Agreed. And for most players the choice will have zero impact on the end sound.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Maple or rosewood on your Jazz?
- Thread starter Jazzcaster89
- Start date
Agreed. And for most players the choice will have zero impact on the end sound.
I'm pretty excited about it! Just picked up a set of Aguilar pickups for it too. Gonna wake this old girl up a little.
It is too late b/c you already traded but i definitely prefer rosewood fretboards regardless of bass type.
Both of my Fenders are rosewood, If I had had a choice, I'd have one of each. After all, Variety IS the spice of life
Just pick one and go. Seriously.
I have quite a few instruments, including maple and rosewood J-basses with identical pickups. The wood combo's defy all generalizations.
I have quite a few instruments, including maple and rosewood J-basses with identical pickups. The wood combo's defy all generalizations.
To me it's only aesthetics, but the body color is a factor too. I prefer Maple, although a nicely grained Rosewood can be really cool, but only with block inlay.
To me, dot inlay is as boring as Reality TV and as annoying as a Yoko vocal.
To me, dot inlay is as boring as Reality TV and as annoying as a Yoko vocal.
For those who say maple sounds different than rosewood:
I would bet a bass guitar that nobody would be able to accurately tell the difference between the two provided the setup, strings, tone controls, etc are all the same.
I could offer 100 sound samples and I would bet that even the most discerning audiophile couldn't accurately point out which one was maple above an 80% accuracy.
Any takers?
I would bet a bass guitar that nobody would be able to accurately tell the difference between the two provided the setup, strings, tone controls, etc are all the same.
I could offer 100 sound samples and I would bet that even the most discerning audiophile couldn't accurately point out which one was maple above an 80% accuracy.
Any takers?
whoops, my jazz has an ebony fb. i like the look of maple fb's, i think, because i've never had one.
Everybody in this thread has been wrong thus far.
The correct response is: "buy the maple and keep the rosewood so you'll have both."
The correct response is: "buy the maple and keep the rosewood so you'll have both."
I never bought the maple / rosewood thing. It's all about the look which is why Leo opted for rosewood in 1959.
There isn' t a bass player alive that can convince me that their block and bound Jazz Bass sounds darker than a maple board from the same era, or that an ash and maple Precision is brighter than an alder and rosewood P-Bass.
Too many variables involved to make an undisputed fact.
You can make everything sound like anything.
There isn' t a bass player alive that can convince me that their block and bound Jazz Bass sounds darker than a maple board from the same era, or that an ash and maple Precision is brighter than an alder and rosewood P-Bass.
Too many variables involved to make an undisputed fact.
You can make everything sound like anything.
For those who say maple sounds different than rosewood:
I would bet a bass guitar that nobody would be able to accurately tell the difference between the two provided the setup, strings, tone controls, etc are all the same.
I could offer 100 sound samples and I would bet that even the most discerning audiophile couldn't accurately point out which one was maple above an 80% accuracy.
Any takers?
And take it one step further and blindfold the audience a band is playing in front of.
And ask the audience if they can tell if the fingerboard on the bass is Maple or Rosewood.
Here we go again.
You can get a plenty punchy, bright tone with a rosewood FRETBOARD neck - the whole maple / rosewood this is WILDLY overblown. What the real difference is in which you prefer the look of. I tend to prefer maple, so most of my instruments (guitars and basses) have maple fretboards. But I can get a plenty bright, punchy sound out of my rosewood fretboarded basses.
