Dom in Dorset Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 My home build project for next year is a twin neck fretted/fretless. I've made most of the desisions about pick ups, neck style etc The last big desision is what wood for the fret(less) board? Time, ability, budget, limit me to a choice between maple and rosewood, I have a rosewood board on my acoustic fretless , it does the job. Is there any big difference with maple? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigsmokebass Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 get a bright sound from maple unlike the warm from rosewood, personally i'd use rose' for fretless and maple for the fretted. keep us updated with pictures, would be great to see how you get along and comment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emanew Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 (edited) Hi, Considering the fact that you already have your woods, I agree withbigsmokebass. But there is always a but... A question : what wood will you use for the body ? A total "gold" (natural if you prefer) bass would be cool : ash body and maple fretless neck and fingerboard. A splendid bassplayer Jean-Marc JAFET played a long time with this kind of set. One day he decided to change for a ebony fingerboard. Hard wood in the 2 cases. I also own a maple fingerboard fretless with active electronic. I boost a little bit the bass knob and i am at home. I like the maple reactivity. I think you have to find your own balance between look and sound. Edited December 13, 2009 by Emanew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 depends on what sound you want. If you are looking for a mellow and warm sound with growl, all mahogany is hard to beat. If you're looking for a singing tone with lots of sustain then I'd suggest hard maple. Fingerboard material is very important as well, maple stains, rosewood can be eaten by roundwounds so I guess that leaves ebony, pau ferro or phenolic if you want to use rounds. If you prefer flats then rosewood should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted December 14, 2009 Author Share Posted December 14, 2009 I am limited to maple or rosewood, as for strings , I'm using Picato Black Nylons on my acoustic and I'll probably use them on the fretless neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 You'll be alright with Rosewood and nylon stings but it probably won't sound very lively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted December 14, 2009 Author Share Posted December 14, 2009 I'm tempted to go with maple + nylons for the bright tone, I can always take the trebble of if it's too much? I'm going for P bass type pick ups, I think if I was using Jazz pick ups then rosewood might be the better choice. Maple is also slightly cheaper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martthebass Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 (edited) I've had fretless basses with Rosewood (MIA Jazz), Phenolic (Fender-Status Jazz thing) and Ebony (my current Overwater). Out of the 3 my preference is ebony. Rosewood for me was nice and mwwahhhy but could struggle with definition at the dusty end. The phenolic was too bright and clattery (even with flats). I find ebony gives a good balance of the 2, though it may be a bit bright for some tastes on rounds (I always use flats so can't comment on this). Also I just love the feel of ebony when playing, silky smoot and warm - well worth paying the price for a piece thats even blacker than the blackest black pudding (where even the white bits are black). Edited December 14, 2009 by martthebass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted December 14, 2009 Author Share Posted December 14, 2009 what pick up regime does your Overwater have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martthebass Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 You can see the config on the piccie in this thread Dom: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=66085&st=0&p=646554&#entry646554"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...mp;#entry646554[/url] Soap bars? Some Overwater specialist will probably have a better idea about the pickup type than me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 I wouldn't pass on rosewood just because you want to use rounds. Avoid steel, and any grooving you get with rounds will be minor, slow to develop and easily sorted by a luthier. I use Elixirs on a rosewood fretless and seem to get no wear at all, and it's my main bass played every day. fatback Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted December 14, 2009 Author Share Posted December 14, 2009 i'm not too concerned about ware to the board, I'l almost certainly be using black nylon flats, I'd have thought that the nylon would ware out before any damage was done to the board itself. My main concern is the effect on tone and response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 [quote name='Dom in Somerset' post='684130' date='Dec 14 2009, 05:16 PM']i'm not too concerned about ware to the board, I'l almost certainly be using black nylon flats, I'd have thought that the nylon would ware out before any damage was done to the board itself. My main concern is the effect on tone and response.[/quote] I should imagine with nylon flats it won't really matter what wood you use for the boards - the strings are so unique sounding. I like maple fretless boards because of the look and the ultra smooth feel but the sound can often be as much to do with the coating (which they definitely need), so tend to be quite bright, which could give your flats some extra definition, or make them sound too clanky and clattery, depending on your point of view. Rosewood won't be a problem wear-wise whatever strings you use unless you're a 7 nights a week gigger. Being nosey, I'm wondering why ebony has been factored out of the equation - you're looking at another tenner at the most for an ebony blank and for a fretless, there's nothing quite like it, silky, quick and with a perfectly balanced sound (IMHO). Sounds brilliant by the way. Maybe you could post some pictures on the build diaries section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted December 14, 2009 Author Share Posted December 14, 2009 The reason why I'm limited to maple or rosewood is because i'm buying two off the peg necks and that's what's available in my price range! The price is even more of an issue as i have to buy two of every thing. Pictures will be posted as soon as there is anything to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 [quote name='Crazykiwi' post='683589' date='Dec 14 2009, 12:22 AM']Fingerboard material is very important as well, maple stains, rosewood can be eaten by roundwounds so I guess that leaves ebony, pau ferro or phenolic if you want to use rounds. If you prefer flats then rosewood should be fine.[/quote] Pau ferro's no better than rosewood for wear. Ebony holds up very well against roundwounds by comparison, feels a lot nicer to me, and sounds more... orchestral I suppose, my favourite. Can't comment on phenolic boards because I've never owned one, but they do sound good, very broad tone, plenty of brightness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 [quote name='Dom in Somerset' post='684541' date='Dec 14 2009, 10:30 PM']The reason why I'm limited to maple or rosewood is because i'm buying two off the peg necks and that's what's available in my price range! The price is even more of an issue as i have to buy two of every thing. Pictures will be posted as soon as there is anything to see.[/quote] In that case I'd definitely go for rosewood - you're unlikely to find a fretless maple neck off the peg and they do add a bit of complication as you shouldn't really use them fretless unless the finish has been beefed up on the board itself. Using rosewood will give you plenty of choice neck wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted December 15, 2009 Author Share Posted December 15, 2009 Both necks will be fretted, one will be de-fretted. I can't find fretless necks off the peg without spending hundreds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martthebass Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Based on the above I think I'd go Rosewood. I personally wouldn't defret a maple or phenolic board...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 [quote name='martthebass' post='685045' date='Dec 15 2009, 12:24 PM']Based on the above I think I'd go Rosewood. I personally wouldn't defret a maple or phenolic board......[/quote] +1. Defret and refin of a maple board could be more expensive than a factory fretless neck with an ebony board, which IMO is your best bet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted December 15, 2009 Author Share Posted December 15, 2009 I'm happy to de-fret anf finish the board myself. I've done this before. I was thinking this time that I'd like to file the frets back leaving the tangs as markers, i've seen this done and it looked nice. The nickel dust would get ingrained in the maple and look nasty, so it may well be rosewood. I wish I could remember whos bass it was with the "stoned to the tangs fets", it was posted here a couple of months back, I can't remember waht the board was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted December 15, 2009 Author Share Posted December 15, 2009 That's the one: looks like rosewood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 (edited) [quote name='Dom in Somerset' post='685093' date='Dec 15 2009, 01:51 PM']I'm happy to de-fret anf finish the board myself. I've done this before. I was thinking this time that I'd like to file the frets back leaving the tangs as markers, i've seen this done and it looked nice. The nickel dust would get ingrained in the maple and look nasty, so it may well be rosewood. I wish I could remember whos bass it was with the "stoned to the tangs fets", it was posted here a couple of months back, I can't remember waht the board was.[/quote] You'd be much better off taking the frets out completely and filling the gaps with wood, you can see one of the tangs already fell out and there's another sticking up. I'd still go the rosewood route too - I think lined fretless looks much nicer in rosewood, and you won't need to mess around with a finish (although I have to admit they do look kinda nice) [url="http://www.woodwiz.com/epoxy/pictures.html"]Thor epoxy coated fingerboards[/url] Edited December 15, 2009 by henry norton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted December 15, 2009 Author Share Posted December 15, 2009 i see what you mean about the tangs. Looks like it's rosewood then, de-fretted and filled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.gif.9ad672bb8b84505709f76b39c8c256ec.gif)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.