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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 .
#21
darkstorm said:
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.
Click to expand...

I too prefer the feel of rosewood. And the all rosewood neck feels SUPERB.
 
#22
Dan,
Thanks for taking the time to do another test and for the ensuing tone wood debate.

I'm just guessing here, but I said the first sample was Maple and the second was Rosewood.

Obviously this is an interesting test and not conducted with PhD level research protocols, however, I realize that it takes time to do and it's not easy to dodge the occasional tomato. SO for your efforts I thank you and I'm very interested to see the fur fly.

I'm still waiting to see the other MTD tests Cameron is doing. I can't seem to find a link to them.


Derrick
 
#25
darkstorm said:
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.
Click to expand...

+++++ I'm not thrilled with ebony, either, but, playing an upright or fretless, I guess I'd say it would be a better choice than my beloved rosewood. As a body wood, I love maple and dislike rosewood,lol. In an acoustic guitar, rosewood(even the over-rated Brazilian) would be a distant third to me behind maple or mahogany. The maple is more sensitive to dynamics than either of the other two.
 
#28
I've never had the pleasure of playing an all-rosewood neck, so I'm going to guesstimate that it's #2.

And thanks again for these very informative "tests" Dan. Its a crying shame that some folks feel the need to poke holes.
 
#31
ledyard said:
Why do certain people need to troll these threads. Its like a crack fix for them? Dude, participate or go away. Or express your difference of opinion and have an intelligent argument at least.
Click to expand...

Part of what I done for a living over the last 24+ years is debunk erroneous testing. If you wish to insult my intelligence you're going to have to try harder since I know of what I speak.
 
#32
Just to be clear, more insults of intelligence or character (like the quoted excerpt in the previous post and some others before it) will receive infractions. If this keeps happening, the thread will get closed...which I'd rather not do.
 
#33
Mulebagger said:
Btw Dan,

Did you run out of red paint for that burst? :eek:

Another nice looking bass. Keep up the good work.

Derrick
Click to expand...

That's how Jaco had his.

Bacchus%20Jaco%20Pastorius.jpg


Anyhoo, back to the test. I've had the honor to own an all-rosewood neck, plus a maple/rosewood. They do feel fantastic. I'm going with #1 is all rosewood and #2 is maple / rosewood. #1 just sounds closer to what I had with my rosewood neck. Mine was a P though, so I only listened to the neck pickup.
 
#35
smperry said:
Just to be clear, more insults of intelligence or character (like the quoted excerpt in the previous post and some others before it) will receive infractions. If this keeps happening, the thread will get closed...which I'd rather not do.
Click to expand...

And you shouldn't have to. At this point, after two moderator warnings, if anyone tries to incite drama, they deserve whatever they get, and will get no admin sympathy at the help desk. Folks, discuss the subject, but please try to discuss the subject respectfully. This goes for everyone.
 
#36
I have been playing for 40 years, mostly in 3 piece bands where the bass carries into the mids a lot, especially during solo's, and I really think you (meaning anyone) can spend too much time worrying about this type of thing because the subtleties being examined are totally lost in a playing situation.

We all know that the sound you want on stage at concert volume, is the sound you get at home under ideal listening conditions. That sound, if achieved, is lost again as you move around the stage in different orientation to your speaker projections and then if your rig goes throug the PA, forget it, You are having yourself on (again, meaning anyone) if you think those subtelties exist at all, at that point.

That is the very reason Entwistle progressed to a Stramp Pre Amp and 4 x 300 W poweramps into a crossover network of speakers, to remain self powered as he knew too, that a PA would consolidate every subtlety he wanted to achieve.

I am fussy about my sound, just as much as anyone. If I play a run, I want every single note to be heard and flow with equal tone and volume on every string.

I demand it. but...at some point the variances between venue size and shape, number of people in the audience, height of the stage, stage itself, distance your amp is from the audience, guitarist you play with and then the imperfections of the PA attemting to subdivide your sound in a crossover network means...............

The subtleties of 2 necks is relative to the strings, pickups, the user, meaning where he plucks, how he plucks and the consistency of plucking from neck to neck, can only be realised in a studio. Now that does matter. But the bass for studio work is not necessarily the same best choice for live work.

Thems me thoughts.

PS: Maple fretboards are pretty but Rosewood is warmer to my ear.
 
#37
for my ear, the sound of maple has more focus, tighter low end, and not as warm as rosewood. Ebony is similar to maple, very focused, bright top end.

In a rhythm section, it may be very difficult to hear these subtleties, certainly when a player cranks up to solo you would hear these nuances.
 
#40
I really can't notice a big difference but my current headphones suck! However, in the middle of all the distorted and crappy sound, I think the difference is found in the neck pickup. I think neck 2 is brighter and has more midrange presence and that neck 1 sounds a bit warmer. If I'm wrong, don't start messing with me, my headphones suck and I can't use the computer speakers at the moment. Based on what I heard, I chose option 2.
 

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