I've gone with whatever was on the bass I've bought. The three I have now are jatoba, rosewood and panga panga.
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Why do, if you do, prefer one fingerboard material over the others?
- Thread starter Dlew919
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I tried maple, rosewood, pau ferro, ebony and wenge.
Wenge is king. Great feel. Feels super premium. Wenge every day.
Wenge is king. Great feel. Feels super premium. Wenge every day.
Another vote for wenge here, second choice when wenge is not available goes to maple, I feel they are more clear sounding than the others (but to be true once I blind tested 2 stingrays I owned (same model, same amp, same settings and same strings) and I couldn't recognize them by the sound only)
I've only had two Jazz Basses since 1966. I had a 1965 Jazz that I bought in 1966 that came with a rosewood fretboard and an '82 Jazz that I bought in 1985 that came with an all-maple neck.
My opinion is that the rosewood looks better but I seem to get a lot more sustain out of the all-maple one. So I'd say I prefer the all-maple neck. The only difference between those necks is that the '65 has the rosewood fretboard and the '82 is all-maple. Both necks are the 60's slim C-shape neck with the 7.25" radius. It took me almost 10-years to find another Jazz with that neck after my '65 was stolen in 1976. The 1982 maple-neck Jazz has markedly more sustain than my '65 did.
For me it's entirely about how it looks. Some body finishes and pickguard combos need one versus the other.
3TS always needs rosewood, or something dark like ebony or laurel. Black body without a matching headstock needs maple, with a matching headstock, it needs something dark. However, because it's often dark, roasted maple has the ability to throw all my otherwise aesthetic choices with respect to maple out the window, so it's really a case by case thing.
While I believe an individual piece of wood can have tonal characteristics that differ from another piece of wood, I'm not much into the idea of species of woods affecting tone in particular ways, it just doesn't stand up to my experience, so it's all about looks for me - assuming it sounds good.
I've had rosewood fretboards that sound bright and snappy, and maple boards that sound warm and slurry. Change the strings to a different type or swap out the pickups and it all gets reset.
Haven't had an opportunity to play an all-rosewood neck, but I'm definitely intrigued by the looks. I love the roasted maple neck and fretboard on my Charvel and the roasted maple neck and ebony board on my Stingray.
3TS always needs rosewood, or something dark like ebony or laurel. Black body without a matching headstock needs maple, with a matching headstock, it needs something dark. However, because it's often dark, roasted maple has the ability to throw all my otherwise aesthetic choices with respect to maple out the window, so it's really a case by case thing.
While I believe an individual piece of wood can have tonal characteristics that differ from another piece of wood, I'm not much into the idea of species of woods affecting tone in particular ways, it just doesn't stand up to my experience, so it's all about looks for me - assuming it sounds good.
I've had rosewood fretboards that sound bright and snappy, and maple boards that sound warm and slurry. Change the strings to a different type or swap out the pickups and it all gets reset.
Haven't had an opportunity to play an all-rosewood neck, but I'm definitely intrigued by the looks. I love the roasted maple neck and fretboard on my Charvel and the roasted maple neck and ebony board on my Stingray.
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That " ping" and piano like sustain is why I avoid ebony. However, I do like it on fretless.
Pau Ferro is one that I don't like the looks .
Give me a nice chocolate rosewood or figured maple and I'm good. They both feel and respond perfectly to flats .
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Alright. I'll play, but I'm going to catch nineteen different kinds of Hell ...
I am no fan of maple fingerboards (although I own a few). Rosewood is okay. Indian Laurel, ditto.
Here comes the part where I reap the whirlwind:
I like Richlite.
It's environmentally friendly. It sounds on par with any of the others (as far as I'm concerned) and using it means I can have monochrome instruments (which I love) without having to settle for "miss-matched" fingerboards.
I have quite a few great looking instruments ... dark colors with maple boards just throws the whole look off for me.
I am no fan of maple fingerboards (although I own a few). Rosewood is okay. Indian Laurel, ditto.
Here comes the part where I reap the whirlwind:
I like Richlite.
It's environmentally friendly. It sounds on par with any of the others (as far as I'm concerned) and using it means I can have monochrome instruments (which I love) without having to settle for "miss-matched" fingerboards.
I have quite a few great looking instruments ... dark colors with maple boards just throws the whole look off for me.
I like ebony for it's dark tone.
I like maple for it's bright yet warm tone.
I like purpleheart for it's funky purple tone.
...no wait, or am I thinking of hue?
I like maple for it's bright yet warm tone.
I like purpleheart for it's funky purple tone.
...no wait, or am I thinking of hue?
Just for looks, I prefer pure black for fingerboard material, the darkest ebony available. If not that, then maple. I'm not a huge fan of rosewood. Pau ferro is right out.
Does the choice of board affect the sound? Of course, everything involved in the construction, playing, and playing environment of a bass does... it's just not enough that I notice. Except in the case of the phenolic boards I've played... they tend to sound a touch sterile to me... and that's not always a bad thing.
Does the choice of board affect the sound? Of course, everything involved in the construction, playing, and playing environment of a bass does... it's just not enough that I notice. Except in the case of the phenolic boards I've played... they tend to sound a touch sterile to me... and that's not always a bad thing.
I have 2 rosewoods which are my favorites, I have 1 maple which I like just fine. I have 1 pao ferro which plays fine but the look has never really grown on me. Sometimes I wonder how hard it would be to stain it. Anyways, rosewood wins for me.
Rosewood. Every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
The darker the better.
The darker the better.
D
Generally rosewood. I love the look, I love how it feels under my fingers and I love the tone/dynamics.
If we're talking only about visual appearance it will depend on the color/design of the bass.
If we're talking about tone... The differences are rather subtle but I still generally prefer rosewood. The only fretboard material I don't like (on a fretted bass) is ebony. Too bright and too "fast" dynamics for my taste. I like the softer attack, the "bloom" and warmth of a rosewood board. In fact, it's probably more about dynamics than "tone". I like ebony on humbucker equipped guitars and on many acoustics though.
If we're talking only about visual appearance it will depend on the color/design of the bass.
If we're talking about tone... The differences are rather subtle but I still generally prefer rosewood. The only fretboard material I don't like (on a fretted bass) is ebony. Too bright and too "fast" dynamics for my taste. I like the softer attack, the "bloom" and warmth of a rosewood board. In fact, it's probably more about dynamics than "tone". I like ebony on humbucker equipped guitars and on many acoustics though.
D
I've played many wonderful sounding guitars with Richlite fretboards and actually think it's a great alternative to traditional wood in many ways. However...
I've only tried to refret a Richlite guitar once, and I will think VERY carefully before I agree to do another one. I have lots of experience with refretting guitars but this one was a nightmare! Maybe the one I refretted had some issues that isn't typical for Richlite guitars in general? Maybe a different technique is required for Richwood? I will at least do a lot more research before I ever agree to do it again. But if a Richlite equipped guitar can't be refretted and kept in great shape for DECADES to come it's not very environmental friendly, is it? The longevity of a product is usually THE most important factor for the environment.
I'm also not convinced about the claims that Richlite as a material is more environmental friendly than wood. It's basically paper (=wood) that has been processed and treated with chemicals. How can wood that's more processed, with more chemicals be more enviromental friendly than plain wood? Provided of course that the wood has been grown sustainably in both cases. This probably rules out many types of exotic woods so I guess Richlite might be a more sustainable alternative to SOME types of wood, but to ALL types wood? I just don't see it.
Richlite is bangin for fretless. I haven't encountered the shrinkage/movement issues with rich that I have with lined fretless boards or with the odd piece of cranky ebony moving about. Richlite can take a fairly solid beating from roundwounds too. Just my experience. May not b the experience of others.
