Blindfold Test: Maple vs Rosewood

[David Jayne]

Thanks for this thread!
One can clearly hear that maple has a brighter sound as everyone discribes.

I'm not reading 'everyone' describe it that way. And I disagree- the rosewood sample obviously has more high-end zing, which should be expected, given that rosewood is much, much harder than maple.

 

[David Jayne]

Also, we do all know that this is a rather old thread, right?

 

[Luke.Walton]

That was a good test, and I could barely hear a difference.
+1 to people saying choose your neck based on feel and look.

Luke.

 

[peterpalmieri]

I realize this thread is two years old but it's worth mentioning... I woke up this morning and using my Ipod headphones on my laptop I listened. Then I came into work and have a decent set of computer speakers the clips sounded totally different then they did with ear buds.

This was really fun a few years back but for anyone based on a computer audio clip to make hard assumptions one way or the other or to dismiss them as the same would be doing them a diservice....

 

[mongo2]

The test is invalid simply because two different necks were used.

Even testing between to different necks with the same type of wood for the neck and fingerboard could easily yield different results because wood is so variable.

 

[TrevorOfDoom]

given that rosewood is much, much harder than maple.

 

[jongor]

Oh ya! Your post is invalid!!


It's still fun to compare though.

The test is invalid simply
because two different necks were used.

Even testing between to different necks with the same type of wood for the neck and fingerboard could easily yield different results because wood is so variable.

 

[David Jayne]

What, you didn't know that? It's true.

 

[David Jayne]

The test is invalid simply because two different necks were used.

Almost certainly true.

 

[stflbn]

I was wrong with my choice.

IMHO the difference is so minute that there's no way it matters to me.


.

 

[SwamiRob]

What, you didn't know that? It's true.

The wood may be harder but surely it's not as hard as the lacquers used on the majority of maple necks? I could tell the difference pretty easily though, it was subtle and only on certain notes that it was obvious enough to tell.

 

[David Jayne]

The wood may be harder but surely it's not as hard as the lacquers used on the majority of maple necks?

Given the fact that the frets are anchored directly to the wood and not the lacquer, I don't see how it's relevant.

 

[Bassflute]

Yes! That was my thought too. It was played too softly to really get a good tone from the bass. There's a sweet spot between too soft and really hard. Harder is better than softer... you get more energy and harmonics from the strings.



The fingerboard plays a big part because the frets are sitting on it, and it has a lot more mass than the frets. If the frets are well seated, they will transfer the energy into the fingerboard. Maple is hard and bright sounding because it absorbs less energy from the strings. Rosewood is dense, but it is oily and darker sounding... it has a damping effect. You hear the tone of these woods when they use them for acoustic guitars. Ebony would be brighter than the other two.

I use phenolic fingerboards on my personal basses, and I can really hear the tone of the board.

To me the second clip had more presence, so I felt that was the maple. But I had to adjust the levels on my headphones because the first one was so weak.

If you soloed the back pickup, and dug in a bit, you'd hear an even MORe pronouced difference. Also, the recording levels were INCREDIBLY low...you need to normalize those tracks, man...

Ok, the answer is...........

Audio 1 is ROSEWOOD

Audio 2 is MAPLE

Looks like a majority of you were right!

I found it really interesting that some people were sure either way, and some people heard very little difference while others heard a drastic difference.

There IS a drastic difference. It is in the initial attack and the 'click'. Maple=harder=brighter.

Body woods make quite a difference, as well; love to see a blindfolded test with that.

Cheers,
Cameron

 

[T-MOST]

Regardless of which is which they definately have a different tonality. One is crisp and clear while the other is warm and rounded. The wood matters.

 

[mongo2]

Oh ya! Your post is invalid!!

 

[SwamiRob]

Given the fact that the frets are anchored directly to the wood and not the lacquer, I don't see how it's relevant.

I meant more in terms of hardness when it came to feel then anything really, in terms of sound lacquer probably makes very negligible difference.

 

[David Jayne]

There IS a drastic difference. It is in the initial attack and the 'click'. Maple=harder=brighter.

(Facepalm)......again, maple is NOT HARDER THAN ROSEWOOD. ROSEWOOD IS HARDER- A LOT HARDER. Look it up.

 

[sonic assassin]

1 rosewood
2 maple

there was a certain hardness to 2. clearer. and the clack noise gave it away. i find i make a lot more noise on maple FB's than rosewood.

 

[electracoyote]

Um...the rosewood clip sounded slightly brighter to me. My readings indicate most people think the maple board gives a brighter tone. But rosewood is the harder of the two woods, and does sound brighter in these clips...are that many people mistaken about the tonal characteristics of maple? I like bright, so I'm thinking I should be going with rosewood fretboards now...

 

[cnltb]

Um...the rosewood clip sounded slightly brighter to me. My readings indicate most people think the maple board gives a brighter tone. But rosewood is the harder of the two woods, and does sound brighter in these clips...are that many people mistaken about the tonal characteristics of maple?

+1
something odd tho... to me the tone in both clips was slightly annoying...a tone that I really dislike. Odd that, I've not really noticed it like this before