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Maple or Rosewood??
- Thread starter tat2clod
- Start date
So if you can hear a difference you have a "sophisticated ear"?
Does this apply to the people who can hear the differences in power cords? And finishes?
Stating that if you can hear it you have a sophisticated ear and if you can't you haven't, is meaningless unless it is testable - volunteers for a double-blind test anyone?
Does this apply to the people who can hear the differences in power cords? And finishes?
Stating that if you can hear it you have a sophisticated ear and if you can't you haven't, is meaningless unless it is testable - volunteers for a double-blind test anyone?
I can't tell the difference. When I bought my Lakland 55-02, the shop had the bass in rosewood and maple FB. I tried both. Went back and forth for about an hour trying to discern the difference. In the end, I bought the rosewood because I liked how it looked better.
When I first started playing, I got caught up in the subtle differences so many folks speak of. Then I started playing in a band setting, and there is NO WAY anyone is going to be able to tell if you have a maple or rosewood fretboard in a band mix. No way anyone is going to know if your bass is ash, alder, or basswood. No way anyone is going to tell if you have a bone or corian nut. Just isn't going to happen, especially when you consider that by the time you get from the DI to the board, to the house EQ, to the PA speakers, your tone is probably nothing like you think it is in the house.
I've not been fortunate enough to record in a studio, and I'm not a good enough player to take a solo, so in those settings, perhaps the little things make big differences, but in my limited experience, to the band, it's just a bass and no one really gives much thought to it. I see the guitar players ooohing and ahhhhing over each others vintage Gibsons or Fenders, but no one has ever come over to me and said, "Wow man, a Fender Jazz bass...sweet". I just try to stay out of the way till the playing starts.
When I first started playing, I got caught up in the subtle differences so many folks speak of. Then I started playing in a band setting, and there is NO WAY anyone is going to be able to tell if you have a maple or rosewood fretboard in a band mix. No way anyone is going to know if your bass is ash, alder, or basswood. No way anyone is going to tell if you have a bone or corian nut. Just isn't going to happen, especially when you consider that by the time you get from the DI to the board, to the house EQ, to the PA speakers, your tone is probably nothing like you think it is in the house.
I've not been fortunate enough to record in a studio, and I'm not a good enough player to take a solo, so in those settings, perhaps the little things make big differences, but in my limited experience, to the band, it's just a bass and no one really gives much thought to it. I see the guitar players ooohing and ahhhhing over each others vintage Gibsons or Fenders, but no one has ever come over to me and said, "Wow man, a Fender Jazz bass...sweet". I just try to stay out of the way till the playing starts.
chadhargis said:I can't tell the difference. When I bought my Lakland 55-02, the shop had the bass in rosewood and maple FB. I tried both. Went back and forth for about an hour trying to discern the difference. In the end, I bought the rosewood because I liked how it looked better.
When I first started playing, I got caught up in the subtle differences so many folks speak of. Then I started playing in a band setting, and there is NO WAY anyone is going to be able to tell if you have a maple or rosewood fretboard in a band mix. No way anyone is going to know if your bass is ash, alder, or basswood. No way anyone is going to tell if you have a bone or corian nut. Just isn't going to happen, especially when you consider that by the time you get from the DI to the board, to the house EQ, to the PA speakers, your tone is probably nothing like you think it is in the house.
I've not been fortunate enough to record in a studio, and I'm not a good enough player to take a solo, so in those settings, perhaps the little things make big differences, but in my limited experience, to the band, it's just a bass and no one really gives much thought to it. I see the guitar players ooohing and ahhhhing over each others vintage Gibsons or Fenders, but no one has ever come over to me and said, "Wow man, a Fender Jazz bass...sweet". I just try to stay out of the way till the playing starts.
I like it when I hear the voice of experience talking...
I can tell subtle differences between instruments, but not so much between materials in otherwise identical instruments. I know that in a live band mix, my ash-maple-nitro '57 reissue sounds awesome, but a different kind of awesome than my old alder-maple-poly '08 American Standard, which also sounded different onstage than my previous '06 and '03 alder-rosewood-poly American Series, which also both sounded different from each other. However, no one - NO ONE - in my band or in any audience could tell a difference not did they ever give a rat's a$$.
I could hear the differences, but I don't see a point in analyzing why those differences exist. Pick a bass, play it, dig it, and gig it.
And the people who say that putting green felt-tip on the edges of cd's "tightens up the bass and makes the mids more present" etc?
What I'm saying is that these people believe they can hear a difference too - even down to the special crystals which you dot around the room to improve the accoustics, and the gold plated mains outlets. I hope we'd mostly agree that they have, to put it kindly, let their imaginations run away with them. They can hear it, we can't. So they could, and do, say their ears are more sophisticated than ours. I'd say they're just nutters with more money than sense, but who am I to say? (Just look at some of these audiophile sites - you'll be stunned)
I don't need to set up tests - plenty have been done on TB with regard to bdy woods, neck woods, and fretboard woods (not double-blind though), and as far as I know, they haven't shown any variation from guesswork levels, with most golden ears keeping a low profile until the results are out.
What I'm saying is that these people believe they can hear a difference too - even down to the special crystals which you dot around the room to improve the accoustics, and the gold plated mains outlets. I hope we'd mostly agree that they have, to put it kindly, let their imaginations run away with them. They can hear it, we can't. So they could, and do, say their ears are more sophisticated than ours. I'd say they're just nutters with more money than sense, but who am I to say? (Just look at some of these audiophile sites - you'll be stunned)
I don't need to set up tests - plenty have been done on TB with regard to bdy woods, neck woods, and fretboard woods (not double-blind though), and as far as I know, they haven't shown any variation from guesswork levels, with most golden ears keeping a low profile until the results are out.
I can discern the difference more when I play than when I listen to a recording of someone else playing.
In 1981, after about 11 years of playing on nothing but rosewood fingerboards, I picked up a used Jazz with a maple fingerboard. Immediately, I realized that I needed to refine my technique because the maple was brighter and more responsive, and amplified any laziness on my part. The following week, I picked up a neck with a rosewood board and installed it on the same bass, and sure enough, it was more forgiving. (Incidentally, both were P-Bass necks, but the important fact is that they had the same radius and width, and the frets were the same size.)
Now, years later, I have several basses with maple and rosewood fingerboards, and I like to select them based on the room, the instrumentation, etc. Maple is "glassier"; rosewood gives you more of the fundamental of each note.
Mind you, I'm the kind of person who usually does rely on science more than superstition, so please don't assume that I've got the crystals out and read tea leaves to assess bass tone. What I've said is the result of over 40 years of practical, on-the-job experience.
In 1981, after about 11 years of playing on nothing but rosewood fingerboards, I picked up a used Jazz with a maple fingerboard. Immediately, I realized that I needed to refine my technique because the maple was brighter and more responsive, and amplified any laziness on my part. The following week, I picked up a neck with a rosewood board and installed it on the same bass, and sure enough, it was more forgiving. (Incidentally, both were P-Bass necks, but the important fact is that they had the same radius and width, and the frets were the same size.)
Now, years later, I have several basses with maple and rosewood fingerboards, and I like to select them based on the room, the instrumentation, etc. Maple is "glassier"; rosewood gives you more of the fundamental of each note.
Mind you, I'm the kind of person who usually does rely on science more than superstition, so please don't assume that I've got the crystals out and read tea leaves to assess bass tone. What I've said is the result of over 40 years of practical, on-the-job experience.
I too think that it comes down to looks and which you prefer to feel under your fingers. I currently have four basses and three of them have maple fingerboards. If it has an effect on the sound, I don't hear it.
Personally I think it comes down to the complete package. I never buy a bass based in the fingerboard wood alone. There are far more variables than that. And frankly ergonomics are more important to me than fingerboard wood.
I've owned over 30 basses in the last 15 years. One had purple heart several with Rosewood. Several with maple (birdseye, flamed, and plain). One with Pau Ferro. 4 with ebony. To me fret size has a bigger impact on playability and how I connect with the instrument more than fretboard wood. I tend to prefer smaller, lower frets over jumbo frets. One question is are the strings actually making good contact with the fretboard itself.
That all being said, my current arsenal consists of two ebony boards and one rosewood board. Why? Because the combination of neck feel, neck scale, neck action (relief), fret size, and playability feel right. Would I feel differently about each instrument if the fretboard wood was switched but all else was consistent? Honestly, I doubt it.
I've owned over 30 basses in the last 15 years. One had purple heart several with Rosewood. Several with maple (birdseye, flamed, and plain). One with Pau Ferro. 4 with ebony. To me fret size has a bigger impact on playability and how I connect with the instrument more than fretboard wood. I tend to prefer smaller, lower frets over jumbo frets. One question is are the strings actually making good contact with the fretboard itself.
That all being said, my current arsenal consists of two ebony boards and one rosewood board. Why? Because the combination of neck feel, neck scale, neck action (relief), fret size, and playability feel right. Would I feel differently about each instrument if the fretboard wood was switched but all else was consistent? Honestly, I doubt it.
Slightly OT: I own two Warwick Streamers and one of 'em has wenge and one ebony fingerboard. The others specs are pretty the same. And there's a slight difference in tone, when you compare both side by side. I think that otherwise one wouldn't notice all that much difference.
So yes, there's maybe a small difference in tone, but unless it changes the whole sound of the bass, I'd take what pleases my eyes best
So yes, there's maybe a small difference in tone, but unless it changes the whole sound of the bass, I'd take what pleases my eyes best
- Aug 5, 2005
- 7,243
- 92
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: J.C. Basses
That doesn't really matter. If it negatively impacts the tone, it should do it uniformly across both fingerboards.
I say use dovetail joints. Then it's just wood-on-wood and requires no outside mechanism.
I am really confused by this thread. It makes NO sense to me.
What really is happening when you play a note?:
1. The end of the string at the note you're hitting is resting on a fret.
2. The other end of the string is by the pickups and rests on a bridge. So,
the string is vibrating in the air between two pieces of METAL...NOT WOOD.
So how can a fretboard wood affect sound?
Explain to me how the fretboard wood comes into play. I don't get it.
What really is happening when you play a note?:
1. The end of the string at the note you're hitting is resting on a fret.
2. The other end of the string is by the pickups and rests on a bridge. So,
the string is vibrating in the air between two pieces of METAL...NOT WOOD.
So how can a fretboard wood affect sound?
Explain to me how the fretboard wood comes into play. I don't get it.
Put me in that group of lunatics who think maple boards offer a certain little "zing" not found with rosewood boards.
I also find a maple board very attractive.
I also find a maple board very attractive.
Some part of the bass sound has to do with the resonance of the body and neck together. And different kinds of woods have different density and other characteristics. Heck, even the the same wood type could sound different based on what part of the tree it was carved from, what year, what region in the world and so on...
Ultimately we are talking about microscopic sound differences that few could hear -- especially when amplified. Most bass players select the type based on how the neck/fretboard feels like playing. Sometimes that might also impact the playing style and indirectly the sound based on let's say soft maple versus hard maple. Or the type of finish used for maple boards.
BTW I use both.
Ultimately we are talking about microscopic sound differences that few could hear -- especially when amplified. Most bass players select the type based on how the neck/fretboard feels like playing. Sometimes that might also impact the playing style and indirectly the sound based on let's say soft maple versus hard maple. Or the type of finish used for maple boards.
BTW I use both.
