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Maple or rosewood and why?

Maple or rosewood

  • Maple

    Votes: 46 37.7%

  • Rosewood

    Votes: 76 62.3%
  • Total voters
    122
  • Poll closed .
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Popbumper

Popbumper

Jul 19, 2010
254
12
Dallas, TX
#1
Curious - I have a 90's vintage P bass and a 2008 G&L L2K, both have rosewood fretboards. My curiousity is in regards to maple vs rosewood - I did a search and it seems that there is little if any evidence that one type of fretboard material "sounds" better than another.

Regardless - what do you prefer and why? I have been "jonesing" for a third bass with a maple fretboard, for appearance sake alone. Comments?

Chris
 
#2
Define "sounds Better?" Quite honestly try to get a hold of similar basses but both with different fretboards. I've had one Lakland 55-01 with a rosewood board and one with a maple board. Same MK1 setup and both with Alder bodies and they sounded nothing the same. I also use the same S.I.T. Power Wound Nickels and again totally different tone. But that's just my opinion. To me the rosewound has a rounder darker tonality when in the Maple has this piano very vibrant attack. But again like I said its my opinion.
 
#3
Wow, first vote cast. I'm kind of like you in that I've always wanted a maple fretboard for bass, but always seem to wind up with rosewood. I honestly don't think there's that much difference (here come the challenges), other than rosewood is perceived to be a little darker sounding. Maple has the advantage of a little less care, where rosewood does need to be nourished now and then. Either way, it's all good.
 
#8
This has been debated here ad infinitum, but there is a good reason why I prefer rosewood to maple. As primarily a fretless player, I prefer an unfinished board to reduce clack, and maple requires a finish or it can oxidize to an unattractive grey. So, I generally prefer rosewood for that reason, but I also prefer the look of dark wood over light wood.
 
#9
For me, I like Rosewood generally more than maple, but I have played some basses with maple boards that I've enjoyed thoroughly. Don't let one maple board get you down. Every company does things a little differently, and while I can't stand maple boards on some companies, I love them on other, same goes with Rosewood. Always depends on the bass, and I'd play it first.

Best regards,

Brooks
 
#10
For tone, It depends on 2 things: how much that "funk tone" of slapped maple matters, and if the bass is flexible enough in it's tone to keep you happy. I prefer maple. Yet, my workhorse basses have rosewood, and I don't feel I'm missing anything. I get a good enough slap tone from them with rosewood. They do everything else well enough or better.
 
#12
This is definately a hard one for me. I like the looks of maple sometimes and the sound of rosewood but I guess it ultimately depends on the bass. I like rosewood on Fender P's and Music Man Stingrays, I like maple on black body black pickguard fender active jazz and sadowsky active jazz basses. I am a Rickenbacker man now adays though, not having a choice doesn't bother me at all :)
 
#13
Doesn't matter to me, if I like a bass I like it regardless of the materials used to make it. I've never noticed any real difference between fretboard woods, I think the actual construction of the neck makes a much bigger difference in the sound.
 
#18
I like both the sound (brighter) and feel (harder, less oily) of maple better than rosewood.

Appearance wise, I think most basses with unfinished headstocks should have maple (natural EBMM basses are an exception). Conversely, finished headstocks almost always look better with rosewood.

Of course, all of that is just my amateur opinion.
 
#19
I personally prefer maple for a number of reasons, first of all actually quite a few people will argue that they can tell the difference between them based on the assumption that maple is brighter and snappier while r/wood is deeper and warmer. I wouldn't know how much of that is true, I have had loads of basses with either woods and found those characteristics on both basses, and quite frankly those factors were more depending on the strings freshness and gauge used to be honest.

Finally why do I prefer maple? Mostly for aestetic reasons, as I think the pale contrast of the fingerboard it is easier on my eyes to visualize my playing positions.

The other reason is to do with the feel of the maple fingerboard which is not as pourous as the rosewood.

In fact I particularly prefer those maple fingerboard like you get on Fender American Standard basses which are lacquered, that makes sliding and bending easier on the finger in my opinion.
 
#20
It’s totally aesthetic to me.

Darker-colored body, rosewood… lighter-colored body, maple. In between, I’d probably swing with the maple if given the choice.

Of the basses I own, the one that most warms my heart to look at is sunburst/tort with a rosewood board, but my fantasy bass is spalted maple from end to end, so I’m gonna have to vote maple. :)
 
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