Maple vs. Rosewood

[jfh2424]

I always find these debates entertaining.

On a bass with a good set up, the string doesn't actually touch the fingerboard. Check it out, if you're not sure. Even pressed down, the string should not touch the board. It stays suspended between the two frets.

So I've always wondered, you guys who feel that fingerboard wood makes a difference...how in the world could it? I simply don't get it.

John

 

[rob_the_bassist]

IMO, the maple was way thinner in the mid/high range playing. on the b string the difference is negligible on this particular bass, with these particular settings/setup

 

[rob_the_bassist]

I always find these debates entertaining.

On a bass with a good set up, the string doesn't actually touch the fingerboard. Check it out, if you're not sure. Even pressed down, the string should not touch the board. It stays suspended between the two frets.

So I've always wondered, you guys who feel that fingerboard wood makes a difference...how in the world could it? I simply don't get it.

John

if there is anything wrong please correct me...i don't want to preach false science:

when you play a string the entire bass vibrates. do this test: take your bass unplugged and touch the headstock to a wall. the bass will be amplified. therefore, vibrations are being carried throughout the entire bass, especially the neck.

now with a pickup, there is just magnetic resonance producing the initial sound from Faraday's Law. however, there are induced vibrations throughout the body that can further resonate the pickup's coils, due to sustained vibrations in the body (mentioned above). the re-induced vibrations in the pickup's coils are called resonance vibrations.

the neck wood absolutely matters from a physics perspective. whether or not you can tell the difference is another story. i personally can tell and feel the difference with the right settings and setup

 

[David Jayne]

So I've always wondered, you guys who feel that fingerboard wood makes a difference...how in the world could it? I simply don't get it.

John

Because the frets are essentially rigid and unyielding. So if the wood does actually impart some sonic quality, this quality will travel unimpeded through the frets to the string.

 

[kellyrojo]

can't hear anything enough to make a difference.....no debate that's just me---the board surface is not a factor I consider when I make a purchase

 

[chadds]

Of course. Many pickups, especially single coils (as they can be microphonic), will pick up all sorts of extraneous noises that have nothing to do with string vibration. This includes hands rubbing/bumping the bass body, or even a leather strap rubbing the body making a squeaking noise.

In some extreme cases, muting the strings and speaking right into the pickups will amplify your voice thru the amp. Like a microphone, hence the term microphonic.

Knowing this, it's only logical that wood and neck characteristics will affect the sound in some way. Wheather someone is in a position to hear these things, or is even capable of hearing them, is another story altogether.

Well said.

 

[chadds]

if there is anything wrong please correct me...i don't want to preach false science:

when you play a string the entire bass vibrates. do this test: take your bass unplugged and touch the headstock to a wall. the bass will be amplified. therefore, vibrations are being carried throughout the entire bass, especially the neck.

now with a pickup, there is just magnetic resonance producing the initial sound from Faraday's Law. however, there are induced vibrations throughout the body that can further resonate the pickup's coils, due to sustained vibrations in the body (mentioned above). the re-induced vibrations in the pickup's coils are called resonance vibrations.

the neck wood absolutely matters from a physics perspective. whether or not you can tell the difference is another story. i personally can tell and feel the difference with the right settings and setup

At minimum the pickups are picking up the strings vibrations. If they are diminished or accentuated by your bass's body or neck etc. then thats how much and what vibrations they pick up.

 

[mongo2]

if there is anything wrong please correct me...i don't want to preach false science:

however, there are induced vibrations throughout the body that can further resonate the pickup's coils, due to sustained vibrations in the body (mentioned above). the re-induced vibrations in the pickup's coils are called resonance vibrations.

The effects are minimal unless the pickup is microphonic then it needs potting or replacing.

 

[chadds]

I always find these debates entertaining.

On a bass with a good set up, the string doesn't actually touch the fingerboard. Check it out, if you're not sure. Even pressed down, the string should not touch the board. It stays suspended between the two frets.

So I've always wondered, you guys who feel that fingerboard wood makes a difference...how in the world could it? I simply don't get it.

John

The concept that lighter in color is brighter is not always applicable. Ebony is very hard and can be quite bright.

 

[bassdude51]

Well, since this test wasn't blinded or anything like that, we can't really draw too much from it, but for what it's worth I could hear a difference between the two sound clips.

Maybe the fact that the tone pot one one bass was at 12:00 and on the other bass it was at 6:00 had something to do with it.

He makes a point about pots!!!!!

There's just too many variables with a bass guitar's sound to say one kind of fretboard wood or another makes a difference. No 2 basses ever sound alike. No 2 packs of strings sound alike. No 2 instrument cables sound alike. On and on it goes.

I just learned yesterday that CTS pots have a tolerance of +/-10%. Alpha pots have a tolerance of +/- 20%. Thats a big difference! That alone can make one bass sound brighter or warmer than another, more so that the fretboard. Example, one CTS pot could be 225 K ohm and another 275 K ohm. Lower ohm = warmer sound. Higher ohm = brigher sound.

Even more difference with Alpha pots!

So with this sound clip, perhaps one bass has a lower ohm pot and the other a higher ohm pot. Who knows?

Who knows about sound?

I think the biggest difference between rosewood and maple fretboards is aesthetics!

"Play that bass and just have fun with it!"

 

[chadds]

I always find these debates entertaining.

On a bass with a good set up, the string doesn't actually touch the fingerboard. Check it out, if you're not sure. Even pressed down, the string should not touch the board. It stays suspended between the two frets.

So I've always wondered, you guys who feel that fingerboard wood makes a difference...how in the world could it? I simply don't get it.

John

The whole thing is resonating. If your bass was made of foam or cardboard you'd get this short sustained thud.

 

[jfh2424]

The whole thing is resonating. If your bass was made of foam or cardboard you'd get this short sustained thud.

Ah, OK, I get it. So the idea is that a rosewood board would vibrate different than a maple board. I understand.

Not sure that I agree that the kind of wood would make a difference, but at least I see you guys' point.

Take care!

John

 

[georgestrings]

The whole thing is resonating. If your bass was made of foam or cardboard you'd get this short sustained thud.

No doubt - the whole neck vibrates with the string, otherwise clamp-on tuners wouldn't work...


- georgestrings

 

[georgestrings]

I love this. Here's something: I have two 'identical' P bass bodies/electronics. One has a MIA Std neck, rosewood board. The other has an Allparts all-maple neck.
Guess which one sounds 'brighter?'

The MIA rosewood one. By miles and miles.
People hear with their eyes.
Rosewood looks darker therefore........

Most don't even know that rosewood is MUCH harder than maple. Almost as hard as ebony, in fact. Logic tells me that harder wood should equal brighter tone. I can't imagine why it wouldn't be so.

Those necks are too different from one another for that particular comparison to be valid - now, if you had two MIA Fender necks with different boards, it would atleast be a bit more valid... after all, they'd pretty much be made out of the same materials(other than the fretboard), on the same machines, by the same people...


- georgestrings

 

[Wrilley]

Those necks are too different from one another for that particular comparison to be valid - now, if you had two MIA Fender necks with different boards, it would atleast be a bit more valid... after all, they'd pretty much be made out of the same materials(other than the fretboard), on the same machines, by the same people...


- georgestrings

I'd say it's a fair comparison. If you're deciding between those two Frudua basses and you're torn between which fretboard to go with. Assuming a sample size of one each is fair (which it probably isn't).

If it were me, I'd go by looks, I couldn't hear a difference--although there was a lot of background noise, I'd have much preferred them to be played solo. I'd also like to hear them with some fuzz or something on them since (I may be wrong on this) that emphasizes the overtones and would actually make it easier to tell them apart (is that right?).

 

[johnk_10]

He makes a point about pots!!!!!

There's just too many variables with a bass guitar's sound to say one kind of fretboard wood or another makes a difference. No 2 basses ever sound alike. No 2 packs of strings sound alike. No 2 instrument cables sound alike. On and on it goes.

I just learned yesterday that CTS pots have a tolerance of +/-10%. Alpha pots have a tolerance of +/- 20%. Thats a big difference! That alone can make one bass sound brighter or warmer than another, more so that the fretboard. Example, one CTS pot could be 225 K ohm and another 275 K ohm. Lower ohm = warmer sound. Higher ohm = brigher sound.

Even more difference with Alpha pots!

I think the biggest difference between rosewood and maple fretboards is aesthetics!

"Play that bass and just have fun with it!"

i disagree, but to each his own.

IME, two new sets of the type of same strings are very consistent. and the difference between the tolerance of the pots basically affects the uppermost high end, but doesn't effect the overal timbre and harmonic structure or resonant frequency (for example, dead spots) nearly as much as the wood used in a bass's neck does.

 

[TheTiptonian]

I developed my ear for bass tone playing on a maple fretboard. I just got a new toy with rosewood and the difference is night and day to me.

As others have said, rosewood gives a more "woody" darker tone while the maple seems to give more of a natural tone without the "woody" undertone to it.

Wood certainly does matter.

 

[lowendfriend]

I always find these debates entertaining.

On a bass with a good set up, the string doesn't actually touch the fingerboard. Check it out, if you're not sure. Even pressed down, the string should not touch the board. It stays suspended between the two frets.

So I've always wondered, you guys who feel that fingerboard wood makes a difference...how in the world could it? I simply don't get it.

John

I've been scrolling through this thread in search of sanity....This is it.

I could see a little sanity if we were talking about a fretless bass fingerboard, but for fretted? Be serious. Your fingers don't even touch the fretboard.

Even if it did touch the fretboard, the witness points for the note are the fret and the bridge. So if you have really thin frets and really soft strings, perhaps it could have the minutest affect during a hammer on note.

Next we'll be talking about the influence of silk color.

 

[johnk_10]

I've been scrolling through this thread in search of sanity....This is it.

I could see a little sanity if we were talking about a fretless bass fingerboard, but for fretted? Be serious. Your fingers don't even touch the fretboard.

Even if it did touch the fretboard, the witness points for the note are the fret and the bridge. So if you have really thin frets and really soft strings, perhaps it could have the minutest affect during a hammer on note.

Next we'll be talking about the influence of silk color.

i guess that you're just not getting it. while playing open notes, not even using your left hand, on a fretless or fretted bass, it makes a difference. it has to do with the instrument's resonant frequency.

 

[georgestrings]

I've been scrolling through this thread in search of sanity....This is it.

I could see a little sanity if we were talking about a fretless bass fingerboard, but for fretted? Be serious. Your fingers don't even touch the fretboard.

Even if it did touch the fretboard, the witness points for the note are the fret and the bridge. So if you have really thin frets and really soft strings, perhaps it could have the minutest affect during a hammer on note.

Next we'll be talking about the influence of silk color.

Then how do you explain how a clamp-on tuner works, if you think the whole neck doesn't resonate along with the string???


- georgestrings