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Maple or Rosewood?

#64
Dirk Rockbottom said:
Definitely rosewood for me. Thanks.
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There wasn't a rosewood board in that video, only maple and ebony.

My fingers never really touch the fretboard so I don't understand how one can feel different, or be faster than the other. Maple will be slightly brighter sounding than rosewood, but the difference is so minimal that aesthetics are a much better reason to choose one or the other. I find the shape of the neck and the finish on the back of the neck to be the only factor in how fast a neck feels and plays.

I prefer maple because I like the way it looks, and it doesn't get all gunked up and nasty like rosewood.
 
#65
To my ears, maple seems to be brighter and punchier. Of course that could just be the tinnitus talking. I have a few maples and a few rosewood and like each for different applications. I use only Dean Markley Blue Steel lights on all of my basses including my Squire Jaco fretless with an ebonal fingerboard and hear more bite with the maple.
 
#66
I think if a person were to read every thread that was listed in post#8, http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/maple-rosewood-1027170/#post15066935, you will probably conclude that most people think maple to be brighter than rosewood.

I've been looking at each type from two different points of view for a very long time. I've noticed that from one point of view (visual) there's a significant difference between the two. From the other point of view (aural) I can't tell any difference.

For me, it's more liberating to just admit I can't hear any difference than to explain why I think I should hear a difference.
 
#67
The texture of the neck, thickness of the neck, and string spacing are what makes a neck fast and consistent. Any tone difference in fingerboard wood is going to be pretty subtle on a fretted bass. Rosewood does tend to sound warmer than maple but in a blind test with different basses with different pickups id be lucky to be 50/50 guessing on the fingerboard wood.

With fretless bass however its a very drastic difference. Rosewood and ebony fingerboards sound very different on fretless. I haven't played a fretless with a maple board yet. But rosewood sounds a lot warmer and more "woody" sounding. While ebony is more modern sound with more highs and generally less mids.

Neck wise preference will have a lot to do with how long you generally play. My fretless bass has a maple neck. I like the stickiness of the gloss finished maple neck for fretless. For fretted bass however i prefer raw wenge necks all day long. A lot of my preference has to do with how long i play them. I don't play anything super technical on fretless. I mostly focus on intonation. And i rarely play for long periods of time on fretless as I'm paranoid about eating the neck up with roundwounds. With fretted i like the smooth consistent feel of wenge because maple can go from sticky to very slippery during a gig.
 
#68
Remus_Redbone said:
I think if a person were to read every thread that was listed in post#8, http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/maple-rosewood-1027170/#post15066935, you will probably conclude that most people think maple to be brighter than rosewood.

I've been looking at each type from two different points of view for a very long time. I've noticed that from one point of view (visual) there's a significant difference between the two. From the other point of view (aural) I can't tell any difference.

For me, it's more liberating to just admit I can't hear any difference than to explain why I think I should hear a difference.
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Each piece of wood is different and it's probably safe to say that most of the people who post on the subject (myself included) have relatively limited experience comparing maple and rosewood boards. So it comes down to whatever an individual has experienced combined with what they've heard (from sources which may or may not be credible). I've noticed that the basses I've owned with maple fingerboards have produced a sound with less fundamental and more overtones than, for the most part, the other basses I've owned (with ebony, morado, wenge and various rosewood boards). Could it just be a coincidence? Definitely. But whenever I've talked to luthiers about this they've confirmed my feeling on the matter. Having said that, I've played rosewood boarded basses that have sounded more like maple to me, and I've played maple boarded basses that had a high fundamental to upper harmonic ratio. The best thing is if you can try the bass out before buying it and then let your ears - not eyes - decide.
 
#70
davidjackson said:
Given that the metal fret stops the note rather than your finger I'm not sure finger placement would do anything other than remove the risk of buzz would it?
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That's true. However, if I depress between frets I can pull the note sharp by pressing the string until it contacts the fretboard. That's mainly why I try to fret close.

Given, as you say the fret stops the string, the fretboard material - still a puzzle to me how it could have any effect on the sound unless due to its affect on the neck modulus. OTOH, everything matters, right? :smug:

There are saxophone players (and mouthpiece manufacturers), that claim a metal mouthpiece plated with a few uinches of gold sounds "warmer" or "darker" than the equivalent silver plated mouthpiece. Same with the horns themselves - silver plated ones are "brighter" than the lacquer-on-brass versions. Pheh... who am I to say they don't hear what they claim? I don't hear it though.
 
#71
Codger said:
That's true. However, if I depress between frets I can pull the note sharp by pressing the string until it contacts the fretboard. That's mainly why I try to fret close.

Given, as you say the fret stops the string, the fretboard material - still a puzzle to me how it could have any effect on the sound unless due to its affect on the neck modulus. OTOH, everything matters, right? :smug:

...
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Just never forget that the neck and strings are in tensional equilibrium and therefore ANYthing that affects the resonances or stiffnesses of the combination affects how the string responds and therefore the tone.
 
#72
I've posted this on quite a few threads. I think it's important, particularly for newer players who value their equipment.

Gouges to neck from round wound strings. This is a Steinberger L2 with phenolic neck, but I have seen this happen to wood as well.

I have played fretless exclusively since 1972. Regardless of "opinions" here and elsewhere - if you use rounds, this will happen.

Varnish helps by the way.

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