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Do you dislike maple fingerboards?

Do you dislike maple fingerboards?


  • Total voters
    543
Up until this point I have strongly disliked maple boards, but as luck and GAS would have it one of the basses that I have my eye on has both a maple board and figured maple top, and when I played it the tone was just awesomely buttery...though different from my rosewood and morado boarded basses. I've always loved the smoky, slightly muted sound and feel of rosewood boards and have played those for years with one bass with an ebony board as an acceptable alternative, and I guess it's just my own held-over prejudice from playing a couple of Fender J's with maple boards that were WAY bright and couldn't be toned down. However I'm slowly overcoming that mental block...
 
Maple, rosewood, wenge, ebony, etc. - if I like the sound of the bass then I don't mind what the fingerboard is made of. I often find that maple boarded basses have a less defined fundamental to the notes and more presence in the harmonics but it really depends on the individual bass.
 
Just having this discussion over in a fretless thread - Rosewood is MUCH harder than maple. It's not even close. Especially Indian Rosewood, which is the most common used for musical instruments.

It's why maple needs a finish, and rosewood sits bare.

The Janka Hardness Test for Hardwoods

Got you. I thought the maple is a little brighter because it is harder, but I might be wrong there. In general harder woods are brighter. The reason maple needs finish is that it is not an oiled wood by nature and rosewood is.
 
Apparantly I like maple boards :). The 24F5 is birds-eye, the WL4 is flamed. With a maple neck/headstock I prefer the look of a maple board. However, I also like the tone combo too. My strat goes against that (rosewood on maple neck) since I prefer the sound.

IMGP0270.jpg
 
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