Erni3ball Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 I like the sound of a maple board but I always seem to be more comfortable with a rosewood board somehow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikanHannille Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 I like rosewood but maple is growing on me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreeneKing Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Hmmm... Buy an ACG with an acrylicised (sp) fingerboard then you aren't limited to certain more stable woods and maple won't get quickly grubby. Tone differences? marginal at best in my opinion. Wenge is nice. Balsa anyone? How about this one though? [url=http://peterb4407.smugmug.com/Other/SmugShots/20297576_MJZnTm#!i=3135566933&k=nTGRb8x&lb=1&s=A][/url] Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Maple neck and Rosewood board... for sound, AND looks if blocked and bound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 I`ve always gravitated to rosewood boards, but my new band both requires a twangier sound, and we play venues where the lights can be aimed rather awkwardly, so a maple board helps on both fronts - though re the twangier part, not sure how much translates into the mix, but it makes me feel better, and that`s what counts. Certainly being able to see what I`m playing is a real bonus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dark Lord Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 One thing you ought to consider. I have had many Fender basses, most of which have been rosewood, but I have had the odd maple one here and there. When I am playing at a gig I find it easier to see the frets on a rosewood board than a maple one. I find the lighting can reflect off of a maple board and make it more difficult to see the frets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Ah, I`ve found the opposite, bright lights really dazzle me and can find the black-spot on a light background easier than light-spot on dark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsgbass Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Go fretless, and you don't worry about lighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1335347350' post='1629508'] On average I do one 'pop' every two years. [/quote] Must be your diet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 My own experience is that I'm not talented enough to detect any significant sonic difference. Cosmetically rosewood with blocks or maple with dots of any colour please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 [quote name='MikanHannille' timestamp='1395482463' post='2402868'] I like rosewood but maple is growing on me. [/quote] Ouch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 [quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1395524070' post='2403439'] Must be your diet [/quote] I said that two years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1395513889' post='2403309'] ...bright lights really dazzle me and can find the black-spot on a light background easier than light-spot on dark. [size=4][/quote][/size] [quote name='gsgbass' timestamp='1395518500' post='2403366'] ...Go fretless, and you don't worry about lighting. [/quote] If you're looking at the fretboard you need to practice more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telebass Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1395483706' post='2402896'] Maple neck and Rosewood board... for sound, AND looks if blocked and bound. [/quote] True. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisanthony1211 Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Can't beat a bit of graphite! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrammeFriday Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 [quote name='GremlinAndy' timestamp='1335275671' post='1628441'] Maple is chosen for it's properties for the neck and rosewood for the fingerboard for different reasons. I don't think that making a rosewood neck with maple fingerboard would yeild a desirable neck tbh. Maybe an actual lutier could explain why that isn't done...? I have offered my opinion on a single Fender P with minimal differences ...Same body, same pick-ups the same strings, with a swapped out neck and I can say that, that was definitely enough for *me* to form an opinion. I have many basses which all sound different too, but I agree with what you say, that's not such a useful test for forming opinions. [/quote] Never heard of a rosewood neck with a maple board, but there is this: http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/SR5_Rosewood_neck,_White.html Looks nice, but must weigh a ton! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westie9 Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Maple is my first choice... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom1946 Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Maple every time. Roses are maple violets are maple I love maple maple. I have one rosewood neck, it's a bound 75 reissue with blocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 If you had a stainless steel neck you'd expect it to make the bass sound bright as the material is so hard. Maple is a hard wood, rosewood even harder, ebony hardest of all. The string runs from the bridge to the metal frets. The tone difference of the string when held against a metal fret set in hard wood or marginally harder wood is going to be marginal, if at all audible/measurable. Maple looks brighter and so may give the impression of sounding brighter than rosewood but is slightly less hard and so is more likely to give a less bright sound. A layer of lacquer on the maple is young to keep it clean but not much else. The Fender maple fingerboards used to be one piece as cutting the frets directly into the maple neck was cheaper than adding a separate, harder fingerboard. The skunk stripe was from the truss rod being added to the back of the neck instead of the front. Nowadays, as has been posted, the process for standard basses is uniform, either a maple or rosewood fingerboard is stuck over the front mounted truss rod (same for both MM and Fender and, it seems, everyone else). I believe there would be a difference between these modern necks with separate finger boards and the older one piece necks, but not so much in tone but in resonance. Almost any solid maple bass neck has a resonance on the 5th fret of the G string in which the body/neck system absorbs vibrations to give a short sustain and a bit of buzz against your belly. With any composite construction this will be compromised and so the is sustain more even across the strings and frets. Also, Mr Letts is perfectly correct when he says that rosewood holds the fret tangs better than the softer maple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattmit Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 They're both just so nice. I shant choose!! I love bass, I love rosewood, I love maple! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erni3ball Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 (edited) Well.. that's just like your opinion dude Edited March 31, 2014 by Erni3ball Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ead Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 I struggle to see how it would make a discernable difference on a fretted bass when at the end of the day your fingers are putting pressure on a string to jam it onto a fret. I guess you can feel a bit of the board at each side, maybe more so with the narrower gauge strings. But if you play with a light touch then I guess less so. On a fretless I think it does make a difference in feel. FWIW My two fretted basses have acrylic impregnated maple boards. Dead easy to clean if they get a bit grubby. Look nicer than rosewood for me although YMMV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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