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MAPLE vs. ROSEWOOD NECK - Can You Tell The Difference?

WHICH NECK IS WHICH?

  • NECK 1 is Maple/Rosewood, NECK 2 is Rosewood/Rosewood

    Votes: 58 54.7%

  • NECK 1 is Rosewood/Rosewood, NECK 2 is Maple/Rosewood

    Votes: 48 45.3%

  • Mark Wilson Smells Of Elderberries

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    106
  • Poll closed .
-=DanAtkinson=-

-=DanAtkinson=-

Feb 26, 2008
2,457
125
50
Atlanta, GA
#1
Ok gang. Time for another wood test! :bassist:

The last time I tested necks, I compared fretboard woods. Here is the thread (which unfortunately got locked): http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/can-you-tell-difference-maple-vs-rosewood-738762/

This time I'm doing the opposite. I'm testing 2 necks from USACG, both with the exact same specs, except one is maple/rosewood and the other is ALL rosewood. So the fretboard wood is the same, but the core neck wood is different.

Maple and Rosewood are on opposite ends of the "tone spectrum", according to conventional wisdom. So the all rosewood neck should sound warmer than the neck with a maple back.

Now, to my ears, there is a subtle difference. I can hear it (using quality headphones or quality studio monitors). But I have no doubt this difference would be completely lost in a band setting. It would take Superman to identify the necks in a mix.

Anyway, without further ado, here are the clips! (They are uncompressed raw WAV files, by the way.)

NECK 1
Both pickups: http://atkinsonbasses.com/storage/tests/Neck1both.wav
Neck pickup: http://atkinsonbasses.com/storage/tests/Neck1neck.wav
Bridge pickup: http://atkinsonbasses.com/storage/tests/Neck1bridge.wav

NECK 2
Both pickups: http://atkinsonbasses.com/storage/tests/Neck2both.wav
Neck pickup: http://atkinsonbasses.com/storage/tests/Neck2neck.wav
Bridge pickup: http://atkinsonbasses.com/storage/tests/Neck2bridge.wav

Please vote for your pick! And please folks, let's try to keep this civil. I'd appreciate it if we could keep mud slinging and angry rants out of this thread.

001-3.jpg


002-2.jpg
 
#8
mongo2 said:
No you didn't.

How about keeping the fibs out of this thread...you previously compared two different necks one with a maple fretboard and one with a rosewood fretboard. Very different form comparing fretboard woods.
Click to expand...

Ah, mongo. My personal TB stalker strikes again!

But alas, this is exactly the type of trolling I have elected to ignore, going forward. Sorry to let you down. I just want to keep things civil and productive.
 
#9
Slowgypsy said:
:rollno::confused: How is this different from... "The last time I tested necks, I compared fretboard woods" ???

Two different fretboard woods = maple fingerboard and rosewood fingerboard.
Click to expand...

Those fretboards are attached to two different necks so it's not only the fretboards that were different, it's the entire neck that was different.

That means that since each piece of wood, even of the same species, has different characteristics, any difference in tone couldn't be definitively attributed to the fretboards alone since the neck's substrate wood was also different.
 
#13
-=DanAtkinson=- said:
Ah, mongo. My personal TB stalker strikes again!

But alas, this is exactly the type of trolling I have elected to ignore, going forward. Sorry to let you down. I just want to keep things civil and productive.
Click to expand...

Your usual ad hominem, snarky type of post to anyone who questions your so called tests.

Besides, if as you say the differences are lost in a band setting, what's the point of any of your "tests"? What is it you think you're trying to prove if everything just gets lost in a band setting?
 
#14
mongo2 said:
Those fretboards are attached to two different necks so it's not only the fretboards that were different, it's the entire neck that was different.

That means that since each piece of wood, even of the same species, has different characteristics, any difference in tone couldn't be definitively attributed to the fretboards alone since the neck's substrate wood was also different.
Click to expand...

Please mongo, we get it. You think these experiments are useless and stupid. Fine. You can move along.

I happen to be interested in examining the REAL WORLD implications of wood tone. In the real world, none of us are going to rip off the fretboard and replace it with a different wood.
 
#17
Cant get any of the files to load or play. But anyway besides whatever little bit (and it will be less then sig diff body woods would be) of sound diff, one would naturally expect a diff feel to the fretbaords for fretting hand. rosewwod feeling like wood, , maple feeling like the coating on top of the wood. Thats my main reason for disliking maple boards. I dont like the feel of coated fretboards. Id expect a slightly brighter tone to the maple. Not enough to be a deal breaker since slightly rolling off tone control would fix that. But nothing will fix the feel of maple fretbaord when compared to rosewood, ebony, or wenge fretboard.
 
#18
-=DanAtkinson=- said:
Please mongo, we get it. You think these experiments are useless and stupid. Fine. You can move along.

I happen to be interested in examining the REAL WORLD implications of wood tone. In the real world, none of us are going to rip off the fretboard and replace it with a different wood.
Click to expand...

And how are you examining REAL WORLD implications of wood tone when the wood tone is only going to get lost in mix? You are't examining anything with your one comparison sample tests, except for the one comparison in question. It does not translate to any real world scenario since even you can't create an all encompassing axiom from a single comparison.
 
#20
mongo2 said:
And how are you examining REAL WORLD implications of wood tone when the wood tone is only going to get lost in mix? You are't examining anything with your one comparison sample tests, except for the one comparison in question. It does not translate to any real world scenario since even you can't create an all encompassing axiom from a single comparison.
Click to expand...

I repeat: Please mongo, we get it. You think these experiments are useless and stupid. Fine. You can move along.
 

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