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Rosewood vs maple or vice versa and why

#121
I've found the Rosewood fingerboards to have a warmer tone than the maple ones.

20 something years ago I had two nearly identical MIA P Basses.... one in Rosewood and the other in Maple.

The Rosewood one just sounded better, even to the point that the drummer commented on it..... and you know that anytime a drummer notices anything, it must be significant.

That same Rosewood P is heading out the door with me to a gig as you read this.....
 
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#122
sethlow3 said:
Maple
If you’re on a super dark stage, chances are you can still see the fingerboard if needed.
I remember when I had a black necked bass (modulus flea J5) and it was almost impossible to see on a dark stage. Not so the case with maple.

Since many people can’t tell the difference tonally (there are plenty of TB threads with sounds clips), why limit my eyes on stage?

Plus, if you’re a guy like me who likes color on their basses (no sunburst please), then maple usually compliments the looks better IMO.
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On guitar, I love the feel and look of a gloss maple neck with the black phenolic dots. They show up under almost any lighting. I’m not dependent on them, but it is helpful to be able to see them. I had PRS with abalone birds inlaid. Those disappeared under bright lights onstage. I didn’t like that! ever had a problem seeing where I was on a bass neck.
 
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#123
Willie5String said:
I’ve always preferred a rosewood board, no tonal reason, just prefer the look.
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I like Rosewood, Maple, and Ebony finger/fret boards. I have had them all and like all of them. Seems like the Rosewood boards give a slightly smoother/warmer sound to me. The Maple boards add some brightness and more aggressive attack to notes and good for that poppin/slappin type of play for me. The Ebony seemed like a cross between to Rosewood and Maple board to me.

My Sterling SUB RAY4 came with a Jatoba finger board, never even heard of it before I got the RAY4 but I like the way it feels and sounds with no complaint from me! :) Actually I been using the RAY4 more than my other basses (Fender Jazz with EMG's Rosewood and my Lakland with Maple finger boards) and ever since I put that Aguilar Pickup, I just love the way it sounds than the OG pickup.

So I have no preference and would be happy with any of them.
 
#125
GWGuitar said:
25783665[/URL], member: 382873"]On guitar, I love the feel and look of a gloss maple neck with the black phenolic dots. They show up under almost any lighting. I’m not dependent on them, but it is helpful to be able to see them. I had PRS with abalone birds inlaid. Those disappeared under bright lights onstage. I didn’t like that! ever had a problem seeing where I was on a bass neck.
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ha!
Yes. I am less dependent on them nowadays, but I remember if I had to start a song or part of a song with little to no lights, I found maple to be a bit easier to see.

Kinda like a great basketball player. They won’t have to look at their hands to dribble to much.
 
#126
To be perfectly honest, I seldom think about what my bass' fretboards are made out of. They simply are what they are. With 23 basses (and 6 guitars and an old banjo), there are fretboards made of; Maple; Bubinga; Ebony; real Dalbergia Rosewood; African, Indian, and Caribbean "Rosewood"; and synthetic Ebanol. And, really? There are only 2 things that I want from any fretboard; 1) it has to hold the frets securely, and 2) it doesn't give me splinters...:whistle:
 
#127
GIBrat51 said:
To be perfectly honest, I seldom think about what my bass' fretboards are made out of. They simply are what they are. With 23 basses (and 6 guitars and an old banjo), there are fretboards made of; Maple; Bubinga; Ebony; real Dalbergia Rosewood; African, Indian, and Caribbean "Rosewood"; and synthetic Ebanol. And, really? There are only 2 things that I want from any fretboard; 1) it has to hold the frets securely, and 2) it doesn't give me splinters...:whistle:
Click to expand...

Splinters! :roflmao:
 
#128
As long as it's an unlined fingerboard, I like both woods; Ebony as well. When it comes to fretted instruments, I also like them both, not ebony though. In any case, the reason is aesthetics so the choice depends on the body color, style etc.

This is the maple fingerboard from my PB-50 that I'm currently defretting. I think it looks sweet, even if it isn't unlined.

20211021_100356-01.jpeg
 
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#129
I read recently that ebony is heavier than other alternatives - no info on how much heavier. That might be a consideration for weight / balance freaks. I love the way ebony looks personally. But I’ve been happy with virtually all choices, except maybe wenge - it seems brittle.
 
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#131
GIBrat51 said:
To be perfectly honest, I seldom think about what my bass' fretboards are made out of. They simply are what they are. With 23 basses (and 6 guitars and an old banjo), there are fretboards made of; Maple; Bubinga; Ebony; real Dalbergia Rosewood; African, Indian, and Caribbean "Rosewood"; and synthetic Ebanol. And, really? There are only 2 things that I want from any fretboard; 1) it has to hold the frets securely, and 2) it doesn't give me splinters...:whistle:
Click to expand...
Ummm...what is real Dalbergia rosewood? Just Brazilian or any unsustainably/illegally harvested rosewood? The "rosewood" you listed are all the same genus. Indian rosewood is for example Dalbergia sissoo.
 
#135
From purely a bass tech standpoint, I avoid maple whenever possible. I've passed on buying a few basses because they had a maple board.

- Maple typically needs a surface finish coating which makes fretting and overall maintenance more complicated.
- After dressing sprouted fret ends, I have to recoat the edges of a maple board with finish.
- Bass builders often use ordinary maple for fingerboards. Subpar material with wild flatsawn grain. I've seen some godawful maple FB wood selection. Not sure why. It's not that big a deal to source high density quartersawn maple FB blanks with the same straight grain that pau ferro, wenge and other exotic FB's have. To me, building with maple is just a lackluster, lazy choice when you're not using maple that's at least the caliber of the exotic woods that get used for FB's.

That said, I have some maple FB basses that are great. But I got them in spite of the maple FB, not because of it.
 
#138
Willie5String said:
I’ve always preferred a rosewood board, no tonal reason, just prefer the look.
Click to expand...

That is perfectly valid. :thumbsup:


There's a whole bunch of intense debate about how fingerboard wood affects tone. Bottom line: there's no hard evidence, so it's all personal opinion... meaning, everyone's opinion is correct. ;)


After 4-plus decades of playing and trying to be objective, my ears think that fingerboard wood makes a bit of difference, and my ears prefer maple. Emphasis on "bit of difference": I have occasionally chosen non-maple for looks alone. I mean, nobody will notice except me... and that's true for pretty much any aspect of bass, aside from appearance!
 
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#139
seedokebass said:
I like how maple fretboards look, but i almost always prefer rosewood or something dark. Any maple fretboard instrument I've played has a weird plunkiness on the high end that I'm not stoked about.

(maybe it's just me ;))
Click to expand...
That's the maple talking to you
 
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