Why do, if you do, prefer one fingerboard material over the others?

[2112]

Here comes the part where I reap the whirlwind:

 

[HolmeBass]

I like darker fingerboard woods. Rose wood, pau ferro, tiger stripe ebony, ebony. I have no reason for this other than correlation - of the basses I own, the ones I use to gig all fall into this category. My two maple fingerboard basses don't usually make it to gigs.

 

[2thAche]

Im in the same boat in regards to the "brown" woods. I traditionally was more of a JBass style with maple fretboards, i wanted to switch it up completely and get a P but with almost the inverse. My original laklad skyline Joe Osborn (Jbass) was black with black guard and maple fretboard with black dots.. so i wanted White... long story short they messed up my order.. i returned it but then stumbled across this limited edition in a local store when i was looking at others of the same model.

Normally im not a huge rosewood fan... but the grain on this is so consistant and dark, its like a step away from ebony IMO and i actually love it. Not a huge fan of pau ferro, especially the orangy looking stuff or streaky or lighter rosewood.
View attachment 5289744 View attachment 5289743

That's dark like ebony. Great looking bass.

 

[micguy]

I always liked a board that was interesting - not all black or monolithic brown. But recently, I've come to appreciate a roasted maple board because....if the whole neck (neck and fretboard) is roasted maple (all my necks are roasted maple at this point), the neck is incredibly stable. If you make a neck with two kinds of wood, it will want to warp over humidity changes. Living in an area where we have lots of humidity swing, this is a big concern.

 

[bass12]

I see several people referring to the feel of fretboard wood and I need this one explained to me. How are you feeling the fretboard wood? Is it the edges people are talking about or the wood under the strings? I've owned basses with rosewood, maple, ebony, wenge, cocobolo, pau ferro and phenolic fretboards and I have never been aware of any difference in the feel of the wood while playing.

 

[HolmeBass]

I prefer the Maple and Brown Sugar over Apples and Cinnamon. Oops, sorry. I just kept seeing maple and started thinking of Quaker Instant Oatmeal. Can't wait for breakfast.

Oatmeal. The carrots of breakfast.

 

[bassdude51]

Aesthetics. How a fretboard matches with the body.

I will say that I love the looks of ebony but I have found it to be a bit "tappy" sounding when I fret a note and the string hits the fret. YMMV

 

[petermwright]

Also a tonewood skeptic. I like a dark rosewood, aesthetically.

 

[Sam Evans]

My fret/fingerboard wood preferences are relative. That is, I have a strong opinion, but it depends on the look of the rest of the bass. I'm rosewood or ebony in my current lineup, but I could see maple with the right bass.

And I greatly prefer no inlays.

 

[Luther]

I enjoy the sounds of maple and ebony that many of you cannot hear

Unlike you, I hear fretboards with my eyes - LOL.

 

[ElectricBass72]

I prefer maple fretboards, but I have no problem with rosewood, ebony, Pau Ferro, jatoba or panga panga fretboards.

 

[HardNHeavy]

purely visual why i like rosewood, just seems to go with anything like black ...I really like the look of wenge necks as the color goes all the way thru to the headstock....maple is cool too, but imo only on particular colors.

 

[Sam Evans]

Today I Learned about Richlite/Richwood. Interesting.

 

[dustinymichaels]

I also agree that there is no wrong answer. I've always preferred Rosewood, I guess because it's softer. Aesthetically I prefer the look. My first bass was Rosewood and I've tried Maple but I always sell them off because something doesn't fit.

 

[Dave W]

I prefer maple for aesthetics

 

[HubbardsFate]

There was a time you couldn't have GIVEN me a bass with a maple 'board; I just loathed the looks of 'em. Over the years I have done a complete 180, and maple is now my fretboard wood of choice.

But there is a caveat: I'm talking FRETTED basses. If I were to delve into blank-plank fretless tomorrow, I'd be wanting, as first choice, an ebony 'board, and after that, probably rosewood. I find blank-plank maple weird looking.

 

[socialleper]

I like the bright attack of ebony, or similar African dark woods like panga panga or wenge.
For a warmer tone I like good old rosewood.

I think maple is ugly and don't like the way it sounds. Too nasal.

 

[Ron Berenato]

When I bought my first G&L I had two to choose from. One with a maple neck and one with a rosewood or whatever dark colored fingerboard. The maple was slightly slimmer and played better than the other. I've been a maple guy ever since.

 

[hennessybass]

aesthetically - I like a dark board with a light colored bass.
Like natural finish with a dark rosewood board, sonic-blue with an ebony board, etc...

Currently all my basses have rosewood boards, and one has a solid rosewood neck.
I think the board / neck has an effect on tone, and I think maple brings the snap and rosewood brings the thump.

 

[eestatic]

My old eyes feel more comfortable with a darker board. It helps me see the strings better than a lighter background. I like ALL of the variety of tones though.