Ebony fingerboard vs. rosewood

[tsheldon]

I prefer ebony to Indian rosewood. That said OP you should really play examples and decide for yourself. This is like asking a bunch of guys if they like blondes or brunettes. They're both excellent choices but it won't take long before you realize which ones appeal to you more.

 

[sambass0124]

Ebony looks elegant and rosewood looks traditional and warmer. Both are great. What's the color of the bass and hardware? Color does matter....

 

[Lo-E]

I concur with what the others have said here about tone.

Something you may want to consider is that ebony tends to contract and expand with weather changes more than rosewood does - at least in my experience - so if you live in an area with cold, dry winters and hot, humid summers you may have a slightly less stable neck if you go with ebony. It's nothing a truss rod adjustment won't fix, of course, but it's something to think about. If you go ebony, be sure to oil it occasionally. That will help with the weather changes.

 

[Amplified]

I do now have a bass with a rosewood fretboard. Given a choice, I will go for maple over rosewood anytime. Ebony, pau ferro are also good options.

 

[Rio Haride]

I dunno, most of my basses are Ebony but the one below IMO looks MUCH better than plain black Ebony. Rosewood can look pretty upscale.....

It's a Macassar Ebony, from Indonesia.

 

[Baird6869]

It's a Macassar Ebony, from Indonesia.

On my Ken Lawrence in the pic? Nope. Brazilian rosewood.

 

[JIO]

Personally I would go by which look you prefer (assuming the bass has frets). If you notice the tone difference between fingerboard woods I think ebony gives you the dark look with the snappy tone of maple. Ebony tends to be viewed as a higher end thing but since its not used on Fenders a purist might prefer rosewood or maple.

Warmoth wenge/ebony is my favorite combo and the price is not too bad considering you don't have to finish it.

(Warmoth) wenge/ebony although heavy is awesome feeling/sounding. I use ebony boards, rosewood boards (graphite boards!) and maple boards - all good.

 

[JIO]

Ebony all the way. Looks killer and feels like silk. Very upscale. I dislike rosewood and would never choose it voluntarily.

you dislike this? really? (and this is in it's raw state pre-finishing/oiling)

 

[lbbc]

I prefer ebony

 

[SamJ]

I've got two Ebony's and one Pau Ferro ... like them both... aesthetic of the Ebony is the best, but the Pau Ferro is a light Rosewood...

Tone wise, I think they have absolutely little to no effect on the sound.

 

[MobileHolmes]

I've never really done a side by side, but in general, I prefer the feel of ebony. I've seen quite a bit of rosewood even on higher end instruments that was just kind of rough and cheap feeling.

Just to throw in a monkey wrench, what about pau ferro? It looks like rosewood, is almost as slick as ebony. I've got one warmoth neck with it and really like it.

 

[ole Jason]

What do you guys mean by "feel" of the fretboard? On a fretted instrument the string never touches the wood. I guess it depends on your left hand technique how much of the edge you feel though.

I generally like the way ebony looks much more than rosewood unless it is really high quality rosewood.

 

[JIO]

I've got two Ebony's and one Pau Ferro ... like them both... aesthetic of the Ebony is the best, but the Pau Ferro is a light Rosewood...

Tone wise, I think they have absolutely little to no effect on the sound.

To each their own, but I couldn't disagree more.

 

[JIO]

Let me put it this way... I've got a pretty good ear and I learn dynamically, so I know what I hear. But I take cues from people I have immense respect for, including one Philip Kubicki (rip). From American Basses by Jim Roberts (2003); Neck Wood and Tone - Philip Kubicki; ..."the neck wood actually contributes more to the sound of a solidbody instrument than the body wood does - although , to be honest, I think the pickups and electronics probably play the largest role in determining the plugged-in sound of an electric bass."

Ever since I read that years ago - it's been my pillar to lean on. So at least as far as the relation to tone from actual materials that make up the physical instrument - 1) neck, 2) body. I subscribe to this belief-system. Others beliefs/opinions may vary.

 

[lz4005]

You can debate fretted tone differences all day, but wood absolutely matters on fretless.

I prefer ebony to rosewood as well, but I'm surprised no one's mentioned pao ferro yet. Nice fretless wood with the attack of ebony, the feel of rosewood, and the best of both tones. Just throwing it out there.

I would really steer clear of pao ferro on fretless. But not for tone reasons. Many people can develop an allergic reaction to pao ferro dust. Its a nonissue on fretted, but on fretless, particularly if you're using rounds, you could have problems.

 

[Awesome Sauce]

Huh. Never heard that. But, I can work cocobolo all day long (possibly my favorite wood ever) without issue, but it could, literally, kill my friend.

 

[Skasteadyb]

Rosewood. But I like warm and mellow. I play reggae and soul

 

[Hans Gruber]

Also depends on the neck construction. Is it a neck through or bolt on?

I know Mike Pedulla has very strong opinions and refuses to use ebony on bolt ons.

I've not played a ton of basses with ebony, but I did have an F-Bass BN5 with ash body and ebony board. That was my dream setup....so I thought. I was disappointed. You're right about the clack. There's a certain harshness in the upper-mids for my taste. I found the BN-5 with maple board to be significantly more pleasing, even though the aesthetics of the ebony were better.

I think the frequency response just didn't work for my ears. Sounded great on a Pedulla Thunderbass, though!

My opinion is probably off kilter - according to many - but here it is.

As a guy who plays really hard with a pick exclusively on fretted basses, I just can't do ebony. It is the wrong kind of bright for me. It's what I call like to call "klacky". Hey finger players and fretless players, there is probably nothing better, you need the brightness in the attack - but it doesn't work for me. The pick is adding attack to the sound and frankly, so do the frets.

It was funny, when Rob Allen made my Mouse, he mentioned that for fretted pick players, he always found ebony to be klacky. I grinned my knowing grin when he said it. A little something I had picked up from Paul Reed Smith years before. I played a couple of fretted ebony basses in his shop and sure enough - "klacky" and then some, especially with the shorter neck.

We needed the look of ebony on the bass to go along with a busy spalted top, so Rob ebonized some rosewood for me. Not sure if he used a quality black dye or if he actually ebonized it - some use both - but it has held up perfectly for over 10 years. So it looks like ebony but sounds sweet and warm like rosewood should - with no klack. There is a great article here on the process

Ebonizing Wood

If you are interested, true "ebonizing" involves more than the use of dye.

View attachment 616008

 

[basspraiser]

It all depends on the sound you want... I have both on fretted basses... The ebony is brighter and "snappier"... I like it but some people call it" brittle sounding"

Look wise... I like them both....

I just read the rest of the posts...if fretless...Ebony without question

 

[Joebone]

Let me put it this way... I've got a pretty good ear and I learn dynamically, so I know what I hear. But I take cues from people I have immense respect for, including one Philip Kubicki (rip). From American Basses by Jim Roberts (2003); Neck Wood and Tone - Philip Kubicki; ..."the neck wood actually contributes more to the sound of a solidbody instrument than the body wood does - although , to be honest, I think the pickups and electronics probably play the largest role in determining the plugged-in sound of an electric bass."

Ever since I read that years ago - it's been my pillar to lean on. So at least as far as the relation to tone from actual materials that make up the physical instrument - 1) neck, 2) body. I subscribe to this belief-system. Others beliefs/opinions may vary.

I think Roger Sadowsky is also on record that fretboard wood is more determinative than body wood.

I think the tactile experience of your fingers on and along the fretboard has a lot to do with your ultimate sound - you're in contact with the wood as well as the frets, and if you gliss, slide, pull and do vibratos, then you are definitely getting the feel and sound of the wood.

In general, as a finger player often in a jazz or latin vibe, I prefer ebony. I find it centers pitch very quickly, and sounds clean - I like the quick attack. Maple is too bright and I don't like the feel. Rosewoood is rounder, and can have that purr thing going on - hard for me to get ebony to purr. Pau ferro also is pretty cool - the missing link between ebony and rosewood, a bit on the brighter side.

That said, I'm having a fretted bass built, and have decided to go with rosewood (ash body). I'm looking for one flexible axe that can cover a whole lot of scenes, and have decided that rosewood will give me that flexibility, whereas the ebony often kind of stands out in certain contexts.

On fretless, ebony, ebony, ebony. The feel, the sound and the pitch clarity absolutely rule. Ebony is super-responsive to left-hand technique on fretless. I keep flat wounds on my fretlesses, (one neck through, one bolt-on) and get positive feedback on the sound of those instruments pretty much whenever I play them in public.