Do you dislike maple fingerboards?

[kcole4001]

I've always preferred rosewood over maple boards.
It's purely aesthetics.
I choose the tone of an instrument on a case by case basis and I don't pre judge it before I hear it based on what wood was used.
In some cases maple works well, but most of the time I choose rosewood.
Not that keen on ebony.

If I think it's ugly to begin with, the tone or playability doesn't matter, I'm not buying it.

And real maple syrup is available seasonally just a couple of miles from here.
No substitutes!

 

[MobileHolmes]

They aren't my first choice, but I like them fine on the right color instrument

 

[Laurent]

Wood has nothing to do with tone, so let's just set that aside before we begin.

Sure, and the earth is flat too!

I like maple necks matched with ash bodies. Most manufacturers go that route when building quality instruments. With other woods (mahogany, walnut) they can sound bity and have too much highs. The gentleman above has a point however when taking instrument with thick coating. Take a MIM P bass for example, when you apply an undercoast of fullerplast with a thick coat of poly on the top, the wood has practically no impact on tone. This is perfect for mass manufactured instruments, they all sound the same. I tend to believe Leo Fender intended it that way. That takes out having to match a pickup and a neck to a specific body.

 

[Pyrat]

Maple says, "I'm here and I'm ready to work". Sooooo...yes. YES! to Maple! mmmmmmmmm-MAPLE!

 

[nerkoids]

When I first started out looking for a solid body bass guitar, I was unsure of a maple fretboard. Then I came across my vintage modified Jazz Bass, plugged it in with its flatwound strings on, and fell in love with the tone.

I do like the feel of the maple neck on my jazz, but to be honest, I much prefer the look of rosewood. That said, I don't think I would ever get rid of my Jazz Bass. I am quite glad however, that I have 2 Precision Basses with rosewood. I think the difference in tone that one gets between a maple board and a rosewood board would be more about the feel you get from each of them.

 

[Baird6869]

I generally prefer Ebony or Brazillian rosewood, but two of my favorite basses have maple boards (Valenti 5er and 1972 Jazz).

Also, living in Canada and travelling to the U.S. frequently makes me shy away from BR due to CITES. Too much of a pain in the @$$ to bother owning something "endangered" that on the off chance could be confiscated.

I love brighter FB woods, so Ebony or maple for me.

 

[bassstrangler]

Nothing is better than a maple neck with white Pearland block inlay, black block inlay is second, I have two of each.

 

[DavC]

i like ebony ... nice and hard ... but it can be easily conditioned/cleaned ...

i like maple boards , but the finish seems slightly problematic as it starts to break down and get dirty .. ?!

YMMV

 

[fjadams]

Do you dislike maple fingerboards? I do not. With a flexible preamp and a treble roll off, it's easy to manipulate the tone of the maple fingerboard.

You have to manipulate the tone of a maple fingerboard?

 

[Tom Howland]

I own both. like both. To me a good bass is a good bass. I never bought a bass going in with a specific fingerboard in mind.
The bass will speak for itself when you play it.

 

[Matthew_84]

No, I wish more basses came with them.

 

[PWRL]

I rather enjoy a maple fretboard.

 

[FronTowardEnemy]

My first bass had a maple board. I disliked it because I thought it looked cheap and thought it was for beginners. Every bass I bought for the next 15 years had to have rosewood.

That all changed when I got my Fender Marxus Miller in 2009. I swapped out a rosewood board on my 95 MIJ 75RI for a Marcus Miller neck and purchased a beautiful 2013 MIJ 75 RI with a maple board.

Now I only prefer maple. Go figure.

 

[Deleted member 269102]

All maple, all the time, please! Block inlays if I can get them.

Just the aesthetics, really. And to me, rosewood necks without matching headstocks look like someone gave up while finishing the bass.

 

[Deleted member 269102]

Nothing is better than a maple neck with white Pearland block inlay, black block inlay is second, I have two of each.

Scrolled past this before I posted. THIS.

Went our of my way to get the VM77 neck for that P/J partsmonster on the right.

 

[SirMjac28]

I love maple boards on everything except jazz basses.

 

[Double E]

Maple pretty much ruled the roost in my house now a days.

 

[covermego]

No. I like them.

You used to ask much harder questions. Are you OK?

 

[Dave W]

I strongly prefer maple. I prefer the way it sounds and looks

I'll take ebony too, for the same reasons.

 

[Bassmanmike1]

It's not so much that I dislike maple, but prefer the look and feel of ebony. I would own a maple necked bass that sounded and felt great.