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transition rosewood to maple fretboard

H

hambone1

Sep 13, 2006
145
3
#1
I have read up on this a good bit on this but...

Appearance wise has anyone switched and regretted it or did it just take some time to get used to the maple over rosewood looks-wise.

I ask b/c the bass I am interested in honestly looks better with maple. But I am accustomed to rosewood. I dont want to not get the bass because I have some sort of mental block against maple.

May be a somewhat silly topic but I would appreciate some feedback.

Thanks.
 
#5
I think I'm a rosewood guy too but I was wondering how much thats in my head. I noticed that maple seems to be smoother and harder which takes some adjustment. Call me crazy but looking at a maple board bothers me.

However, I am looking at a Amer. Precision deluxe and love the look of the maple neck. I have a guitar with a tinted maple neck that I am pretty comfortable with.
 
#9
Most maple 'boards are lacquered which makes a difference to how the 'board feels.

However, I wouldn't worry about it or think about it too much. If the bass sounds good to you and feels good to you, then that's all that counts. If it happens to look cool, that a bonus.
 
#10
I have a slight preference for maple boards, but it's mostly a cosmetic thing.

I typically only touch the strings so the feel of the board isn't terribly important to me.

The feel of the back of the neck and the neck profile are far bigger concerns when I'm choosing a bass.
 
#12
See I've only recently had the pleasure of playing a handful of maple necked basses. I was playing rosewood Squiers and Ibanez and I started to like the look of maple aesthetically. But, aside from the obvious difference in width and shape of the neck, I never really noticed a physical difference when playing a maple fretboard over a rosewood. I got a black P with a maple neck and I haven't turned back.
 
#15
JTE said:
I ignore such cosmetic issues. Play the bass, not the catalog!...
Click to expand...

+1

Indeed. I honestly hope the importance of music performance at least rivals that of appearance. For some of our younger ones, I know that can be a tough concept. All I can say is that if one can't play well, the only ones who will "see" you play will be you, your Mom, and the mirror. :rollno:
 
#18
I'm surprised that most people play both! I can't play maple the same way I can play rosewood...even my bass instructor agreed with me that he prefers rosewood as well.

Yet most on here say there is no difference - IMO there is a difference. I can't slide as cleanly on a maple, and truth be told I can't fret as well. Psychological perhaps? I love the look of maple but I had a Squire Jazz with maple neck and an ATK 305..I couldn't stand the necks on either.

I guess I've got to give my playing a bit more time - maybe in the future the difference won't bug me.
 

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