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

[GBBSbassist]

Describe the taste of vanilla to me...

Vanilla taste like rosewood.

That's my point,aimed at people who are critical of using certain adjectives to describe a sound.

A good attempt I guess, except it doesn't quite work. I'm not the one saying something sounds mwah, or snappy.

 

[Frenchy-Lefty]

Every luthier says the exact same thing - that woods matter. Most believe that they matter more than electronics.

If you don't wanna believe them, that's up to you, but it just seems like willfull ignorance.

Luthiers are professionals and most people here are amateurs but we now live in a world where unfounded opinions expressed on internet have the same value as professional knowledge and scientific expertise as long as enough people agree on those fallacies.

 

[petrus61]

If it was really as simple at the strings on frets (or not) vibrating in a magnetic field, then why are dead spots audible? Why do the locations and frequencies of the dead spots change when mass is added?

 

[tfer]

Vanilla taste like rosewood.



A good attempt I guess, except it doesn't quite work. I'm not the one saying something sounds mwah, or snappy.

Sorry then. Thought you were...

My mistake.

 

[tfer]

Have you been enjoying your popcorn through the 12 pages of what I think has been a civil and interesting discussion? How do you feel about the effect of fingerboard wood?

I'm actually surprised as well.

Some pretty good debate going on.

 

[mapleglo]

Professional Luthiers have a vested interest in selling customers the most exotic and expensive woods. I am unable to put any stock in their opinions about "tone wood", especially after having my own, 50 year, contradictory experiences.

 

[GrapeBass]

If it was really as simple at the strings on frets (or not) vibrating in a magnetic field, then why are dead spots audible? Why do the locations and frequencies of the dead spots change when mass is added?

...because the harmonics of the vibrating strings are being absorbed by the system they are being suspended over. The combination of materials affect the way the string vibrate - yes they do.

 

[tfer]

I voted carrotwood not to have a good time, but because the other two choices did not reflect my belief.

Another poster stated that they swapped out necks often, and heard a difference. Of course, that's a neck/fretboard combo that's changed, not just the fretboard. That doesn't address your question, as we don't know how much the neck wood influenced the sound. I have never removed a fretboard after careful listening on a bass, and replaced it with a different type of wood. So I can't answer the question accurately. I've played a variety of basses with different fretboard woods, and many sounded different from each other, but there's no way to isolate how much of that difference is due to the fretboard wood. I'd venture to say that is the experience of the majority of bass players. Honestly, I don't believe any of us are in a position to definitively answer the question.

The only experience I have is when the truss rod on my Portamento broke, and the fingerboard was damaged when it was steamed off.

It got replaced with a new piece of Indian Rosewood that was slightly thicker (as a result, the original nut had to be replaced).

The tone changed - made the bass darker sounding, with a less prominent upper midrange.

Basically, it made it Rosewoodier...!

 

[tfer]

Professional Luthiers have a vested interest in selling customers the most exotic and expensive woods. I am unable to put any stock in their opinions about "tone wood", especially after having my own, 50 year, contradictory experiences.

When did Ash and Alder become exotic, because that's what they are using...!

 

[LiveToWin]

Just a thought :

Every luthier says the exact same thing - that woods matter. Most believe that they matter more than electronics.

If you don't wanna believe them, that's up to you, but it just seems like willfull ignorance.

Hmm ... lets think about it for a second ...
I wonder WHY luthiers praise so much this "magic" tonewood ... I don't really have any idea ? But I bet, it's not because they have to make a sales to stay in business - this is NOT because it, I strongly mark it.
And no, this was not a irony

By any means, I'm not an expert but I bet that guitar company which makes guitars from dunno ... synthetic materials other than wood will die pretty quickly. People want guitars from wood not from some high tech plastic or what.

 

[bearhart74]

carrots again? Arrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhhh!

 

[tfer]

Just a thought :



Hmm ... lets think about it for a second ...
I wonder WHY luthiers praise so much this "magic" tonewood ... I don't really have any idea ? But I bet, it's not because they have to make a sales to stay in business - this is NOT because it, I strongly mark it.
And no, this was not a irony

By any means, I'm not an expert but I bet that guitar company which makes guitars from dunno ... synthetic materials other than wood will die pretty quickly. People want guitars from wood not from some high tech plastic or what.

The woods we are discussing (aside from rosewood, now that it's been CITES protected) are not exotic.

They are what guitars have been made from for decades.

Various combinations of ash, alder, maple, mahogany and rosewood.

Aside from thin veneers used as figured tops (flame maple, etc), they are not premium woods.

It's a discussion about how these common woods interact with each other to create a desired tone.

 

[bearhart74]

Sommalier, Tonewoods, Astrology, alchemy, Tarot, Gold cables....

 

[tfer]

Specialized luthiers don't make money from the wood combinations. They make it from craftsmanship.

You could buy your furniture from IKEA, or you could hire a craftsman to build it using the same pine.

The craftsman furniture won't be found in a garage sale in 3 years.

 

[GBBSbassist]

Specialized luthiers don't make money from the wood combinations. They make it from craftsmanship.

You could buy your furniture from IKEA, or you could hire a craftsman to build it using the same pine.

The craftsman furniture won't be found in a garage sale in 3 years.

Is that a metaphor for the current discuss at hand?

 

[Gorn]

Specialized luthiers don't make money from the wood combinations. They make it from craftsmanship.

You could buy your furniture from IKEA, or you could hire a craftsman to build it using the same pine.

The craftsman furniture won't be found in a garage sale in 3 years.

They don't charge more for some woods over others?

 

[mapleglo]

When did Ash and Alder become exotic, because that's what they are using...!

Seriously? You see no other woods being used in high end instruments?

edit - what about maple and rosewood?

 

[Sixgunn]

Specialized luthiers don't make money from the wood combinations. They make it from craftsmanship.

You could buy your furniture from IKEA, or you could hire a craftsman to build it using the same pine.

The craftsman furniture won't be found in a garage sale in 3 years.

Sooooo..... you've done business analysis/consulting for ALL the "specialized luthiers"?

 

[MtManiac]

Luthiers are professionals and most people here are amateurs but we now live in a world where unfounded opinions expressed on internet have the same value as professional knowledge and scientific expertise as long as enough people agree on those fallacies.

Lol that can go either way. Physicists are also professionals. With data.

 

[MtManiac]

...because the harmonics of the vibrating strings are being absorbed by the system they are being suspended over. The combination of materials affect the way the string vibrate - yes they do.

Prove it!