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Maple fingerboard opinion poll

How do you feel about this maple fingerboard

  • Like it

    Votes: 298 67.4%

  • Can live with it if the bass is good

    Votes: 107 24.2%

  • Not nice but not a deal breaker

    Votes: 16 3.6%

  • Dont like it

    Votes: 19 4.3%

  • Should not have left the factory

    Votes: 2 0.5%
  • Total voters
    442
#121
My only issue with maple is that it can show dirt and grime quite a bit more, depending on if the fingerboard is exposed wood or has a coating. I'm the sort of lazy person who will basically never clean a rosewood fingerboard, but some maple ones start to look pretty gross after a whine.
 
#123
Now your just getting into personal preferences. You can't (or shouldn't) have a bass that you think if fugly. But yeah, since you ask, "I think" its just a bit too light. I have an L1000 that's light in color like that too. But it sounds so good that I accept the neck color/shade. Especially since it plays so well. Yeah, I'd like it more if it were roasted, but I'm "over it" now. It can stay.
 
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#124
Nothing wrong with it that I can see.
I don't understand why there's a problem.

Wood is an organic material; it doesn't grow uniformly in straight lines. That's one of the things that's great about it - it's a link to the natural world - admittedly very remote, but still a link.
 
#125
Sponson Thrisby said:
Nothing wrong with it that I can see.
I don't understand why there's a problem.
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Jay2U said:
So what? If you like the tone, the playability and if it's stable over time, keep it and be happy. :hyper:
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My question is not about a "problem" or anything, if you read my original post I cant understand that you think that there is, or that I question if I should keep it or not.
It is about aestetic, and that this fingerboard make a few persons react soo strongly made me curious as if it is a common thing or just a more isolated one, because people sure speak when they see something that they do not like, but I never had someone saying that it look good spontaneously. That is all I am asking here, how do people feel about this fingerboard, I like it, and I have this bass since 2021 (it is my main one actually).
 
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#126
Nek07 said:
I have a bass with Maple fingerboard, there is some wood...I do not even know if it is grain, but some people who have seen this bass said to me that if they had a bass like this one, they would not keep it. I am happy with it as I find that it is her "charm" and give her character, but as of simple curiosity, I would like to know how you would feel about a fingerboard looking like this:
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It would be easier to get an impression of it if there was a photo of the whole thing to go along with the close-ups. Personally, I'm not a big fan of maple as I prefer darker fretboards, but that one isn't bad. As you say, it has some character.
 
#127
I have both. I prefer the look of the maple boards. I have have read so many posts on here about the tone difference. I don't hear it. I don't even think a notice a playability difference between a the two on the same bass. It's purely esthetics for me.
 

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#129
Nek07 said:
My question is not about a "problem" or anything, if you read my original post I cant understand that you think that there is, or that I question if I should keep it or not.
It is about aestetic, and that this fingerboard make a few persons react soo strongly made me curious as if it is a common thing or just a more isolated one, because people sure speak when they see something that they do not like, but I never had someone saying that it look good spontaneously. That is all I am asking here, how do people feel about this fingerboard, I like it, and I have this bass since 2021 (it is my main one actually).
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Well, I have no problem with it. Embrace its uniqueness, I say.
 
#130
Nek07 said:
I have a bass with Maple fingerboard, there is some wood...I do not even know if it is grain, but some people who have seen this bass said to me that if they had a bass like this one, they would not keep it. I am happy with it as I find that it is her "charm" and give her character, but as of simple curiosity, I would like to know how you would feel about a fingerboard looking like this:
View attachment 5370466 View attachment 5370469 View attachment 5370470 View attachment 5370471 View attachment 5370472
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I have only played two 4-string basses and have one 5-string that I got back in 2009. My first "good" bass was a 1965 Jazz Bass that I bought in 1966. It had a maple neck with rosewood fretboard. Played that through high school, some college, toured with it for 3-years in the early 70's and played weekends after that. Then in 1976 our house was burglarized and my '65 Jazz along with all my touring gear was stolen. It had what I believe is now called a "60's Slim C-shape neck with a 7.25" radius". Really got used to playing that neck and sound was always good.

Finally in 1985 I found a 1982 Jazz with the same neck shape, profile and radius, in mint condition. However, it had a white-bound all-maple neck and also the 70's era pickup spacing of 4" center to center. Playing that bass feels the same as playing my '65 did. It just feels like home...but with a better sound. The pickup spacing, which puts the bridge pickup closer to the bridge is definitely brighter than my '65 was. And, the sustain is much better than what I got with my '65, even after I tore the string mutes off the inside of the big ashtray bridge pickup cover. I attribute the much better sustain to the all-maple neck. Might be wrong, but just love the sound of this bass. If I got my '65 back I would certainly play it from time to time, but my All-Maple Neck '82 Jazz would still be my #1.

So I prefer an all-maple neck, especially a white bound one with black dot fret markers.

WhiteLadyOutside2.jpg
 
#131
Gervais Cote said:
The location of the jazz pickup looks interesting on this one……..
Would you say it gives rounder and fuller bass notes than the standard pj setup ?
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Absolutely. It is quite useful on it's own. On this particular bass, due to it's 3 way selector, the P pickup is very pure P sounding, the J on it's own is fuller than J's with the usual placement, and the middle position is uniquely rich, growly and punchy. It is my favorite position. Set it and forget it.
This bass was a one-off custom. He uses a standard blend on his P/J's. The J placement however, appears to be standard on his P/J basses.
 
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#132
Nek07 said:
It is aestetics, nothing more. And it mater, I also need to feel connected to the bass to give it my best and it is down to feel, sound and look, because if it look good, I will pick it more often. Take for instance this exibit B that I am playing right now, look good, feel good, sound...kind of like a super-jazzbass (as in super-strat), so I play that one during all the Formula one GP today!
View attachment 5371543
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I played this one today during the Bahrain GP.
4004L SPC-Stickley 819 Sideboard-1200_2263.jpg
 
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#136
Jeff Scott said:
Perhaps he could leave the neck out in the sun for a while. :D
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:D It will definitely darken a bit over time when exposed to light but I won't recommend leaving it in direct sunlight longer than necessary to achieve this. Outdoor gigs = fine. Leaving the bass in the sunlight to get a "tan" = bad idea. Especially if it's a brand new instrument where the wood may still need some time to dry/shrink/settle. Think about all the guitars/basses that develop fret sprout over the first couple of years. That's the wood shrinking. I don't think it's a good idea to speed up this process more than necessary.

The fretboard looks great as it is. The bass looks like a BB434M, right? If that's the case I expect it to sound/feel amazing too! You won't find a better bass anywhere near this price range IMO.
 
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#138
Nek07 said:
I have a bass with Maple fingerboard, there is some wood...I do not even know if it is grain, but some people who have seen this bass said to me that if they had a bass like this one, they would not keep it. I am happy with it as I find that it is her "charm" and give her character, but as of simple curiosity, I would like to know how you would feel about a fingerboard looking like this
Click to expand...
Not going to bore everyone with pics but that finger board is remarkably similar to my J-Bass. I like it, a lot!
 

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