What is Pau Ferro like to play?

[Jono Bolton]

I'm looking at something with a Pau Ferro fingerboard but I've never tried one before. The colour of the wood notwithstanding (I find it to often be too light and streaky for my taste but the one I'm looking at is quite dark and even), what's the grain and texture like compared to the traditional rosewood? I've tried instruments with Indian Laurel fretboards before and really didn't like it; it felt very dry even when it had been recently oiled and had a very open grain that you could comfortably stick a fingernail into. 

[Lfalex v1.1]

Had a fretless 1990 Stingray 5 with a Pau Ferro 'board. It sounded fine (apart from my intonation!), and was as tough as you want. 

[lemmywinks]

Also had a fretless (Warmoth Jazz) with Pau Ferro board and neck, great to play and very hard wearing. As a fingerboard wood it's like a halfway house between rosewood and ebony really, definitely didn't find it dry although I think my bass (I got it used) had an oiled finish. As a neck wood it felt nice and smooth, I never needed to adjust it (it did also have carbon rods IIRC) and great to play, again not dry at all.

 

Liked it and would have another, in fact if I was to spec a custom bass I'd probably lean towards it as it was both practical and visually appealing. I wish I hadn't sold the bass tbh!

Edited 22 hours ago by lemmywinks

[Linus27]

I had a fretless with Pau Ferro and I really didn't like it, it felt cold and brittle. I also feel like that with Rosewood a little but not as bad. Ebony for fretless is unbelievable and my preferred wood for fretless followed by graphite. For a fretted bass then I don't think it makes any difference as you are fretting onto the frets.

[Reggaebass]

I had the fender classic 70s jazz bass that had Pau ferro fingerboard, I can’t say it felt much different to my other jazzes really, apart from being maybe smoother and lighter in colour 

Edited 22 hours ago by Reggaebass

[BigRedX]

Unless the bass is fretless you shouldn't be pressing down on the strings so hard that you come into contact with the fingerboard.

 

For me fretted bass fingerboards are chosen for looks and nothing else.

[Mediocre Polymath]

As others have said, I think for a fretted bass the difference between fingerboard woods is mostly a cosmetic thing. My home-made fretless has a Pau Ferro board, I ended up lacquering it because I prefer the feel of a lacquered fingerboard on a fretless, but it was fine before.

 

It's a very hard, very dense wood. Not to the same extent as Ebony, but I was able to sand it so smooth I could see my face in it.

 

[MichaelDean]

I've got a pau ferro fretboard on a Harley Benton LP copy. Feels like rosewood, very similar pore structure, just a bit lighter in colour. It's absolutley not an issue.

[2pods]

I had a fretted 20th anniversary Stingray that had a really nice Pau Ferro fingerboard.

It felt smooth and fast.

Edited 58 minutes ago by 2pods

[Lozz196]

I had a Precision with PF fretboard for a while, to me just felt like rosewood. I don`t like it when it`s light and streaky but that`s a visual preference, soundwise and playability wise no issues.

[Rosie C]

My fretless jazz has a PF fretboard and I like it. When it arrived the wood did have a dry open texture feel to it. I applied a series of fine sand paper and waxed it and I'm very happy with the result.

 

[Misdee]

I remember when Pau Ferro was considered an exotic upgrade on woods like rosewood and maple.  Spector NS2  basses used it for fingerboards back in their 1980's heyday, as did Sadowsky. It's only since rosewood had that funny turn where it became an endangered species that Pau Ferro has become more mainstream and thus invited suspicion that it might be an inferior wood. 

 

Bass Player Magazine used to contend that Pau Ferro was sonically halfway between rosewood and maple, if I remember correctly. I can believe that, because it's notably denser and harder than rosewood.

Edited 21 hours ago by Misdee

[simonlittle]

I had a Sandberg TM4 with a pau ferro fingerboard. lt felt very similar to rosewood to be honest. The bass had a lovely rich tone; not sure how much of that was the fingerboard but it certainly sounded warmer than a very similar bass I had with a rosewood board. 

[neepheid]

Is the bass in question fretted?

Edited 20 hours ago by neepheid

[Schnozzalee]

Indian Laurel is a shitter, which is why it hasn't been used before. In some countries it's know as 'dog turd deluxe' but I forget which.

 

Pau Ferro however has been and as mentioned above, is between Rosewood and Ebony in terms of feel. I think it looks great in the flesh too and makes me regret not buying a Victor Bailey.

Edited 19 hours ago by Schnozzalee

[LeftyJ]

I have a Pau Ferro fingerboard on my Sandberg Lionel and I love it! I've seen examples that look pretty pale and bland, but the one on mine is grainy and colourful and looks fantastic IMO. It's also not nearly as porous as rosewood, but much more dense like ebony. 

Edited 19 hours ago by LeftyJ

[Misdee]

I've got a very thick Morado(Pau Ferro) fingerboard on my Sadowsky Will Lee and it looks and sounds great. Apparently Roger Sadowsky is a big fan of that particular wood for fingerboards, describing it as  sounding warmer than maple or ebony but tighter than rosewood. 

 

 To me, the biggest difference I can hear between fingerboards is whether they are lacquered or not rather than between different woods, but I'm sure there must be something in it.

[HeadlessBassist]

Many moons ago I ordered a brand new five string Mexican Fender Jazz which had a Pao Ferro fingerboard. They're okay, sound good and make the percussive frequencies warmer. The only downside that to my fingertips, the wood tended to feel almost 'furry'.

[Woodinblack]

18 hours ago, BigRedX said:

For me fretted bass fingerboards are chosen for looks and nothing else.

 

Agreed - I didnt' think it was a great looking wood for that, but certainly not something I thought about other than the first glance. I mean I prefer ebony because its black, then wenge as it has nice markings.

[neepheid]

I don't even notice the fingerboard when I'm playing and I don't think I'm particularly delicate when I'm pushing down on strings.  Ignorance is bliss, I guess.  It's a purely aesthetic choice for me, and it sounds like I'm fortunate, because agonising over what a thin strip of wood is made of sure seems to torture and torment a few folk out there.

 

[mattpbass]

20 minutes ago, HeadlessBassist said:

Many moons ago I ordered a brand new five string Mexican Fender Jazz which had a Pao Ferro fingerboard. They're okay, sound good and make the percussive frequencies warmer. The only downside that to my fingertips, the wood tended to feel almost 'furry'.

Agreed, I hate the furry feel of Pau Ferro, I would never choose it over rosewood or maple. 

Edited 3 hours ago by mattpbass

[admiralchew]

I have pau ferro on a fretted Warwick Streamer and on the Fender Jaco fretless jazz and I like it a lot on both. In fact, I liked it so much on the Warwick that I was giving serious consideration to using it on a custom bass. I loved how warm the tone was, albeit it’s difficult to discern how much of that is down to the fretboard wood and how much is down to other factors.