Fretboards

[rufio275]

I'm looking into upgrading my bass. Right now I have a Standard Fender Jazz and I'm most likely going to upgrade to an American Jazz. The only thing I'm considering is whether to get one with a maple or rosewood fretboard. I'm pretty good with most of the differences and I've played a bunch for feel, I'm just curious about the long-term effects of a maple fretboard. Is it high maintenance/harder to take care of? More expensive? I haven't had any problems with my rosewood fretboard and I've had it about four or five years, can I expect the same with a maple fretboard? Thanks.

 

[gold_member_321]

I own both, and I love them both. Both give their own sound characteristic, Rosewood is on the warmer side, and Maple is really bright.

I treat my maple as I do my rosewood, so maintenence is no different, and I actually payed less for my bass with a Maple fretboard than I did than any of my basses with Rosewood.


What kind of music do you play?

 

[rufio275]

Classic rock mostly. A lot of Zeppelin, Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pink Floyd, Rush... I like the sound of my rosewood, but I want it to be a little brighter and the maples I've played gave me that. Thanks for the info on maintenance.

 

[vene-nemesis]

I believe mapple fretboards get coated too so you can wipe the dirt out of it esily, the rosewood board on the other hand might need a little bit of oil to clean it and hydrate it because it dryes(slowly) since it isnt coated.

 

[Sadowsky]

Eventually, you will wear through the finish in spots on the fingerboard and the maple will get kind of grey colored. For me, this gives the bass mojo.

Roger

 

[Moose308]

I would say that maple gives a brighter, punchier sound. Rosewood is warmer, rounder. Though not by much.

Rosewood is almost always untreated. Every so often (every 6 months?) you will need oil it. The proper way of doing this is a matter of debate I would suppose. I have head Lemon Oil, Linseed Oil, Truoil, etc.

Maple, at the start, is pretty much maintenance free. It is hardcoated (usually) 100% with some sort of finish. Depending on the finish, it can be quite durable. My MIM Fender P-Bass neck is several years old now, an no sign of wear in the finish. No need to do anything to keep it clean. Once and a while I wipe it down to get the finger gunk off, but that is it.

When I finally get around to wearing out the frets, the maple neck might be more expensive to refret due to the 100% finish. But that is a minor concern really.

 

[NewGuy]

The only thing about maple is that it is more vulnerable to shrinking or swelling due to climate changes which may make necessary to have the frets shaved down on the sides.

 

[lonote]

I algree that maple boards expand and contract depending on the humidity more than rosewood boards do. It is nothing that a few carefully spent minutes with a file won't cure. Personally, I don't think fingerboard wood makes a major difference in an electric bass's tone...it makes a difference but not much of a difference. Changing strings or pickups will have a much greater effect.

 

[Sadowsky]

Personally, I don't think fingerboard wood makes a major difference in an electric bass's tone...it makes a difference but not much of a difference. Changing strings or pickups will have a much greater effect.

I disagree!

 

[iamoldschool]

I agree with Roger. All parts of the bass work together to create the tone. The fretboard is part of that process, along with the body, bridge, nut, strings, .......

Personally, I like rosewood or pau ferro.

 

[DocBop]

I grew up play instrument bass and guitars with rosewood and once a maple and a ebony. Getting back into playing about five years ago now I mainly have maple boards and like the extra brightness and to my ear a little bit of extra note definition. I recently picked up a JBass with rosewood and it has a rounder tone I enjoy. I really enjoy my old guitar with ebony board and would like to get a bass with ebony. To me ebony is inbetween maple and rosewood, but closer to maple.

 

[lonote]

I disagree!

Well, your opinion carries a lot more credibility than mine does (and it should, for obvious reasons). I probably should have said, "I can't hear much difference between different fingerboard woods."

 

[Sadowsky]

Well, your opinion carries a lot more credibility than mine does (and it should, for obvious reasons). I probably should have said, "I can't hear much difference between different fingerboard woods."

This has been discussed to death already on Talkbass. Some people seem to have a lot invested in trying to prove me wrong on this. You can only make the evaluation by listing to essentially the same bass (keep body woods, electronics and all else as constant as possible) or switch necks on the same bass.

After making almost 4000 basses, I really feel I am in a position to assess this.

Of course, every piece of wood is different and there are exceptions to all the "rules", but I have no doubt regarding the importance of the fingerboard in affecting the overall tone of the bass.

Roger

 

[lonote]

I wasn't trying to prove you wrong. I can't hear much difference but I also don't see much of a visible difference between a cubic zirconium and a diamond. I'll go out on a limb here and say that perhaps I'm not the most detail oriented person in the world.