They really do differ from one to another!

[Gilmourisgod]

The only instrument ive ever played that was pretty much identical sounding bass to bass was the original Steinberger L2, about as identical as any two fiberglass boat hulls coming out of the same mold, which is effectively how they were built. Every wood bass ive ever played, including brand new, seemingly identical mass produced basses, has sounded a little different. I remember when I bought my first bass, a 78' Ric 4001, I dug through a PILE of, easily 7-8 basses, and they all sounded and felt a hair different. That kind thing never happens anymore, most stores only have a couple, or only one, of a particular bass on display, and wont bring more out until that one is sold. In most cases trying multiple basses from the same brand just isnt possible in a GC. I get it, poorly paid employees dont have time to indulge in a lot of tire kickers, but I've never bought a bass unseen/unplayed from someplace like Sweetwater, which just seems like rolling the dice to me.

 

[gmarcus]

Another vote for pickup height. Measure the distance from each side of each pickup to the strings. I use a set of allen wrenches and see which size just fills the gap. Set your pickup height to match your friends and then adjust from there.

 

[micguy]

I had a ham sandwich with tomatoes, lettuce, pickles and mustard on rye and my friend had peanut butter and jelly on toasted white bread, and his sandwich was sweeter than mine.

Next time I have a ham sandwich I'm putting it on toasted white bread.

Precisely.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

It's bizarre how that works. They're made to specifications.

They’re made within tolerances.

 

[Thumpin6string]

It's bizarre how that works. They're made to specifications.

It is bizarre since we all know that different species of wood or where the wood was cut from a tree has no affect on tone with an electric instrument.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

Maple fingerboard doesn't do anything to brighten up bass tone. I believe it's actually a softer wood than rosewood. It's the electronics.

I respectfully disagree. Maybe "bright" is not the right word, but my basses with maple fingerboards have more high frequency content. I got over 20 basses at the moment, and I swap my necks a lot. Maybe it's not the hardness of the wood, but the finish on the fingerboard that contributes to that.

 

[MtManiac]

It's the "spank" of pretty much every maple neck I've played that comes to mind. Weirdly, his doesn't come up spanky at all.

What frequency band does “spanky” live in?

 

[MtManiac]

THANKFULLY, JUST IN TIME FOR THANKSGIVING, A TONEWOOD THREAD!

 

[Gilmourisgod]

There are a number of blind tests on YT comparing maple vs. rosewood boards, inconclusive at best, but I haven’t seen any that convincingly proved a maple board is brighter with the same strings and electronics. I prefer the aesthetic of a rosewood board, that’s reason enough to prefer one over the other. I think it would be an audible difference on a fretless, presumably the rosewood would be brighter, since it’s harder. Unless you routinely mash the strings into the board with Hands of Steel, you are hearing the sound of strings on frets either way.

 

[frankie5string]

If he's got EMGs in his bass, they really need to be raised up close to the strings. Really, get them as close as he can without the string slamming into them. They're extremely sensitive to the distance they sit from the strings.

I still remember my old Ibanez, which I had routed out and fitted with EMG DCs. With the pickups bolted in, at the same height as the old Ibanez pickups, it sounded kind-of tame. So we quickly raised both the neck and bridge pickups and it opened up significantly. It sounded like a completely different instrument.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Yes. I notice differences in tone when trying the same type of basses in shops. For example two Fender P basses made of the same woods with the OEM pickups and OEM strings can sound very different.

I’ve found that two players (my son and myself) playing the same bass the same way in the same rig sounds different.

 

[themickster]

How much is down to how old the strings are?

 

[JW56789]

I'd posit you'd have to put the pickups/electronics in the same bass, then listen for the difference.

I can sometimes hear a fingerboard, but it's a very subtle coloration, and for what you're describing, I'd expect a 1/4 Pounder-loaded bass to indeed sound more agressive than another example of the same bass (albeit, rosewood instead of maple fingerboard) with EMG's, usually for me the essence of a smooth, sophistocated tone. The difference you're hearing is exactly what I'd expect with those two electronic packages.

Either way, glad you're both happy with your axes.

 

[Killing Floor]

East J Retro is worth the price of admission. It’s bringing a bazooka to a slap fight. No offense, y’all. But a J Retro in any J shaped object is gonna win that fight 100 times out of 100, doesn’t matter what the finger board is.
That’s where the magic happens.

 

[JRA]

I think it would be an audible difference on a fretless, presumably the rosewood would be brighter, since it’s harder. Unless you routinely mash the strings into the board with Hands of Steel, you are hearing the sound of strings on frets either way.

agreed, with this caveat: my fretless maple fingerboards don't present a string-to-wood sound of any sort, i.e., it's a string-to-coating (poly?) sound: much different than rosewood (acoustically). but by the time it's plugged in = just another fretless EB. (i'd compare those maple boards to my ebony boards --- but only because of the finish/coating.)

 

[bass.slinger]

Maple fingerboard doesn't do anything to brighten up bass tone. I believe it's actually a softer wood than rosewood. It's the electronics.

But then a maple fingerboard is almost always coated, and the coating is typically harder than rosewood.

 

[jamro217]

Not only is it possible for two "identical" basses to be noticeably different, it's quite common. Instruments are unique. Out of every ten "off the rack" (mass produced) basses you may get eight that are pretty close. This forms the base line for determining what a model should be like. One of the ten may be garbage (a dog) and the remaining one will somehow exceed the rest making it "THE ONE". Whenever you encounter "THE ONE" buy it. That's why you go shopping and try out a bunch of the same model instrument. It doesn't matter if it's the same color as the rest or is some putrid shade of diarrhea green, if it's "THE ONE" buy it. (Paint is cheap and the SnotGlo finish can be removed as soon as you get it home.) If manufacturers could pinpoint exactly what it is that makes the great basses great they'd make all of their instruments that way. It is still a mystery where this mojo comes from. There are stories of some players getting a stock inexpensive bass that blows away their custom instrument that cost ten times the price. This may be (and probably is) a case of the inexpensive bass being The ONE of it's type and the custom being either the dog or one of the lesser of it's type. One common problem in determining quality is missing how snug the neck is attached. Make sure the screws are tight. If the neck is loose it sucks up the sustain. When you are walking on a paved sidewalk you use less energy than when you're walking in mud or quicksand. The reason is that the hard surface allows your energy to work for you. When you walk in mud you have some of your energy uselessly taken up by fighting off the sloppy surface. The same is true for bass necks. When the neck is firmly attached the notes sing and they sustain. When the neck is loose it vibrates along with the strings and cancels them out. This is a bit off topic, but good advice nonetheless. Hope it helps.

 

[mongo2]

I’ve found that two players (my son and myself) playing the same bass the same way in the same rig sounds different.

Yep, my SWAG is the player makes the tone and the bass responds to what the player does.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Yep, my SWAG is the player makes the tone and the bass responds to what the player does.

interesting.

 

[Bonafide]

What frequency band does “spanky” live in?

Its a descriptive term, a tonal characteristic, an attempt to language tone. Its been an important and legit practice in this industry for years - its not associated with frequency band. I understand the sarcasm and your joke, but with that many sum of components contributing to the fundamental quality of tone, every descriptor helps us in communicating and understanding our preferences.