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Rosewood/Maple Finger Boards - Tone difference?

#421
wujuu said:
oooo...and john, care to elaborate on your two identically-equipped basses and difference in tone of the fingerboards? im sure your answers will be similar to the common internet descriptions...but...just to hear it from someone with proof :D
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the difference in tones does in fact bear out the common description. the first case was an experiment i carried out. if you look on the picture of all my conklins on the couch, the fretless bass to the far right used to be fretted, with a purple heart board. the instrument itself has the same preamp/eq/pickups as my doubleneck, so before i got the neck redone fretless, i used it to do the parts that i would perform on the fretted neck of the 2xneck, but the tone was very different, all other things being equal. it was not as snappy, and had a bit more low mid. this piqued my interest, so i swapped the neck on my doubleneck with it, and the differences were still there - the purple-heart board had less snap and a bit more low-mids than the maple board did. since it was the same instrument with just a different neck (and the neck was nearly the same except for the board) it had to be the fretboard that accounted for the difference - it was a larger difference than i would have previously expected.

test two - i have since done the samething with the same instrument, but swapped the fretless neck on the doublewide instead, for experiments sake. the doubleneck's fretless neck has a macassar ebony board with maple and oak inlay, and the fretless neck on that bolt on is maple with purpleheart inlay. the differences there are -huge-. both boards have the same gloss coating, too, so it has to be the woods.

as an aside, the fretless neck of the doubleneck and the fretless bass on the floor sound very similar, despite different pickups, which was the intention. with these two, the biggest similarities in construction are the boards and the body woods. that may very well just be serendipitous, though.
 
#424
john turner said:
the difference in tones does in fact bear out the common description. the first case was an experiment i carried out. if you look on the picture of all my conklins on the couch, the fretless bass to the far right used to be fretted, with a purple heart board. the instrument itself has the same preamp/eq/pickups as my doubleneck, so before i got the neck redone fretless, i used it to do the parts that i would perform on the fretted neck of the 2xneck, but the tone was very different, all other things being equal. it was not as snappy, and had a bit more low mid. this piqued my interest, so i swapped the neck on my doubleneck with it, and the differences were still there - the purple-heart board had less snap and a bit more low-mids than the maple board did. since it was the same instrument with just a different neck (and the neck was nearly the same except for the board) it had to be the fretboard that accounted for the difference - it was a larger difference than i would have previously expected.

test two - i have since done the samething with the same instrument, but swapped the fretless neck on the doublewide instead, for experiments sake. the doubleneck's fretless neck has a macassar ebony board with maple and oak inlay, and the fretless neck on that bolt on is maple with purpleheart inlay. the differences there are -huge-. both boards have the same gloss coating, too, so it has to be the woods.

as an aside, the fretless neck of the doubleneck and the fretless bass on the floor sound very similar, despite different pickups, which was the intention. with these two, the biggest similarities in construction are the boards and the body woods. that may very well just be serendipitous, though.
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I believe the fretboard wood does make a difference, how much of a difference is obviously up to the individual instrument. I must include however that I don't believe people could "blindly" pick out which fretboard sounds like what, which brings me to my second point.

No two pieces of wood are the same; even from the same tree certain sections may be more or less figured which affects how vibrations would be carried through the instrument.

In essence John, your "swapping necks" test wasn't all things being equal. The maple on one neck might be more or less dense than another, with different figuring or growth, etc. Were the fingerboards removed and replaced then it might be more plausible to say the fingerboard had a definite effect on tone.

In essence I'm trying to say there is some effect on tone, the fingerboard is obviously a piece of the instrument and will have an impact. That impact may be negligible however.
 
#426
john turner said:
other than your claim to be, do you have any evidence of your luthiery? every luthier -i- have ever talked to has unanimously stated that they felt board woods made a huge difference in the tone.
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Yes, I could prove it but that sounds more like a petty pissing contest and I'm trying to steer away from the ego stuff in this thread and decide things more scientifically than emotionally.

I've talked to one luthier who specifically told me he tells people what they want to hear whether it matters or not. But let's ignore the straw man polarization's going on. I'm just trying to find out if anyone anywhere can demonstrate this skill of aural taxonomic identification. Do you have any evidence of that?
 
#427
john turner said:
test two - i have since done the samething with the same instrument, but swapped the fretless neck on the doublewide instead, for experiments sake. the doubleneck's fretless neck has a macassar ebony board with maple and oak inlay, and the fretless neck on that bolt on is maple with purpleheart inlay. the differences there are -huge-. both boards have the same gloss coating, too, so it has to be the woods.
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Are you comparing a double neck to a single neck and claiming you can isolate the wood species of the FB by listening even though it is under a gloss layer?
 
#428
Groovecenter said:
In essence I'm trying to say there is some effect on tone, the fingerboard is obviously a piece of the instrument and will have an impact. That impact may be negligible however.
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The only people who are saying it has no effect whatsoever are the ones attacking that idea. Everyone else is just trying to see if we can really hear it or just think we can.
 
#429
lug said:
So, this bass must have the most uneven sound in the history of bassdom.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]





....runs like hell
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the unknown fingerboard material bass player said:
The glissandos on this bass are really something to behold, as the tone alternately brightens and darkens going up and down the fingerboard; I don't even use my chorus pedal anymore!
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Wow, amazing!:ninja:
 
#435
brandonwong said:
I cant believe this thread is still alive!!!
Someone please close this. :hmm:
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Because...?

Seriously, if it's really causing you distress, ask yourself why? Then ask yourself why people who are still reading and participating should be denied the thread because of your angst?

A suggestion...

Close your browser... you'll get the same basic effect.
 
#436
Maple fretboards provide more brightness and swift. The only disadvantages with a maple fingerboard is that this wood is subject to wearing (i.e. the fretboard becomes almost dirty after a couple of years). That's why Leo Fender started to use rosewood fingerboards on his guitars in the 1960s. Rosewood is best known for its warmth. After the CBS purchase in 1965, maple boards were re-introduced as an option, this time as a separate round laminated piece of maple glued (capped) on a two-piece maple neck, hence the absence of a skunk stripe on the rear. Bound maple necks were introduced in 1965 and block-shaped position markers appeared soon afterwards. These cosmetic changes were made on several Fender guitars and basses (Electric XII, Jaguar, Jazzmaster and Jazz Bass).
 
#437
funkymachine said:
The only disadvantages with a maple fingerboard is that this wood is subject to wearing (i.e. the fretboard becomes almost dirty after a couple of years). That's why Leo Fender started to use rosewood fingerboards...
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I used to wonder why anyone would have one of those dirty looking unfinished maple fingerboards and now I have 3, having replaced one rosewood with maple.

Still like the look of rosewood, ebony and the newer materials being used but am really surprised to find how much I love the look of an old worn in maple board now.
 
#439
Figjam said:
Please do a search.
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In a million years, I will never ever understand the mentality of these people who say "do a search".

When you meet a group of new friends, and you are all standing there in a circle talking and hangin out, do you have to stop, drop and go to the library and fact-check yourself or do research before opening up your mouth?

I see that this figjam has 1000's of posts. Perhaps un-employed or retired, who knows? But obviously he has time to pour through numerous threads searching for stuff.

The average person is probably either at work on a break or lunch, or perhaps just trying to unwind before going to sleep for the night...either way, it's just this stupid internet ruler-of-the roost-let's beat down anyone with less posts-mentality that really pisses me off.

Did anyone who tells other's to "do a search" ever consider that? And if so offended by someone asking a question, why bother responding at all? Just bypass the thread. No one is forcing you to respond. Or do you just want to feel proud and remind everyone what a "veteran" you are?

I just don't get it.


To answer the question, there is a slight difference in tone, a slight difference in feel, and a huge difference in looks. Personally, I like maple better. My Sting bass is pretty dark sounding, though, mainly due to the vintage single coil pickup and flatwound strings.

My modern american J bass with rosewood neck and roundwound strings is extremely bright, especially through a hi-fi amp. Either way, the tone difference compared A-B is probably too slight to matter.
 
#440
lucas vigor said:
In a million years, I will never ever understand the mentality of these people who say "do a search".

When you meet a group of new friends, and you are all standing there in a circle talking and hangin out, do you have to stop, drop and go to the library and fact-check yourself or do research before opening up your mouth?

I see that this figjam has 1000's of posts. Perhaps un-employed or retired, who knows? But obviously he has time to pour through numerous threads searching for stuff.

The average person is probably either at work on a break or lunch, or perhaps just trying to unwind before going to sleep for the night...either way, it's just this stupid internet ruler-of-the roost-let's beat down anyone with less posts-mentality that really %*&&%# me off.

Did anyone who tells other's to "do a search" ever consider that? And if so offended by someone asking a question, why bother responding at all? Just bypass the thread. No one is forcing you to respond. Or do you just want to feel proud and remind everyone what a "veteran" you are?

I just don't get it.


To answer the question, there is a slight difference in tone, a slight difference in feel, and a huge difference in looks. Personally, I like maple better. My Sting bass is pretty dark sounding, though, mainly due to the vintage single coil pickup and flatwound strings.

My modern american J bass with rosewood neck and roundwound strings is extremely bright, especially through a hi-fi amp. Either way, the tone difference compared A-B is probably too slight to matter.
Click to expand...
If you read many of Figjams postings you'd know that he's one of the more helpful and polite posters here. Can't speak for him but it does get to be non-stop dejavu when you see some of the same questions come up again and again, knowing full well that there are libraries full of answers if one is capable of completing an effective search.

Besides, look at his avatar. How can you not cut a little slack to someone with a Sterling for his avatar?!? :D
 

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