Fender P - Maple vs Ebony

[Shooz]

Hi all,

It's time to buy a Fender P Bass and I have two models to choose from. The standard Fender P bass with Alder body/maple fingerboard and the limited edition P bass with Alder body/ebony fingerboard. Both basses are MIM and have the same hardware. Both are equiped with Player Series Alnico 5 Split Single-Coil Precision Bass®

There is a price difference between those two, with the latter being 140 euros more expensive.
Is it a big difference between these materials? Should I pay the extra money for the limited edition or just save the bucks for a hard case? Should I prefer the limited bass just because it's limited? I haven't tried the limited edition yet since it's in another city.

Looking forward to hear your opinions. Thank you all in advance!

Best thing to do is get your hands on them both. Look them over closely, how does the finish look, are the frets dressed properly, are there dead spot, high frets, twisted neck. Do the tuners feel good, how’s the bass setup, are the saddles maxed out in either direction?
Plug them in, how do they feel, sound, etc.
Hit the important criteria items, then if all things are equal, you can worry about color. I love maple necks, but the ebony board is pretty cool.

 

[Aussie Player]

I like ebony fretboards. That's my choice.

 

[Dbassmon]

Both of those woods have bright attacks. Additionally, the Player P is a bright sounding Pbass.
You are absolutely in great shape which ever one you choose. In a mix, I doubt you would be able to identify which is which. If like the black on black, get it! It mostly an aesthetic choice.

As has been wisely pointed out, it's about the quality of the individual bass. One may be a far better instrument than the other but there is no way to tell that from a picture.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Hi all,

It's time to buy a Fender P Bass and I have two models to choose from. The standard Fender P bass with Alder body/maple fingerboard and the limited edition P bass with Alder body/ebony fingerboard. Both basses are MIM and have the same hardware. Both are equiped with Player Series Alnico 5 Split Single-Coil Precision Bass®

There is a price difference between those two, with the latter being 140 euros more expensive.
Is it a big difference between these materials? Should I pay the extra money for the limited edition or just save the bucks for a hard case? Should I prefer the limited bass just because it's limited? I haven't tried the limited edition yet since it's in another city.

Looking forward to hear your opinions. Thank you all in advance!

I always prefer a rosewood neck. If you found a Fender PB with an ebony neck that is a heck of an upgrade. Is it with 140 euros, to me? No, I’d look for one with a rosewood fingerboard which should be about the same price as the maple.

 

[BassyBill]

On a fretted bass, you’re not going to notice that huge a difference.

I have a fretless P with a maple board and one with an ebony board (Tony Franklin sig). Those too are basically very similar, apart from in looks.

 

[JimmyM]

Too bad you can’t swap necks.

 

[captainofsmooth]

I currently own about a dozen basses. My favorite boards are easily the Ebony boards. They just feel and sound so unique. Plus they’re gorgeous dark. When I built my custom “dream bass” during the pandemic I went with Ebony. Just offering my opinion, but everyone’s different.

 

[darwin-bass]

When I had an ebony fretboard I did notice a slightly more immediate attack to the notes. It was too subtle to make any difference in a mix but it was there.

I think the choice comes down to looks. Personally, I'm not a fan of the all black look. Nor am I a fan of sunburst. So, if it were me, I'd save the 140 euros and go with the burst/maple model.

 

[Manticore]

The law dictates you will need to swap out the chrome hardware for black hardware on the black one if you buy that one. The universe will simply remain unbalanced until this is done.

 

[alex1fly]

I think the ebony one looks great but get what YOU want.

Sunburst and tan, or black on black. Remember you can always change the pickguard for different visual effect.

Tonal difference might exist, might not, no way to know without playing them. Any generalities about "ebony makes it sound like this!" are bogus.

 

[CatDaddyOTB]

Food for thought - The builder of Moollon basses has been doing an Alder/Ebony combo for quite some time. He has said he feels that Ebony has more in common with the Rosewood they had back in Fender's glory days than presently-available Rosewood does.

Of course we can debate all day about how much of a difference tonewoods actually make, but because of this I had a custom P-bass made with the Alder/Ebony combo, and I really really love it.

Can't go wrong either way!

 

[FatOwlBass]

For legit P bass tone I prefer maple. I like ebony for 2 pickup basses.

 

[_Obra_]

Few years ago, I would buy blacky just because it's different and whole black, but now (having an ebony fretboard bass) I would go for a maple on a Precision.

 

[Salem6127]

There are a multitude of TB threads documenting the tonal differences between the two. Though bear in mind these differences will only really be noticeable in a bedroom setting.

The general consensus is ebony has a more focused midrange, whilst maple has a slightly brighter attack. Though both are still very bright tonewoods compared to say, rosewood. So you're really not looking at much difference either way.

It really does mostly just depend on aesthetic appeal as others have mentioned.

 

[bassliner50]

I have several Precisions. All combinations. Alder is the best body choice. In your case I'd go with ebony FB. A bit more $ upfront, but oh you will love it for a long time.

 

[dalkowski]

They'll both sound the same. Maple b/c I'm a New Englander.

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

Hi all,

It's time to buy a Fender P Bass and I have two models to choose from. The standard Fender P bass with Alder body/maple fingerboard and the limited edition P bass with Alder body/ebony fingerboard. Both basses are MIM and have the same hardware. Both are equiped with Player Series Alnico 5 Split Single-Coil Precision Bass®

There is a price difference between those two, with the latter being 140 euros more expensive.
Is it a big difference between these materials? Should I pay the extra money for the limited edition or just save the bucks for a hard case? Should I prefer the limited bass just because it's limited? I haven't tried the limited edition yet since it's in another city.

Looking forward to hear your opinions. Thank you all in advance!

That ebony is tight. I love maple, but in this case I'd go for the none more black bass.

 

[MtManiac]

I’d buy the limited edition in a heartbeat if I was choosing between the two of those.

 

[five7]

Don't buy the ordinary boring looking one, spend the extra money.

 

[Lowbrow]

Black one wins on looks alone.