Maple or rosewood on your Jazz?

[Jazzcaster89]

Having a confused moment. I was all set to trade my rosewood neck to get a maple. I love my maple so much on my pj. Going to make my jazz active. I was sure I wanted maple on this bass as well, or do I? Damnit! I know I want a rosewood P bass but I feel I I'll get a brighter punchy jazz tone with a maple..... Correct? Thought? What do you prefer and why? Thanks!

 

[mdogs]

Correct, now do it and quit over thinking it.

 

[Ace Of Bass]

Correct..it will be brighter and generally more aggressive sound...nothing wrong with that setup at all..

 

[Jazzcaster89]

Correct, now do it and quit over thinking it.

Thanks! Stupid A.D.D.

 

[blindrabbit]

Get the one you prefer the look and/or feel of, because there is no difference in how they sound. None.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Combine that maple with 70's pickup placement and you've really got something special going on.

 

[Moving Pictures]

Maple

 

[Jazzcaster89]

Get the one you prefer the look and/or feel of, because there is no difference in how they sound. None.

Really? This contradicts everything I've ever heard about instrument necks. Guitar and bass that is.

 

[JJR58]

Rosewood.

 

[CapnSev]

Really? This contradicts everything I've ever heard about instrument necks. Guitar and bass that is.

Well, this thread is inevitably going to develop into a war between the "wood makes a tone difference" camp and the "wood makes no difference" camp. In the end, it will come down to your personal belief and experience on which camp you ally with.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that wood makes a difference, especially fingerboard wood.

Let the pages of arguments begin!

 

[Jazzcaster89]

I traded. Maple neck is on the way!

 

[BlueAliceOasis]

I personally believe in maple fingerboards for Precisions and rosewood fingerboards for Jazzes, as those were the fingerboards they were originally made with.

 

[UNICORN BASS]

Yeah, that's it.

 

[Bufalo]

Maple every day.

 

[aaronious]

Ash and Maple is the deadliest combo in bassdom if ya ask me. Get one of those!!!

 

[southgabass]

Go maple... its the better looking of the two. And everyone knows the truss cover wood is where the tone comes from... geesh

 

[39-Bassist]

Correct, now do it and quit over thinking it.

+3

 

[DigitalMan]

I prefer maple aesthetically.

Tone-wise, I don't really know or care. On the one hand you have well respected builders who discuss tone wood openly. On the other hand, you have the TB machine who sometimes doesn't realize how hard it is to actually prove a negative. To me it's like a first year algebra student walking up to a chalkboard in Good Will Hunting full of a very complex equation, pointing randomly somewhere in the middle and declaring "that variable doesn't matter". How do they know?

Having said that, if your goals are specifically tone and not aesthetic I would start with strings, a setup, or changing pickups. All of those are universally agreed upon ways to make a bass sound different.

 

[twinjet]

Having a confused moment. I was all set to trade my rosewood neck to get a maple. I love my maple so much on my pj. Going to make my jazz active. I was sure I wanted maple on this bass as well, or do I? Damnit! I know I want a rosewood P bass but I feel I I'll get a brighter punchy jazz tone with a maple..... Correct? Thought? What do you prefer and why? Thanks!

I have never owned or played a bass with a rosewood neck. Maybe one, a Peavey Cirrus. That was nice.

 

[MAJOR METAL]

I prefer maple on a J Bass, especially on a 5 string. The added cut and snap helps quite a bit.