Maple or rosewood on your Jazz?

[Mystic Michael]

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 like to spec' instruments to their intended musical purposes by making component choices that are consistent one with another. So, Precision that is warm and phat? Alder body, rosewood fretboard + flatwound strings. A Jazz that is bright and punchy? Ash body, maple fretboard + roundwound strings.

MM

 

[inanimate_carb]

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've always sort of wondered about this, as nobody can really point to a recording that defines the sound of a maple neck, or an alder tone block, or buckeye burl top. Leo Fender himself didn't start offering rosewood for tonal reasons, and he chose other woods simply because they were cheap, plentiful, and finished well.

 

[DigitalMan]

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?

Any scenario intended to prove a particular point of view is by definition non-scientific.

If a neutral group of scientists and engineers got together and ask the question "does fingerboard wood make a difference in tone?" that would be altogether different. The fact is that it is not worth the time or money to conduct an actual scientific study.

Proving a negative is nearly impossible. Your proposal which is not a sincere offer, but instead a thought experiment, is just trying to win by declaration, which is all the tone wood debate ever is anyway.

 

[basslicks]

Any scenario intended to prove a particular point of view is by definition non-scientific.

If a neutral group of scientists and engineers got together and ask the question "does fingerboard wood make a difference in tone?" that would be altogether different. The fact is that it is not worth the time or money to conduct an actual scientific study.

Proving a negative is nearly impossible. Your proposal which is not a sincere offer, but instead a thought experiment, is just trying to win by declaration, which is all the tone wood debate ever is anyway.

I guess you got me, I wasn't being completely serious.

In any case, the fact that there's even a debate about this type of thing is proof (to me) that there is really not much of a difference. If there was clearly a difference then there would be no debate!

 

[Spidey2112]

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 like both... never really thought about which was more 'punchy'... just enjoyed the fact that there was wood keeping my frets separated from each other...

 

[Mike.C.]

Maple.

 

[Spidey2112]

Any scenario intended to prove a particular point of view is by definition non-scientific.

If a neutral group of scientists and engineers got together and ask the question "does fingerboard wood make a difference in tone?" that would be altogether different. The fact is that it is not worth the time or money to conduct an actual scientific study.

Proving a negative is nearly impossible. Your proposal which is not a sincere offer, but instead a thought experiment, is just trying to win by declaration, which is all the tone wood debate ever is anyway.

DM, not sure how some qualify for it, but there's plenty of grant money thrown at these 'scientific' studies... you, me, and the OP (only because it rhymes), submit Case Study #2112, "The Effects Of Tonewood On The Human Psyche... Is It Tangible?"... Whaddya say?

 

[el_Bajo_Verde]

They sound the same, get the one that looks best to you.

 

[DigitalMan]

I guess you got me, I wasn't being completely serious.

In any case, the fact that there's even a debate about this type of thing is proof (to me) that there is really not much of a difference. If there was clearly a difference then there would be no debate!

While I don't have a horse in the race, I would point to companies like Warmoth and Sadowsky who have a particular point of view. I don't have any experience building basses, but I do listen to folks who have experience building thousands of them and weigh their views accordingly. Fortunately I am shallow enough to choose fingerboards for aesthetics-first reasons.

I can't explain physically why the voices of James Earl Jones and Celine Dionne sound nothing alike, but I'm pretty sure there is more than one contributing factor in the way their vocal apparati are constructed.

 

[AltGrendel]

I like maple, shore is perdy.

 

[TheMartianBassist]

Maple all the way. Rosewood sounds do dull.

 

[rmars]

Always want a rosewood board J but always end up gigging maple.

 

[Fender_Bender]

There's a video on YouTube where a guy plays a red p bass with a maple fretboard, swaps the neck out for RW, and plays the same thing again. Same strings etc. The difference is not huge but largely confirmed (to my ears anyway) the theories of maple being a little snappier but not as tonally rich, and RW being warmer and richer. Possibly one of the "magical" qualities of Fenders from decades ago was the use of Brazilian RW, which hasn't been been available for a long time. It is definitely harder than Indian RW and probably gives a little bit of added snap to the tone.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

FWIW - This came in day before yesterday from Warmoth - for my current J build. Flame maple is the same as maple... right?

 

[DigitalMan]

Flame maple is the same as maple... right?

It has a slightly warmer sound.

ps - not seeing the image.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

What about laminated rosewood? Is it different from regular? Thats what i have

 

[stringthrough]

A J sounds brighter than a P. If you want a J to sound a bit more like a P, couple it with a neck having a rosewood fretboard. If you want it to sound even less than a P, . . . you get the rest.

 

[rmars]

FWIW - This came in day before yesterday from Warmoth - for my current J build. Flame maple is the same as maple... right?

Can't see your pics! I need pics! LOl! Was just getting ready to order a Warmoth J neck to finish a long overdue project. Still battling on the steel/graphite option. Leaning graphite to save some weight.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

Can't see your pics! I need pics! LOl! Was just getting ready to order a Warmoth J neck to finish a long overdue project. Still battling on the steel/graphite option. Leaning graphite to save some weight.

Let's try this again...
And really go with the Graphite and the slim taper - this neck weighs 1lb, 13 oz and feels *great*. I've had other Warmoth necks, and they can feel chunky. Note the hint of a real volute in the 2nd picture - you would not see that with the standard neck profile.

 

[john_g]

For some reason, I only want maple on my Fender-family basses (P/J, G&L's, MM's) but Im ok with rosewood on others. Not sure why!