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Maple or Rosewood on your P-bass?

Outlaw_son

Outlaw_son

Mar 8, 2007
444
37
Omahell
#1
So, what do you prefer your P-bass neck to have, maple or rosewood and why?

Me personally I prefer rosewood on every other bass but Im really starting to dig the look of the "black and maple" P-basses. Never have played one though. Are maple truly brighter sounding? :confused:
 
#3
Rosewood. Maple Just looks wrong to me for some reason, but everyone has different tastes.

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#10
For Looks; I like them both.
For feel; I refer the maple for practice and the rosewood for stage.

The 1950's Fender maple neck were one piece with the 'skunk stripe' down the back. The 'stunk stripe' is where they would install the truss rod. The 1960's Fender Rosewood necks were maple neck and Rosewood board and no 'skunk stripe'. Then in the 1970's, when Fender started making maple necks again, it was maple neck with a maple board and a 'skunk stripe' down the back of the neck. (CBS mass production I imagine).
 
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#13
:hmm: I can never decide on a firm answer to this age-old question, that's why I have to have BOTH :D ...

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Tone-wise, I'd have to come down on the side of rosewood, as it's almost impossible to completely disguise the brighter "snap 'n' twang" of a maple board using the tone knob, but a rosewood board can be tamed more easily without the tone turning to mud. That's useful if (like me) you prefer a brightish tone that lets the growl to come through, but is basically quite smooth and "warm" underneath.

Maple is unbeatable for punk/new wave "clanking" though :smug: (IMHO).
 
#17
I like maple better than rosewood all the way around. I'm not sure if it's any kind of rational choice. Two of my first three basses had maple and it got ingrained. I've got two maple boards (one on my main bass, a P), two ebony fretlesses and my BB300 has rosewood. All this being said, I could probably be happy playing the BB300 for the rest of my life, so my opinions on the matter aren't _THAT_ strong. The maple boarded Tokai is my go-to bass though.

KO
 
#18
I prefer maple boards generally, so if I had to pick between these for my only bass, it would by my black/black/maple. But there's something special about the warmth of rosewood combined with a split-coil pickup, so I always want both. And I agree vintage white and a tort guard require rosewood.

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#19
I have always been partial to rosewood. Maple feels to harsh for me, too bright and too hard, even though there is probably little to no difference in the actually strength of the wood, just my perception.

I do want to own a maple Precision neck and give it a go just to see what it is like, my highway 1, spector, and my squire p and j fretless are all rosewood.

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