Does fretboard wood make a consistent difference in tone that you can hear?

[Gorn]

Whether it's maple or rosewood or pau ferro or ebony or ebanol or carbon fiber or a weirwood tree's face carved by the children of the forest into a fretboard.....does the material of which the fretboard is made make a difference that you can hear? "Maple is brighter and rosewood is warmer......" and such. There are certainly differences from one piece of wood to another that scientific instruments could detect, but the question is whether or not a person can hear it, or thinks they can. That's what I'm asking. We're not gonna prove anything here but I think poll results might be interesting.

 

[MEKer]

Whether it's maple or rosewood or pau ferro or ebony or ebanol or carbon fiber or a weirwood tree's face carved by the children of the forest into a fretboard.....does the material of which the fretboard is made make a difference that you can hear? "Maple is brighter and rosewood is warmer......" and such. There are certainly differences from one piece of wood to another that scientific instruments could detect, but the question is whether or not a person can hear it, or thinks they can. That's what I'm asking. We're not gonna prove anything here but I think poll results might be interesting.

Hmm...I don't think that has been asked here before...should be interesting...

 

[jaybones]

I certainly think I can hear the difference, but then again I don't have exact same basses with the only difference being the FB wood.

 

[Gorn]

Hmm...I don't think that has been asked here before...should be interesting...

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I haven't seen one with a poll. Not a recent one anyway. It's obviously an old and tired question but I wanna see the split. I think it'll be 50/50.

 

[MobileHolmes]

I’ve never played identical enough basses to isolate the effect on board. My suspicion is that it matters but is subtle

 

[Old Blastard]

They feel different to me. One feels warmer, one feels brighter and one rules them all and then there's wenge. I feel the difference so I hear the difference.

Like them all.

 

[MattZilla]

Some people are tone deaf and despite trying for years to be able to just sing in the car can only hear that they are never close enough to in tune to do anything other doing anything other than yell obnoxiously or whisper/mumble.

Some of those tone deaf people can tell when someone whom they've only heard walk five times is walking down the hallway and/or tell what kind of u.s. minted coin was dropped in a nearby room.

Some people can taste colors and smell words.

Some people can smell brownies cooking two blocks down.

Some can't.

Some people only see in shades of blue and grey.

Some people don't see at all.

Some people hear the government's listening device which has been implanted in one or more of their molars malfunctioning.

Wouldn't it be super ideal if we all learned, thought, acted, and sensed the same as eachother?

 

[Member8675309]

I switch my necks out all the time. The maple necks have more bite than rosewood.

 

[ddnidd1]

Here's a quote from a recent article by Roger Sadowsky, who has had a fair amount of experience working with various woods.

"Fingerboards: I feel very confident in saying that I have found the fingerboard to be the most important factor in relationship to wood and tone. Here are my observations:


Maple: Tightest and brightest. Best for slap on basses and for bright, glassy tones on guitars. Can produce more string and fret noise than other woods.


Ebony: Not as bright as maple. Most immediate attack and punch of all fingerboard woods. Virtually no “bloom” to the note after the initial attack. Note has more fundamental with less overtones.


Rosewoods: Sweetest and warmest of the fingerboard woods. South American Rosewoods are tighter and punchier than Indian Rosewoods, which are darker and rounder.


Pau Ferro: (Also known as Morado, Caviuna or Bolivian Rosewood): Pau Fero is not a true Rosewood, but I have been a fan of this wood for fingerboards for over 35 years. Grain is very tight and silky smooth. More warmth than Maple or Ebony but tighter sounding than the other Rosewoods."

 

[lz4005]

Whether it's maple or rosewood or pau ferro or ebony or ebanol or carbon fiber or a weirwood tree's face carved by the children of the forest into a fretboard.....does the material of which the fretboard is made make a difference that you can hear? "Maple is brighter and rosewood is warmer......" and such. There are certainly differences from one piece of wood to another that scientific instruments could detect, but the question is whether or not a person can hear it, or thinks they can. That's what I'm asking. We're not gonna prove anything here but I think poll results might be interesting.

Since the frets that separate the strings from the wood can be tiny, huge, non-existent or anything in between, my answer is "sometimes".

 

[Iofflight]

I can't speak for rosewood but I just spent days on a Fender Jazz with maple and then swapped it for the same exact model but with an ebony fingerboard. I honestly can't tell a difference between them.

 

[bikeplate]

Yes and more important to tone than the body wood

 

[shodan]

My thoughts on the "tonewoods" for electric guitars.
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[Thudnar]

Some necks are slippery, some are flat, some are thin, some are fat. I don't notice much difference...other than that.

 

[tfer]

Starting just before the 43:00 mark, Roger Sadowsky and Michael Tobias are asked about tonewoods.

Very interesting watch.

They go into fretboard wood, and it’s importance in the sound.



But really, what would they know about building basses...?

 

[tfer]

Yes and more important to tone than the body wood

Tobias and Sadowsky agree with you.

 

[capnjim]

Yes!!

I mean no....sorry

Wait...of course it does!!

What am I thinking...its all about the amp....so no............

Yes! Its crucial to your tone!!!!!!

As long as you are sitting on a sofa playing unplugged

So thats a resounding no.....

Unless you use a tube amp and a 8x19 cab....then its a yes!!!

But..an electric bass are we talking about? then its obviously a no.

Maybe???

But not if there are other amplification devices in the mix..then its a no

Unless its a yes

(mod note: this is a result of 12 merged posts)