• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Old question, new twist! rosewood or maple?

drunkenDAYlewis

drunkenDAYlewis

Mar 3, 2014
163
141
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
#1
So we can all agree that the old "is a maple finger board or rosewood better?" Has been argued to DEATH!
I have a questions for the bass player who has lots of basses and has/or has had a couple of each fretboard over the years.

Long term I wonder how the quality compares between the two. Have any insights? I haven't seen any threads that cover specifically the quality of each (if I'm wrong forgive me)

I've always been a maple guy on the preference front but I want to buy a American Standard Jazz and I intend it to be my last bass purchase for a long while.
Long term do people see a difference in quality?
 
#6
I really don't think one is qualitatively better than the other, it's strictly a matter of personal preference, and what, if anything , one wants or expects out of a fretboard material. For me, it's purely aesthetics. (my preference is maple, BTW)
 
#7
I prefer the look of maple which makes my last bass purchase kind of funny. I played every jazz bass at two different GC's and went in saying to myself " I'll buy the one that sounds the best regardless of color or fretboard". I ended up with a Fender MIA rosewood board and a black body and a white pick guard :) This happened before when I purchased a SB14, I just can't get away from black and rosewood ( well not completely true as I play my Frankenjazz the most and it has a maple board, still a black geddy lee body). Maple does sound a bit brighter but not something that would be heard in a mix. Brighter is not always better!
 
#11
Most maple boards are coated and easier to clean as they will not require oils, I clean mine using the Dunlop formula 65 guitar polish & cleaner that is also used for the body and I believe the coated surface is the reason for the brighter tones. The rosewood is an open wood which allows the material to breath, it also requires some maintenance and I use the music nomad F-one fret board oil to clean, condition, and protect...I believe the open wood allows a more natural tone, however....this is just my feeling as I know what really happens is the strings make contact with the frets and not the wood unless its a fretless bass, the string types also add to the variations of tone as well as the pickups.
 
#13
I know that rosewood is almost always harder than maple, and is therefore more resistant to wear. However, you kinda need to treat rosewood with some sort of solution. I use the Natchez solution. You can google it. It's this yellow goop that you wipe on, and leave on for around 45 minutes. It restores the wood, I guess. It actually makes a visible difference; the wood looks much healthier after a treatment. It also protects from over-drying. I do it every 3 months or so when I change the strings on my Jazz (I use rounds, so changing occurs quite often). Sorry to say I don't have much experience with maple.
 
#14
Maple is usually finished, so a maple fretboard can be cleaned using the same method as cleaning the body. Maple boards are VERY low maintenance.

Rosewood is almost always unfinished. A regularly played guitar/bass with a rosewood board should not need much maintenance as the oils from your hands should keep the wood moisturized. Still, it doesn't hurt to treat it from time to time. All my instruments with a rosewood board (2 guitars, 2 basses) get a treatment with Lem-Oil once every 6-12 months or so just to keep them clean and make sure they don't dry out. Plus, it smells good.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SpruceGoose54
#17
Quality?
No difference. Both are good woods - it's really is, 100%, what you think looks nice. I've always preferred maple.
I will say this: Maple shows dirt more than rosewood. I've seens some rosewood fretboards that were completely gummed up with finger schmutz - you couldn't really get away with that on a maple board. I've had a maple fretboard bass that was not completely sealed - so finger grease got into the wood - was not a good effect. You would not have noticed that with rosewood.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Solarmist
#18
I prefer Maple boards for the brighter tone, the feel, the look and the low maintenance. As everyone else said, Rosewood needs some love to stay healthy which really isn't that big of a deal but I'd still go with the Maple HOWEVER if you're keeping it for a while, the frets will wear and if it's to the point of a re-fret, just know Maple often costs more to re-fret because it's softer and often little chunks come out when the old frets are pulled out which rarely happens with Rosewood so luthiers often charge more because they have to apply a glue and level the surface out again before applying new frets and often have to re-finish the fretboard as well! Why that is I'm not entirely sure but I think it has to do with the chunks as well and probably a bit to do with charging extra $$ but I'm just sayin! It's almost always cheaper to just buy a replacement neck though with Fenders when it comes to re-frets but that's not always an option when you have a '68 Jazz worth a few grand :bassist:
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back