligent. Even if you DO hear some slight difference in tone (I never have) no one else will.

The only practical difference is in the look. One is light colored, the other dark.
 
#8
BassDudeSA said:
I have never noticed ANY bit of difference in either feel or tone between the two. Feel? People say there is a different feel? Really, your fingers don't even touch the board, or at least very little. Mostly your fingers are on top of the strings held above the board ...
Click to expand...

Your fingers touch the strings, and the strings touch
the board. And many of us absolutely feel the difference
with the board underneath those fingers/strings.
 
#9
SBassman said:
Your fingers touch the strings, and the strings touch
the board. And many of us absolutely feel the difference
with the board underneath those fingers/strings.
Click to expand...

Cool for you, in my 30 years I never have. Not that my fingers are "insensitive" to the touch, but it is just a detail that was never noticable or even mattered in any kind of practical situation I've ever known.
 
#10
BassDudeSA said:
Cool for you, in my 30 years I never have. Not that my fingers are "insensitive" to the touch, but it is just a detail that was never noticable or even mattered in any kind of practical situation I've ever known.
Click to expand...

I gotta say that I am in the camp of both feeling and hearing the difference. Maple boards definitely add a touch of brightness and "ringing" quality to the attack. I generally find rosewood boards to "round out" the attack and come across as warmer.

As for feeling the difference, I agree with the person above who indicated that it depends on the quality of the rosewood and/or the finish on the maple. My 1964 Fender Jazz with a very tight-grained Brazilian Rosewood board is incredibly smooth to the touch -- as smooth as most ebony boards I have played. However, I have also played some rough, low-end basses with rosewood from God knows where that feels more like rubbing your finders against concrete than wood. Maple is more consistently tight-grained and smooth to the touch although that can be radically altered by the finish that is applied. I find that "gloss" finished feel sticky after awhile in use while matte finishes feel smother. For what it is worth and IMHO.
 
#11
I've got 2 late 70's p basses, 1 maple, 1 rosewood. I have swapped the necks on several occasions. The maple has a brighter, snappier tone on both bodies. I don't notice that much difference in feel. Hope that helps, John.
 
#13
for people that doubt that rosewood and maple sound different:

1. go to a store and play as many different basses as you can, UNPLUGGED
2. note which basses are acoustically louder (aggressive popping is obviously a good test) and what characteristics they all share
3. get back to me
 
#14
SBassman said:
Your fingers touch the strings, and the strings touch
the board. And many of us absolutely feel the difference
with the board underneath those fingers/strings.
Click to expand...

uhm the strings don't touch the board... unless you have some massive grip(or a fretless), but I don't think it would play that great...
my finder tips die touch the board, but not enough for me to really notice a difference...

is there a tone difference? well who knows, maybe... would one notice it in a band situation, I seriously doubt it...
 
#15
I think my fingers don't touch the board. Neither does the strings.

Fingers touch the strings that touch the frets that are "sunken" into the board. I think the difference in tonality (there is for sure) comes from the vibration transfered from the strings to the frets to how the board responds due to its resonance.
 

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