Maple, rosewood, ebony or other?

[jmattbassplaya]

For whatever reason, I always seem to get lost in a mix when playing a bass with a rosewood neck. The only exception to this that I can recollect was when playing a Fender P with TI flats. That bass was very present, but that’s the nature of TIs being mid-focused. That same P bass with Chromes didn’t cut it live. I also struggle to see dots on rosewood necks on dark stages. As such, I’m almost exclusively a maple guy. I’ve also had a lot of luck with graphite, but those necks can also be difficult to read on dark stages.

 

[WillyW]

I like just about everything but maple, but I have a roasted maple fretless that’s just ok.

I recently purged my telecasters of all maple necks…

I also hate headstock truss rod adjustment on 7enders…

 

[getBAK]

I tend to think of fretboard material as more of an aesthetic choice in most cases. With a fretless bass, I want a synthetic fretboard like Ebonol or Kiesel's 'hard as nails' epoxy finish. That has more to do with durability than anything else.

 

[kmd88]

I'm sure there is some difference in tone between the 3 but on fretted electric instruments I believe it to be negligible. I like setting my iphone and Google to "dark mode" (white text on black background) so I guess I would swing for rosewood/ebony but it really comes down to the bass. I would wager that having gloss finish on the maple boards makes a bigger difference than wood choice. I hear a much bigger amplified difference in fret material (Nickel vs Stainless) than any fretboard option.

 

[zyxwfish]

jatoba Is the best fretboard wood in the world!

 

[halcyo]

Ebony is the most attractive to me. Obviously it’s not on a ton of instruments readily available. A dark rosewood is nice too though.

For a long time, I couldn’t stand the “Tri-Color” combo of painted body/rosewood fretboard/unfinished headstock. The maple or Ash color on the headstock would drive me so nuts that I’d almost prefer the fretboard be maple as well to at least make the bass have “2 colors”.

Over the years though, my preference for the FEEL and tone of rosewood has definitely overridden my ocd for a non matching headstock.

 

[Hans Gruber]

I don't think most of it matters BUT I honestly do hear a lot of differences in the kinds of woods and generally prefer Indian rosewood, though I seem to notice the difference less when I use flatwounds.

I used to think ebony was going to be superior because it was more expensive and harder with more attack and growl and I finally got a few basses with it but was disappointed. There was a harshness in the upper mids I did not anticipate. I feel similarly about pau ferro. Perhaps my ears were accustomed to that sound. As much as I can hear it's still not a deal breaker and it's still relatively negligible. My favorite wood combo is alder/rosewood but my main money maker is an ash/maple Sadowsky, and the maple does have a nice cleanness with a little less overall mud.

 

[ElCrowg]

I used to be all about maple (for aesthetics). Then I found I actually like the feel of a rosewood board way better and now it's my very strong preference.

But it's all about feel to play for me. I don't believe it affects the tone in any meaningful way.

 

[Topkat13]

I really don’t fret over this and it kind of leaves me board.

 

[kyral210]

For tone, it doesn’t matter.

For look, probably ebony.

 

[Microbass]

Maple. Mainly due to how it ages, looks great. Ziricote is another cool one though.
If I was playing fretless again, I'd need to go down the rabbit hole of how the tone differs though and would choose something that sounds right over how it looks.

 

[Samus C]

depends on the rest of the bass aesthetically. Generally maple and ebony look best IMO and feel best, but really nice cuts of rosewood are fine. The thing i dont like is all those basses that have the cheaper rosewood alternatives where its like a super light brown. it just looks tacky with a lot of solid color finishes. I wish companies would at least stain them.

 

[MtManiac]

I currently own 12 basses, and have owned many that have since been sold, cycling in and out of my posession. At multiple times, I’ve had basses that were otherwise identical except for the fretboard, and couldn’t hear a damned bit of difference that matches the tone qualities ascribed to fretboard woods - I’ve had some very warm basses with maple boards and some very bright ones with rosewood boards.

Current count includes basses with ebony, laurel, rosewood, and maple. No Pao Ferro.

Currently have two Fender American V Precisions, both maple/alder, one has VMod I pickups and the other has VMod II pickups. Otherwise identical, same strings. The VMod II bass has a nice warm tone that’s useable in most contexts with the tone full open. The other one feels like it’s ripping my ears off with the highs it offers and I can’t dial in more low mids because they aren’t there. It’s pretty useful for some applications so I’ve kept it so far, plus it looks badass.

I also have two IV American P basses - one bone stock with CS62 pickups and rosewood, the other maple with SPB-1. I’ve owned several maple-board P basses before that I’ve put an SPB-1 into, and have always had a great time playing them because of the lower mid frequency harmonics I could hear coming out of my amp. This one, less so - it again is very bright sounding, really missing the harmonics I’m looking for. But again, it looks badass. The Rosewood one has a beautiful warm tone, especially noted when played high on the neck on the D & G strings.

Ebony is on a Stingray Special, and as it’s my second only Stingray, and it’s a Special, it isn’t fair to compare it, but I don’t find it especially bright and can dial in or out pretty much whatever I want.

Laurel is on a Squier fretless Jazz, and I’ve had Laurel before on other Squiers and an Epiphone Embassy. It looks really pretty, and each of those basses sound(ed) great. I have an Epiphone Tbird VP which is dated I believe around 2016/2017, the original run, and I *think* the board is rosewood?? I’m honestly not sure, it looks like rosewood: a very, very dark rosewood, but it could be laurel, it could be dyed pao ferro, I don’t know and I don’t care. Sounds awesome, and gives me whatever I’m looking for from it.

Anyway - TL;DR is that in my experience, the stereotypes of tone:rosewood are a pile of BS, and each instrument stands on its own in terms of the tone it offers. Fretboard wood or other wood affects tone to an extent that isn’t able to be ascribed to wood species. Other factors - especially strings and pickups - play a much bigger role.

IME, IMHO, YMMV, etc etc.

Answer to the question: I like them all. Basses are good. Yum.

 

[HowieD72]

(1) Wenge
(2) Jatoba
(3rd equal) Rosewood & Maple

Never tried ebony.

 

[Flamingo21]

Maple, because I like how it looks.

 

[Baa]

I just prefer the look of rosewood.
And i´d rather have no fretmarkers.

 

[Geri O]

Maple for the win. And the looks.

For fretless, rosewood or ebony for the win.

You know the rest….

 

[Lo-E]

On a fretted bass it matters very little to me. I guess I prefer rosewood by a very small margin.

On a fretless I prefer ebony but I don’t dislike rosewood or pau ferro.

I voted “none” since my answer depends on the circumstances.

 

[Hounddog409]

I had Warmoth make me a jazz neck with a pau ferro fingerboard and blocks. For a fretted bass, it has the nicest feel under the hands that I’ve experienced.

Shouldnt you be feeling the strings???

 

[thedovewarlord]

I gravitate towards Rosewood. They feel more comfy or something. When I see basses in the store I'll grab a Rosie first. I love the way they look especially when they are super dark. Maple is nice as long as it's not glopped with poly. Nitro really played and worn in maple on an old Precision is amazing. A tough choice would be a vintage '59 maple or a '62 slab rosewood Precision, love to pepsi-challenge those two side by side.