Blindfold Test: Maple vs Rosewood

[theophilus762]

Nah, I'm going to wait for the North American day crew to chip in before I reveal all.

one rosewood, two maple.

north america crew here. just taking a break from studying for my final!

 

[BuffaloBass]

N.A crew here too, early morning research before the phones start ringing...

Man, thats really, really close. I mean really a draw. And here I am a "maple nazi" and I really cannot tell.

I'm listenting for how the strings sound off the frets, and man, I cannot tell. Sure seems like it could be easily EQ's either way.

First guess is maple is #2. Not as warm, more clarity, and slightly more fret "noise" ( which I like actually).

 

[Mytola]

There is only a very subtle difference, but I agree on what most people have said, and I think the 1. is rosewood, and the 2. is maple. I want to add that I decided on which I thougt was which before I read any of the replies, so I'm not biased by them.

 

[nemo]

Hey StereoJoe, I hope you don't mind, I took a liberty to normalize the files to -0.10 dB (to increase the volume, as it was very low originally).
No other processing was done. Hopefully all will be more apparent now.

Otherwise, thanks for great, almost scientific comparison! How often you get the samples where the only difference is the fingerboard? Big Up!

The louder files:
audio1.wav - 3.43MB
audio2.wav - 3.38MB

Edit: the noise is original, not added (coming probably from direct computer input)

 

[jaypbass]

North American here...
Wow you can clearly hear the difference! Its amazing!
1: Rosewood
2: Maple

 

[remo]

Clip one has better top end detail so I'm going...

#1: Maple
#2: Rosewood

 

[PilbaraBass]

wow...thanks nemo for the normalisation...

I'm going clip #1 for the maple and #2 for the rosewood...

Clip #1 has more attack through the transitions...clip #2 sounds a bit more "compressed", smoother transitions...

tonally, very similar, but the truth is in the transients...

#1 maple...definitely.

 

[rockr4Christ]

im gonna go with
1. rosewood
2.maple
I think the top one has more muted treble, and more mids while the other has more treble and more muted mids...just my ears tho.

 

[lomo]

Wow. 2 blind polls running. Too good to be true. I didn't list my vote-this should wait until the poll is closed to avoid biasing new voters. Keep these taste tests coming guys.

 

[69limeRev]

1. Rosewood
2. Maple

Just a hair more bite to #2. To my ear, anyway.

...John

 

[ihateusernames]

Can't find the right terms to explain what I'm hearing differently. I hope to learn audio 1 is maple.

 

[savit260]

1 Maple

2 Rosewood.

I agree with what PilbaraBass says.

Track one seems to have a little more snap to it.

 

[bass_fish]

1 maple
2 rosewood.... but on the actual poll I messed up and voted the other way around whoops....

 

[Double Agent]

I could easily get this wrong, but I think #1 is maple and #2 is rosewood. Clip #2 just sounded a bit darker to me. In a band mix I probably would have an even tougher time guessing.

 

[BassinCT]

#1 Maple- sounds like a harder board with more upper-mids & highs
#2 Rosewood

This is interesting! Did you play them both on a PVT-40 to mess with us?

please tell

 

[ihateusernames]

1 Maple

2 Rosewood.

I agree with what PilbaraBass says.

Track one seems to have a little more snap to it.

That's what I was looking for, it's snappier.

 

[ibanezcollector]

1 Is maple. has a more aggressive midrange

2 is rosewood sounds fuller and more woody

 

[higgi]

1 maple
2 rosewood

They are so close it's hard to tell any difference. 1 had a sharper attack.

 

[Stereo Joe]

Hey StereoJoe, I hope you don't mind, I took a liberty to normalize the files to -0.10 dB (to increase the volume, as it was very low originally).
No other processing was done. Hopefully all will be more apparent now.

Otherwise, thanks for great, almost scientific comparison! How often you get the samples where the only difference is the fingerboard? Big Up!

The louder files:
audio1.wav - 3.43MB
audio2.wav - 3.38MB

Edit: the noise is original, not added (coming probably from direct computer input)

Thanks Nemo! I considered bumping up the gain in a different program, but I wasn't sure if people would consider that a compromise of the results. I guess it just serves to help people hear the difference better.

Rodger Bryan, no T-40 here! Just a jazz body with Fender 60's reissue single coil pups. It has a pretty big tone doesn't it? This bass tracks really well in the studio and take up a lot of space in the mix - I love it.

 

[Quadzilla]

Are those fake emblems on your non-Fender manufactured necks???? Sorry, I had to!