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

[-=DanAtkinson=-]

EDIT: The answer is revealed in post 112.

Ok, as promised, here's a fretboard wood test. The conventional wisdom is that a Maple fretboard is "snappy" and a Rosewood fretboard is more "warm". Whatever those terms mean!

So, I made recordings of each type of fretboard wood. Everything else on the bass is exactly the same. I simply swapped necks.

Which is which?

Clip A
Clip B

(I used a P bass with roundwounds for this test. Normally I use flats on a P, but I thought rounds would be better since they have a broader frequency response)

 

[KingRazor]

Whichever one B is, I want that one.

 

[prd004]

Who among us hasn't already done this A/B live at Guitar Center with a pair of almost identical basses, the fretboard being the only difference? I've done it a dozen times. Anyone who's not tone deaf can hear the difference.

Besides after your last "Pepsi Challenge" I'd bet dollars to dimes you just recorded the same bass twice!

 

[songwriter21]

B is rosewood.

 

[colcifer]

^ Yep.

 

[-=DanAtkinson=-]

Besides after your last "Pepsi Challenge" I'd bet dollars to dimes you just recorded the same bass twice!

Then you'd bet wrong.

And if you don't find the thread useful, why post?? Other folks will find it useful. In fact, I did this thread by request.

 

[maches]

I have no comment as to which sample is rosewood/maple, but I can't help but to wait for the results and the hilarity that will ensue.

 

[JimmyM]

too bad you didn't have a "who the hell knows" option, dan, because that's what i'd say. maple necks sound brighter because they look brighter. those two clips sounded nearly identical to me, and if there were any differences at all, i'd credit that to you playing it two different times rather than any obvious tonal differences. btw, nice job playing!

 

[Alex E]

By op's definition of snappy and warm, I would guess 'A' is maple and 'B' is rosewood.

 

[cassius987]

I am with JimmyM--Who the hell knows? But on a very weak hunch I guessed that B is maple.

This much already tells me that it must be pretty difficult to distinguish an audible difference... which frees me to choose maple purely on looks if I ever get another Leo-derived bass. All of the basses I own right now have highly figured bubinga fingerboards which I love the LOOK of. Oh and they sound nice too.

 

[By-Tor1000RR]

I love these comparo tests! Thanks for going through the trouble. I voted, but I'm not telling what my choice was......

 

[By-Tor1000RR]

While you're at it, do a BadAss II vs. stamped steel bridge comparo!


Just kidding. hahahaha!

 

[Mastermold]

I can't tell either way. They both sound the same on my speakers.

 

[Waterpilot]

I honestly thought I was going to get this before I listened. The differences weren't nearly as obvious as I thought they'd be... So... I voted what I thought but it was barely more then a guess. My ears suck.

 

[Pr3ston]

A - Maple?
B - Rosewood?

 

[Marginal Tom]

I couldn't tell. IMHO, fretboard wood is less important than body wood, which is less important than strings. I strongly prefer maple to rosewood, based solely on looks.

 

[Cannabass]

While you're at it, do a BadAss II vs. stamped steel bridge comparo!


Just kidding. hahahaha!

seriously though. THAT would be interesting

 

[mazareth]

B is Rosewood?

Regardless of which is which, "B" sounded a little warmer to my ears.

 

[LM Bass]

I guess B is maple, just because I like maple better, and I like B better, so it must be maple! That's called "Logical", right? : )

 

[Flaked Beans]

A maple
B rosewood