Maple vs Rosewood fretboard

[Zanderwestcoast]

Have any of you played the same bass with both a maple or a rosewood fretboard? Is there a distinctive difference? There was a bass I was looking at on Ebay a few days ago, actually it had an ebony fretboard. My instructor said he liked the bass except for the ebony fretboard. He said he preferred maple.

Depending on the instrument and its intended tonal character, ebony can be an awesome choice of fingerboard. Often used on fine fretless instruments, they are also frequently used on fretted basses like Ken Smiths, Fodera's, F Basses for the punchy, direct and strong fundamental tone the wood is known for.

 

[Big Brother]

6 year revival!

I must be hard of hearing. I think the difference is psychological and based in the perceived character of the wood itself. Maple being harder and brittle, rosewood being softer and more pliable.

I've heard of tests with metal fretboards though and nobody could really tell the difference betwen wood by listening.

Without looking listen to this and guess what the fretboard is made of. I'd probably guess the fretboard was cut from a wet swamp log if I didn't watch the video...

 

[Gazonga]

I like rosewood. I think it has some pronounced low-mids which is great for fingerstyle playing and slap too, since I don't really like scooped mids. A maple board somehow boosts 3-4khz and it gives the bass some spark on the highs. I feel that it scoops mids too.

So I like Rosewood too, especially when played with a pick

I don't like maple though, it really does too much of a twang.

 

[MovingPitchers]

This is my experience alone but I do find maple to be brighter than rosewood. There's a small slight difference but in a band setting, it won't be as noticeable compared to using headphones.

I prefer maple on all my basses. No need to condition and oil the fingerboard at all.

 

[cnltb]

I prefer rosewood.

 

[4andnomore]

It's the sum of the parts IMO. In my experience the tonal differences between Rosewood and Maple are barely perceptible but perhaps more accentuated when playing pick style or slapping with bright rounds. In fact I've experienced a more noticeable difference comparing ash and alder bodies. That said, tone is by far effected more by string choice, pickups and cap values. In the end, I rather doubt i could discern body or neck woods in a blind test - I do however believe I could tell flats from rounds.

I like both, but mostly prefer the looks and feel of rosewood.

 

[FFTT]

A rosewood fingerboard will help stabilize the neck, helping to reduce the chance of twisting,
especially today with lesser select and old growth maple stocks.

I also really hate the feel of gloss nitro or poly on the finger board.

 

[joebar]

blonds, brunettes...

 

[inate_hex]

Not this again :-(

 

[bluesdogblues]

Have any of you played the same bass with both a maple or a rosewood fretboard? Is there a distinctive difference? There was a bass I was looking at on Ebay a few days ago, actually it had an ebony fretboard. My instructor said he liked the bass except for the ebony fretboard. He said he preferred maple. I like the looks of the darker wood myself. But sometimes you have to sacrifice looks to get the sound that you want. Just wondering what your experience has been with the different fretboards and which you prefer?

Yes.
I like maple, but I prefer rosewood. But it's a very subjective choice, as far as I know it's not a worthy debate topic LOL.
I can't explain, but I just feel it better.

 

[darrenmt]

Depends on which you prefer in general. Brunettes offer better contrast and blondes aren't as bright.

 

[Imaginary Pony]

When they first came out I had two Fender Jazz Bass Plus 5s one maple and one rosewood

I read that as "When I first came out..." which gave me visions of gently breaking it to your parents the news that you were a bass player.

 

[Fuzzbass]

Many people have opinions, but the fact is that nobody knows for certain. There is no hard data to back up anyone's opinion, and even luthiers (who simply have a better informed opinion than most) disagree.

 

[Fuzzbass]

I think the difference is psychological and based in the perceived character of the wood itself. Maple being harder and brittle, rosewood being softer and more pliable.

Agree with you. Emphasis on "perceived": many claim that "maple is brighter than rosewood because it's harder than rosewood". The fact is that the rosewoods are harder and denser than maple.

 

[mark beem]

I believe whatever differences there may be are negligible. Sure, there may be some minute differences but 'Joe Public' isn't gonna care. Hell, most of your bandmates wont care. If you're a studio pro you may occasionally run into the odd engineer who insists on the classic combos of ash + maple and /or alder + rosewood. IMO this is still another example of us bassists "navel gazing".

Personally I choose fretboard woods from a purely aesthetic standpoint with birdseye maple being my favorite.

IMO, IME, YMMV, etc. etc...

 

[warrplayer]

I have two USA Peavey Millenniums of the exact same dimensions. One with Pau Ferro and one with Birdseye Maple. There is the slightest difference in tone, but it is basically unquantifiable. It also disappears completely the minute you play through anything other than 100% clean amplification. Oh, one is Alder. The other is Alder with a maple top.

 

[Camarillo]

Have any of you played the same bass with both a maple or a rosewood fretboard? Is there a distinctive difference? There was a bass I was looking at on Ebay a few days ago, actually it had an ebony fretboard. My instructor said he liked the bass except for the ebony fretboard. He said he preferred maple. I like the looks of the darker wood myself. But sometimes you have to sacrifice looks to get the sound that you want. Just wondering what your experience has been with the different fretboards and which you prefer?

I own just rose woods, but love the look of maple. Said that I can hear some difference here. It's subtle but noticeable IMO...

 

[Old Blastard]

I have a lot of basses. I have rosewood, ebony, maple and wenge. I like all of them but they feel different under my hands. I can't say anything about tone because no two basses I have are identical. It what feels right for you.

 

[StringNavigator]

Throw Your Lead Cord In The Garbage Today!

Although I have enjoyed reading this old thread that is mostly concerned with tone variations based on using a maple or rosewood neck, I felt compelled to mention that regardless of bass configuration, the critical consideration is signal strength and shape, as we are playing an "electric" instrument.

Before condemning your bass or amp, realize that there are huge losses in signal strength and fidelity in the signal path between the bass jack and the amp jack. If you're using a cheap, poor quality, crushed, lengthy or curly lead cord, don't waste thousands on a good bass! In fact, the next time you shop for a lead cord, try to find out the capacitance of the cord. There are Capacitance Meters if you have an electronic buddy. I say this because there are some very degraded lead cord rip offs on the market.

After replacing the long, curly lead cord with a good quality, shorter, un-damaged one and buying a Line Driver, I could not believe the difference in sound. All those years I had been listening to a muffled, dead bass tone without realising it. Now my sound sparkles. Lead cords are plagued with stray capacitance that kills the instrument's signal as it filters out all of your higher frequencies to ground. They should be as short as you can stand it, to prevent signal loss. The Buffer Op-Amp in the Line Driver compensates for most of the line loss. Best money I ever spent.

 

[tfer]

Throw Your Lead Cord In The Garbage Today!

Although I have enjoyed reading this old thread that is mostly concerned with tone variations based on using a maple or rosewood neck, I felt compelled to mention that regardless of bass configuration, the critical consideration is signal strength and shape, as we are playing an "electric" instrument.

Before condemning your bass or amp, realize that there are huge losses in signal strength and fidelity in the signal path between the bass jack and the amp jack. If you're using a cheap, poor quality, crushed, lengthy or curly lead cord, don't waste thousands on a good bass! In fact, the next time you shop for a lead cord, try to find out the capacitance of the cord. There are Capacitance Meters if you have an electronic buddy. I say this because there are some very degraded lead cord rip offs on the market.

After replacing the long, curly lead cord with a good quality, shorter, un-damaged one and buying a Line Driver, I could not believe the difference in sound. All those years I had been listening to a muffled, dead bass tone without realising it. Now my sound sparkles. Lead cords are plagued with stray capacitance that kills the instrument's signal as it filters out all of your higher frequencies to ground. They should be as short as you can stand it, to prevent signal loss. The Buffer Op-Amp in the Line Driver compensates for most of the line loss. Best money I ever spent.

I use a 12" cord into my wireless unit...