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Maple Finger-boards, Who Likes?
- Thread starter jamesblue
- Start date
I love 70's Percision with Maple boards.
Stingrays with Maple boards.
80's G & L 1000's with maple boards.
I love maple, ebony comes second, rosewood third...
My Benavente has the best looking figured maple fretboard I've ever seen. The abalone blocks help, off course...
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My Benavente has the best looking figured maple fretboard I've ever seen. The abalone blocks help, off course...
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I've had maple, rosewood, ebony, pao ferro, bubinga, and wenge.
So far, ebony will always be first and wenge will always be last with rosewood/pao taking a close second. Everything else falls nicely in the middle.
For me, it really depends on the bass. I had a Am Jazz with a maple board I will always regret selling. It was "the bass". But I hate the maple board on my MM SR5. Hated the maple board on my Sadowsky 24-5, too. Then again, I've got maple on a Schecter that's fast becoming "the bass." Will see about that with new strings and pups.
As far as switching necks, I say go for it, especially on a 95/98. BUT...I'd have to think about it if it were a 65/68 combo. Would detract from the price too much.
dcr
So far, ebony will always be first and wenge will always be last with rosewood/pao taking a close second. Everything else falls nicely in the middle.
For me, it really depends on the bass. I had a Am Jazz with a maple board I will always regret selling. It was "the bass". But I hate the maple board on my MM SR5. Hated the maple board on my Sadowsky 24-5, too. Then again, I've got maple on a Schecter that's fast becoming "the bass." Will see about that with new strings and pups.
As far as switching necks, I say go for it, especially on a 95/98. BUT...I'd have to think about it if it were a 65/68 combo. Would detract from the price too much.
dcr
I prefer maple to rosewood any day.
I would not even consider owning a Jazz or Stingray without it having a maple fretboard.
I would not even consider owning a Jazz or Stingray without it having a maple fretboard.
- Feb 2, 2001
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- Builder: Valenti Basses
Depends on the bass. My '51 Reissue precision has one of the darkest sounds I have had in a bass. It has a maple board. I used to own a Yamaha Nathan East with a Rosewood board and it had one of the brightest sounds I have had in an instrument. I think the body/neck has a lot more to do with the sound...
i really like maple boarded jazz basses, like someone said in an earlier post, they can be a bit much for newer players but if you can keep all that gowl and finger/fret noise from getting out of control they rule.
i also really like kingwood, its really in the middle between rosewood and maple, having all of that brightness while still retaining the warmth of rosewood.
and about switching necks, lots of people have done it, Jaco being one of them and Eric Clapton Blackie was made up out of four other strats,
but i would consider taking the basses to a pro for best the results, and get a setup while your at it, that way you wont have any trouble selling the other bass and your "franken" bass will be great to play as well.
Dave
i also really like kingwood, its really in the middle between rosewood and maple, having all of that brightness while still retaining the warmth of rosewood.
and about switching necks, lots of people have done it, Jaco being one of them and Eric Clapton Blackie was made up out of four other strats,
but i would consider taking the basses to a pro for best the results, and get a setup while your at it, that way you wont have any trouble selling the other bass and your "franken" bass will be great to play as well.
Dave
Maple (specifically Birdseye) is my long time fav... But I've recently fallen in love with Wenge as a fingerboard!
I prefer maple boards as well, particularly birdseye. However Ill confess; this is almost entirely an esthetic thing. I like the look. And though each fingerboard type has its own sonic qualities (maple being more snappy than rosewood for instance) I dont think the tonal variation is THAT big of a deal unless put under and auditory microscope. I mean neck wood, body wood, definitely pickups and hardware all play into the tonal qualities of yr axe. Then there is the person playing the bass and the amp
and on and on
Of all these factors, the fret board of the necks sonic impact can be but so much. But agreed, a maple board is pretty cool.
What about fretless? I've never played a maple fretless, and I know the rosewood fingerboard is essential to my double bass tone.
Maple may not be the densest of the woods mentioned so far in the thread-- but I just feels less... i dunno.... "absorbent" and porous as the other woods--less likely to expand and contract w/ humidity. This would affect intonation and playability with a fretted instrument.
Or it just might be the color of the woods influencing how I hear and feel them.
Maple may not be the densest of the woods mentioned so far in the thread-- but I just feels less... i dunno.... "absorbent" and porous as the other woods--less likely to expand and contract w/ humidity. This would affect intonation and playability with a fretted instrument.
Or it just might be the color of the woods influencing how I hear and feel them.
I really like the feel and the look of maple fbs. I own 5 basses, 4 of which have maple (the 5th one, with ebony, is up for sale). The best one is the G&L Tribute, with a 12" radius and a satin finish. When I play a dark-fb bass, I'm always trying to figure out where I am. Just me, I guess.
I've played three basses that I've fallen in love with, and all of them had maple boards, so jeah.. me like 
I really like the bass Nick Oliveri plays in the "No One Knows" video, the one with the visible paint-chipping and that beautifully aged maple board. If you go to www.youtube.com and do a search for "qotsa australia acoustic" and watch the acoustic videos that are uploaded there, you'll see what I mean.
