Rosewood vs. Maple vs. Ebony? Help me choose.

[Sithian]

Maple = Bright Bite
Rosewood = Warm
Ebony = Ping

IMO- Subject to variations due to nuances in basses...

 

[WoodyG3]

Ebony shrinks and expands laterally a little more than the others with changes in humidity, so it's not unusual to feel the fret ends sticking out a little more noticeably in winter on an ebony board.

I have two basses with ebony boards and have not experienced this. It would make sense, though, since ebony is a somewhat oily wood, and so I imagine it might be more affected by changes in humidity.

Well they sell expensive necks so I'm not gonna go with everything they say about how much difference it makes, I still think it makes a difference and I still think all those people "eating" e-popcorn need to get a life...

So you think it makes a difference, but don't want to listen to the very people who make the necks? The info on the Warmoth site is pretty similar to what I've heard and read from a wide variety of luthiers and manufacturers. Honest. And I'm not trying to sell anything.

Also, why not lighten up on the popcorn eaters? This topic comes up about every other week and it always brings out a wide range of responses. It does make for an entertaining "show."

 

[SwamiRob]

I meant something to the effect that I'm gonna be a little cautious of what they may say about the difference it makes, they do seem to be overstating it a little from my experience to be honest, wouldn't ignore them just because they make neck just I like to be careful with what a manufacturer may say about the industry they're involved in. Then again I don't know much about the brand, they do seem rather professional from what people have said at least so they can probably be trusted it'd seem.

 

[spideyjg]

Tonal difference aside, ebony feels better to me under the fingers than maple and far far better than rosewood.

Jim

 

[seamus bass]

in my 20 years of playing, maple is bright and tends to last longer than rosewood, but fretboard wear is more noticeable, ebony is faster than the 2 and is the happy medium tone wise. ebony also requires more care when doing any neck work say truss adjustments, it needs to be oiled first. but as far as tone unless your recording jazz and being critiqued by the pitch police and the tone gestapo youll be fine with anything you choose

 

[mongo2]

In my nearly 40 years of playing I've learned that the choice of fingerboard wood between Rosewood, Maple, or Ebony doesn't really matter. It's the instrument as a whole, the strings, the rig, the room, and the player that makes the tone. Not necessarily in that order.

 

[jmac]

I like pau ferro.

 

[Just Thumpin']

That is an untestable hypothesis since the only way to test it would be to change fingerboards and the act of changing the fingerboards would nullify the results since the change process would introduce it's own variables.

You are incorrect. I have been at a luthier's when we bolted varying necks onto exactly the same body...a maple fingerboard, an ebony fingerboard, a rosewood fingerboard and a graphite one. The differences were very significant.

 

[mongo2]

You are incorrect. I have been at a luthier's when we bolted varying necks onto exactly the same body...a maple fingerboard, an ebony fingerboard, a rosewood fingerboard and a graphite one. The differences were very significant.

Sorry, but that test was not a valid test.

The reason for the different tones when different necks are attached to the same body is because they are different necks. It can't possibly be attributed the type of fingerboard alone. Each time a different neck was used more than one variable was changed which nullifies the test for the fingerboard variable.

 

[ShirazBop]

1) why replace?
2) Why Warmoth? That neck will set you back the same $$$ that the whole bass cost! Ebay search for Mighy Mite. Good Japanese necks for much cheaper

^^^^ +1 on the Japanese Necks...I purchased a Warmoth Fretted maple/maple (cheapest one) and very satisfied with the quality but next time will have to look at getting a CIJ...

 

[ShirazBop]

... critiqued by the pitch police and the tone gestapo ...

great line!

 

[Mr. Mig]

From my experience Maple has a warmer tone, Rosewood is not as warm and ebony seems to be just in the middle.

 

[Mike Shevlin]

Dear Christ haven't you got anything better to do? I'm 22 and I'm above all that internet behaviour for gods sake, by all rights I should have checked my facebook page 5 times during writing that sentence.

Ok, ok - I'm gonna get myself in trouble here. I'm gonna get flamed for the rest of my life, but here goes. You want your answer - get ebony, period. Just about every upscale bass maker uses ebony as it's premium fingerboard option. Sadowsky, Alembic..etc. It's a special wood for special basses & I always order it if it is an option. Also, the world seems to be running out of good ebony, so you may want to get it while you can. IMHO, IME blah blah blah ...Now if you don't mind, I'm hungry.
[url=http://www.freesmileys.org][/URL]

 

[Just Thumpin']

In the most absolute sense you are right, but since all of the neck stock were from the same basic material...maple of a similar age and density the test we did is as close as you could realistically get to a perfect test and the results were incredibly obvious to everyone in the room and even the couple of folks in the adjacent room that didn't know which neck was on the bass at a given time...

Sorry, but that test was not a valid test.

The reason for the different tones when different necks are attached to the same body is because they are different necks. It can't possibly be attributed the type of fingerboard alone. Each time a different neck was used more than one variable was changed which nullifies the test for the fingerboard variable.

 

[WoodyG3]

Tonal difference aside, ebony feels better to me under the fingers than maple and far far better than rosewood.

Jim

No offense intended here, but I have heard this kind of talk about the feel of fretboard wood before and I don't get it. The string rests on the fret, and your finger on the string. I never really "feel" the fretboard at all. Maybe I'm missing something, or maybe it has to do with playing style, but I can't feel any difference at all between different fretboard materials. It's not a big deal, but I'm just curious what differences you feel?

 

[SPYD3R #9]

i've got 2 basses with rosewood (fretted)
and 1 bass with ebony (fretless)
IMHO ebony gives u a brighter tone, harder wood, and darker look than rosewood.. and nice mid-tone..

 

[rcarraher]

Wow, I'm actually pretty surprised by the replies here. I mean, I've A/B:t a lot of basses and I think the fretboard makes a significant difference. It's not a huge ground breaking difference, but still a very audible difference. But I guess it's also good to point out that I always listen to the acoustic sound first, amplified second. And it's also worth noting that I might put more emphasis on wood selection when it comes to basses, but that's just the way I see things.

Maple would be brightest, rosewood the warmest and ebony would be sort hifi version of something in between. Some could call ebony best of both worlds (or worst for that matter), but personally I don't have an opinion which is best. They're all just differend.

You nailed it! Metaphorically speaking of course. If one was worse, we wouldn't even be having this discussion. No one would use the "worst". They are just different. Maple being brightest, rosewood warmest, deepest etc...chose your surpurlative. They all have their characteristics, and it does make a difference. Choose what suits you; your sound, your aim, your look. I think you could nit pick and say choose what 'matches', ballances with the rest of the bass, but in the end, there is no wrong choice, just your choice.

 

[rcarraher]

In my nearly 40 years of playing I've learned that the fingerboard wood doesn't really matter. It's the instrument as a whole, the strings, the rig, the room, and the player that makes the tone. Not necessarily in that order.

Well, if it doesn't matter lets hear it for balsa wood fret boards....sure would cure some of those pesky weight problems....

 

[SwamiRob]

Doesn't the string rattling against the frets which then in turn transfers some energy onto the fretboard make a difference? It must be very marginal but it might be something, just speculation really. Plus your tone resonates through your neck to some degree, so that bit of rosewood or ebony as opposed to a standard all maple neck may make a difference too. Whatever the science may or may not be in all 3 a/b tests I've listened to the one with the maple neck has had instant familiarity.

As for the feel thing I think the harder softer comparison when it comes to playing is a little over the top maybe. But having just had a quick jam on my ATK and then on my friends slightly obnoxious maverick, I personally feel the board a fair bit when I'm playing. Maybe it's just my technique and doing a bit bit more bending then usual when I mess about when I'm playing solo, but I do prefer the harder feel of the lacquer on my ATK.

 

[mongo2]

In the most absolute sense you are right, but since all of the neck stock were from the same basic material...maple of a similar age and density the test we did is as close as you could realistically get to a perfect test and the results were incredibly obvious to everyone in the room and even the couple of folks in the adjacent room that didn't know which neck was on the bass at a given time...

Sorry, but that just isn't good enough since there are those who are trying to create axioms and predict performance based on assumptions that are gleaned from "testing" that's only "as close as you can get." That's not very solid ground.

Besides, I've had several necks with rosewood fingerboards that sound brighter than maple fingerboards on the same body, which contradicts the so called "conventional wisdom" of the internet.