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Maple or Rosewood??
- Thread starter tat2clod
- Start date
Some countries have euthanasia laws that would've put this thread away.
Just because there are no brain waves, doesn't mean there isn't a pulse.
I have two Jazz basses.
One with Maple
One with Rosewood
I like them both. I like the Maple better, because of my own personal taste. Not because it IS better. I like how it looks. I like how the fingerboard isn't a separate piece of wood. I like the block inlays. I like everything about it.
But I like my Rosewood fingerboard, too. It's a five string. It looks different than my Maple.
And I assume any tone differences are because the four string has EMG Select pickups, and the five string has stock Squier pickups, and maybe because they have different strings, and the guy who had the five string before me installed an "orange drop cap," or because the four string has a Badass II bridge.
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One with Maple
One with Rosewood
I like them both. I like the Maple better, because of my own personal taste. Not because it IS better. I like how it looks. I like how the fingerboard isn't a separate piece of wood. I like the block inlays. I like everything about it.
But I like my Rosewood fingerboard, too. It's a five string. It looks different than my Maple.
And I assume any tone differences are because the four string has EMG Select pickups, and the five string has stock Squier pickups, and maybe because they have different strings, and the guy who had the five string before me installed an "orange drop cap," or because the four string has a Badass II bridge.
Link Removed
I like the feel of rosewood more than maple. And I suspect it has something to do with maple fingerboards being usually gloss finished etc.
I like the looks of maple a bit more though, but because I'm the player (of my basses) and not just a viewer, I nowadays tend to swing towards rosewood.
Without amplification, I hear a bit more clack on maple boards - my diagnosis is that my unrefined & heavy handed left hand technique creates that clack when I'm grabbing the neck & strings like a madman on a rollercoaster. Rosewood tends to eliminate this clack, because it feels a bit softer.
But like stated on all of the posts before mine, it's all apples and oranges.
I like the looks of maple a bit more though, but because I'm the player (of my basses) and not just a viewer, I nowadays tend to swing towards rosewood.
Without amplification, I hear a bit more clack on maple boards - my diagnosis is that my unrefined & heavy handed left hand technique creates that clack when I'm grabbing the neck & strings like a madman on a rollercoaster. Rosewood tends to eliminate this clack, because it feels a bit softer.
But like stated on all of the posts before mine, it's all apples and oranges.
I dont know what source put pau ferro at softer than indian and brazilian rosewood, but my experience tells me otherwise.
I'd like to see a "regular" rosewood hold up to SS round wounds on a fretless. Or is this hardness scale only concerned with compression psi not abrasion resistance?
I've always tried to like maple and I do love the way it looks, but..... I find I get more string buzz/fret rattle on maple, maybe because its a harder denser wood. Also it can be hard to see your strings on a maple fret board if you are playing on a dimly lit stage. Maybe its all in my head. I just come to accept that rosewood is best for me.
Rosewood for basses, acoustic guitars, Gibson electrics, and PRS. Maple fretboards for Strats & Teles.
Write that down!
It's meaningless to read old threads about rosewood vs. maple. What people recommend to you is what's most important.
Write that down!
It's meaningless to read old threads about rosewood vs. maple. What people recommend to you is what's most important.
I agree with this... It's an under the finger feel thing. I always buy the instrument that speaks to me in some way. I never thought I would own a maple fretboard, now I do, 78 P bass. Love it! I still prefer the feel of rosewood, it's a bit more forgiving as well.
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
- 27,956
- 20,348
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Dingwall Guitars
I don't know how the fingerboard wood could affect your tone on a fretted bass.
Nothing touches the fingerboard. Umm, what, the frets are resonating against it? Come on... There must be a difference, but I'm sure it's so minimal that surely it doesn't affect the sound at all.
Fretless, on the other hand, the strings have direct contact with the board, and I have no experience with this...
Nothing touches the fingerboard. Umm, what, the frets are resonating against it? Come on... There must be a difference, but I'm sure it's so minimal that surely it doesn't affect the sound at all.
Fretless, on the other hand, the strings have direct contact with the board, and I have no experience with this...
chadds said:How do you sound without a body, pickup and strings?
I hum.
"My dog has no nose."
"How does he smell?"
"Terrible!"
Ok I am about to probably get blasted but here is my opininion.
I honestly think that fretboards most of the time don't make a huge difference on how a bass sounds.
But let me clarify. The reason why I say most of the time has to do with how thick the fretboard wood is. I find that on some fender style instruments the fretboards are way to thin to compete with the rest impact the (usually) maple has.
That said, I have put together two parts basses with one piece maple necks and I have been playing a bass with a (what I consider thick) rosewood fretboard for almost 10 years and also played many rosewood fretboard equipped basses. I was only able to tell the difference in rather loud volumes and it it didn't had to do with the tone as much as it had to do with the attack and especially the emphasis on the overtones.
So in conclusion I prefer each wood for certain stuff but for what I currently mostly do(rock orientated stuff) I feel the maple boards are more suitable.
All in all if you can't hear and feel any difference well it doesn't matter in your case that much. However there is a pretty clear disadvantage when to comes to rosewood over maple. Rosewood demands more care due to its open pore nature and due to the fact maple is finished however it is not a difficult process to learn.
I honestly think that fretboards most of the time don't make a huge difference on how a bass sounds.
But let me clarify. The reason why I say most of the time has to do with how thick the fretboard wood is. I find that on some fender style instruments the fretboards are way to thin to compete with the rest impact the (usually) maple has.
That said, I have put together two parts basses with one piece maple necks and I have been playing a bass with a (what I consider thick) rosewood fretboard for almost 10 years and also played many rosewood fretboard equipped basses. I was only able to tell the difference in rather loud volumes and it it didn't had to do with the tone as much as it had to do with the attack and especially the emphasis on the overtones.
So in conclusion I prefer each wood for certain stuff but for what I currently mostly do(rock orientated stuff) I feel the maple boards are more suitable.
All in all if you can't hear and feel any difference well it doesn't matter in your case that much. However there is a pretty clear disadvantage when to comes to rosewood over maple. Rosewood demands more care due to its open pore nature and due to the fact maple is finished however it is not a difficult process to learn.
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