Ebony, I play fretless, it's hard, pretty, and traditional for stringed instruments. As a bonus the inappropriate humor when discussing this is priceless.
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Why do, if you do, prefer one fingerboard material over the others?
- Thread starter Dlew919
- Start date
Thick slab of dark rosewood for me. Looks good from day one and will still look good 40+ years later. Sound wise, seems to be fat and rounded edges but you can adjust tone by changing the pickups and strings according to me.
Wait....it sounds rounded edges?Thick slab of dark rosewood for me. Looks good from day one and will still look good 40+ years later. Sound wise, seems to be fat and rounded edges but you can adjust tone by changing the pickups and strings according to me.
.....isn't that like saying is sounds blue?
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Yes, at least for me ! That said, I can make my thick rosewood fretboard bass scream like hell when playing rock by adjusting the EQ and playing it harder with no issue.
Your rosewood fretboard is twice as hard as a maple fretboard...
if it made a difference (I don't believe we can hear it) your rosewood board should always scream more than a maple one.
But you are using descriptors like "sounds rounded edges" and "scream like hell" which to me is like saying a particular wood sounds blue as opposed to triangular.
Why would one fretboard wood be better or worse for rock music than another?
Have you ever done blind tests with the same bass by only changing the neck?
I recently changed the neck on a 80's Peavey Fury bass, the original was a 1987 all maple Fury neck and now it has a 1987 Fury neck that has a rosewood fretboard....
the bass sounds the same now as it did before.
That's because it has all the same parts with just a change in fretboard wood.
The important parts that stayed the same are...the pickup, strings, amp, scale length, frets, and the same person playing it the same way.
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Maple.
You can see it way easier on a dark stage.
It’s also much lighter.
I got a bass with a white shade of Pau Ferro for the fingerboard. I did know that’s shade of pau ferro existed, but it looks like maple and is easily my favorite sounding and feel fingerboard I have.
You can see it way easier on a dark stage.
It’s also much lighter.
I got a bass with a white shade of Pau Ferro for the fingerboard. I did know that’s shade of pau ferro existed, but it looks like maple and is easily my favorite sounding and feel fingerboard I have.
I prefer dark fingerboards. For some reason I have a slightly harder time seeing the strings over a lighter fingerboard wood (which is a shame, because I think birdseye maple boards *look* gorgeous).
I somewhat prefer the feel of smooth nice closed grain ebony under the fingers, but for me the main thing is the dark colored wood.
I somewhat prefer the feel of smooth nice closed grain ebony under the fingers, but for me the main thing is the dark colored wood.
You and millions of others.
Maple is half as hard as Rosewood.
Hard Maple 1450 on the Janka hardness scale.
Brazilian Rosewood 2790 on the Janka hardness scale.
I think because the Maple used for necks is Hard Maple, also called Rock Maple, Hard Rock Maple, Canadian Hard Rock Maple.
Then our eyes take over and see nice soft brown, warm, chocolate, rich dark chocolate colored Rosewood and we do what humans do with our powerful brain.
I think it is similar to our brains telling us a hot red car is faster than a cream colored one.
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I suppose that’s why rosewood is favoured over maple for fretless basses. I did wonder why Fender don’t offer maple for fretless basses (whereas they did in the 70s).
It depends on the bass. I would probably most certainly prefer one or the other given the choice per bass, but I don't have a global favorite. I have a maple 70s jazz, a rosewood 60s Precision, and in 2 days, a maple 70s Stingray.
What I have above is what I prefer for each of those bass types. But I could easily love the opposite on any of them.
What I have above is what I prefer for each of those bass types. But I could easily love the opposite on any of them.
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For me, it’s strictly based on looks. It’s about what color boards goes best with the color scheme of the body. I can play on all board materials equally well, and get pretty much any bass of any materials sounding the same as the next.
So Anyway, there's so many factors that contribute to how a bass sounds, sustains, etc. that I prefer not to contemplate all the options.
But I did have an 80's Carvin with an ebony fingerboard. It was a great bass, and the ebony was a nice touch...solid and smooth.
But I did have an 80's Carvin with an ebony fingerboard. It was a great bass, and the ebony was a nice touch...solid and smooth.
As it happens, I was in town today without wife and/or kids (which, like, never happens). So I went into the music shop and had a look at the basses. Tried out a Player Plus active Jazz, as I’d never tried an active bass, and wanted to see what the fuss was about.
Not having seen them in person before, I couldn’t believe how light the colour of the Pau Ferro fretboards was. Like nowhere near rosewood. The colour seemed just about closer to a to a tinted maple than a traditional rosewood.
If I wasn’t used to rosewood, I might have liked it. However, it did strike me as having a slight diarrhoea tinge to it. The lighting in the shop may have contributed.
Not having seen them in person before, I couldn’t believe how light the colour of the Pau Ferro fretboards was. Like nowhere near rosewood. The colour seemed just about closer to a to a tinted maple than a traditional rosewood.
If I wasn’t used to rosewood, I might have liked it. However, it did strike me as having a slight diarrhoea tinge to it. The lighting in the shop may have contributed.
Must agree with you………..
I never really payed attention on fretboard material that much for the sound anyway but much more for the look and toughness over time.
And sound differences between woods always seemed to be rather subtle to me.
