Rosewood or Maple fretboard sound difference?

[Mr Fretbuzz]

Hey guys, what's the difference in sound/tone between these on the same Fender Jazz? I've got maple on my P and like the feel of it and I seem to get less Fretbuzz with it. It feels like the clear coat has gone over the frets. I'm after a White Jazz now, rosewood looks better I think but I'll go for the maple if it gives a warmer tone. I suspect rosewood wood be better for slap.

[kevin_lindsay]

Rosewood has a slightly warmer sound as it's not as dense as maple. Maple is inherently brighter.

hoeever, finish can affect the sound. If you have lacquer on the frets, that would provide a softer cushion over the hard metal frers, so the tone would be less bright. Saying that, lacquer is usually scraped off the frets before assembly.

[Dingus]

Actually , received wisdom is that maple is a bit brighter and so often considered better for slap , wheras rosewood is a bit warmer . In reality, though, the differences are often minimal and you should just go with whichever you like the look and the feel of the best . If the maple board is laquered rather than satin or oil and wax finished then that usually makes the sound noticably brighter, but a matt-finished maple board usually sounds warmer amd much closer to rosewood than you might think .

[Delberthot]

I don't think that there's enough between them that can't be sorted with a change of strings or an adjustment of your amp.

If you prefer the look of something then don't go getting something that you don't like as much. For example if you click on the link below in my sig for my Precision, I would never even have gone to Glasgow to look at it had it been a rosewood fretboard, never mind bought it.

Likewise, if you look at the olympic white jazz that I am selling, I would never have bought it in the first place had it been maple.

[Cat Burrito]

I'm pretty much with Dingus here. I don't align myself with one or the other and take it on a bass by bass basis

[Lozz196]

In general, I find maple to be snappier in an area that I can`t actually define, but will guesstimate at being in the upper-mids area. That said, I only notice it when playing basses on their own. In the mix no way would I be able to tell. Every maple fretboard I`ve had has had this character to its sound, whereas none of the rosewood ones have.

[neepheid]

Rosewood is harder/denser than maple. If it's density/hardness that's causing brightness then ebony boards must absolutely zing!

There are factors at work here several orders of magnitude more influential than what kind of wood the fingerboard is. I personally don't worry about it and treat it purely as an aesthetic choice.

Edited October 5, 2013 by neepheid

[discreet]

There are those who say one-piece maple necks have a 'vintage' quality to them. I really don't know about that, but I prefer one-piece maple necks largely because I like the look and feel of 'em. I'm of the opinion that it really doesn't make that much difference.

[Mr. Foxen]

Lacquered maple cleans easier, clean fingerboard keeps strings clean, clean strings are brighter. Rosewood gets a nice played in look, maple gets a nasty played in look.

[EssentialTension]

If there is any difference at all, of which I'm doubtful, it's totally minimal compared to the strings, the pickup(s), fingers or pick, playing by the bridge or by the neck, eq setting etc etc etc.

[Roland Rock]

Rosewood is more dense than maple. Rosewood averages 55 lb/ft3, whereas maple averages 44 lb/ft3.
That would suggest that rosewood boards are brighter, but there are so many variables

[JTUK]

I'd say, typically, that maple is snappier and RW is smoother and woodier and therefore have more chance of having character in the sound.
Didn't do MM any harm though.

I used to be a confirmed maple user... but not now and would always look for RW first.

[chris_b]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1381046988' post='2233622']
....maple is snappier and RW is smoother and woodier....would always look for RW first....
[/quote]

+1

All Fender's were maple. Leo added rosewood because he didn't like the look of maple when the finish wore off and the dirty marks appeared.

Another happy accident.

[KevB]

Aesthetically I like the look of rosewood on a jazz but maple on a P which is why I'm currently gigging these

[URL=http://s30.photobucket.com/user/KevB64/media/IMG_1418_zps4d527748.jpg.html][IMG]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c307/KevB64/IMG_1418_zps4d527748.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[Mornats]

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1381053616' post='2233698']
Aesthetically I like the look of rosewood on a jazz but maple on a P which is why I'm currently gigging these

[url="http://s30.photobucket.com/user/KevB64/media/IMG_1418_zps4d527748.jpg.html"][/url]
[/quote]

For me they're the wrong way round. For some reason I'd expect maple on a jazz and rosewood on a precision. I have no idea why though!

[White Cloud]

Personally I cannot abide Maple boards...but that's just me. Rosewood feels, reacts and sounds quite different to Maple imo. I have owned basses with Ebony & cocobolo boards but disliked the brightness of both.

[BigRedX]

How can you tell exactly what difference the fingerboard makes? If they are different basses then probably everything about each bass will be different, so trying to pin-point the fingerboard as the source seems to me to be naive at best...

Also IIRC Fender basses with rosewood and maple boards have different neck constructions, so I would have though that would play a bigger part in any sound differences over the actual wood of the fingerboard.

[Platypus]

Like others have said, I too have found maple to be brighter and rosewood to be a tad warmer. I don't have preference for the attendance of either, as such - though like some contrast with the bass body colour.
I like the appearance of maple against a dark bass body and just love a light pastel coloured body with a rosewood board

[discreet]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1381063316' post='2233838']
Also IIRC Fender basses with rosewood and maple boards have different neck constructions, so I would have though that would play a bigger part in any sound differences over the actual wood of the fingerboard.
[/quote]

Quite. One-piece maple with skunk stripe, two-piece with maple or rosewood fingerboards, different laminates and glue layers, truss rod adjustment from headstock or heel end, different fret widths and so on and so forth.

Edited October 6, 2013 by discreet

[stjohn]

[quote name='Delberthot' timestamp='1381003381' post='2233354']
I don't think that there's enough between them that can't be sorted with a change of strings or an adjustment of your amp.

If you prefer the look of something then don't go getting something that you don't like as much. For example if you click on the link below in my sig for my Precision, I would never even have gone to Glasgow to look at it had it been a rosewood fretboard, never mind bought it.

Likewise, if you look at the olympic white jazz that I am selling, I would never have bought it in the first place had it been maple.
[/quote]
That's exactly my view. In real life no discernible difference. The body wood, neck thickness, paint thickness all play far more of an influence on sound than the finger board. How can you begin to compare two guitars with different finger board materials when every thing else is so changeable? In the vast majority of cases basses are made of natural materials-wood- which is by it's nature variable in weight, density, grain etc. I wouldn't worry about it and get the BASS that sounds/plays right as well as looking the nicest!

[Lowender]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1381013147' post='2233501']
Rosewood is harder/denser than maple. If it's density/hardness that's causing brightness then ebony boards must absolutely zing!

There are factors at work here several orders of magnitude more influential than what kind of wood the fingerboard is. I personally don't worry about it and treat it purely as an aesthetic choice.
[/quote]

Actually maple is the more dense wood. Look at the grain. Rosewood has tiny spaces in it whereas maple has big solid grain. That's part of the reason maple is a little "snappier." Sound travels slower through a looser grain, which is why rosewood sounds warmer. Though the difference is minimal and probably only apparent to the player.

[Lowender]

[quote name='noelk27' timestamp='1381065089' post='2233883']
And when people refer to rosewood, what exactly are they talking about? Are they talking about actual rosewood, of the genus dalbergia or are they talking about those woods commonly referred to as rosewoods? People now talk about padauk and pau ferro in their own rights, but these were both woods commonly referred to as rosewoods until recent years.

And where do Rickenbackers fitting into this maple/bright rosewood/warm equation? Being one of the few (if only) manufacturers that coats its "rosewood" boarded basses in lacquer, are people saying that the instruments it makes aren't commonly thought of as sounding bright?
[/quote]

Pau ferro feels very different than rosewood, but that's only if you're sensitive to it. I think once a fingerboard is coated ala' a Rick, wood doesn't matter. You're playing the gloss and THAT is the sound.

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='noelk27' timestamp='1381075033' post='2234037']
Which "rosewood"? "Brazilian"? "East Indian"? "Australian"?
[/quote]

From the top of the tree or the bottom? Density determining factor.

[BigRedX]

Could say the same about maple (or any other wood) too.

[funkle]

I defer to the expertise of Mr. Sadowsky in this area.

http://www.sadowsky.com/pop/roger_talks.html

Text below:

'This is my opinion, based on building over 6000 NYC basses and guitars during the last 30 years.

Fingerboard woods from brightest to warmest:

MAPLE: Tightest and brightest. Best for slap. Can produce more string and fret noise than others. Requires a finish to keep from turning dirty and grey.

EBONY: Not as bright as maple. Most immediate attack and punch of all our fingerboard woods. Note is more fundamental with less overtones. Best for fretless. Pure black ebony from Madagascar is limited. African ebony has some grey mottling but is still very beautiful.

These photos are representative of our current stock of ebony:
http://www.sadowsky.com/stock/stock_images/nyc/lg/6030_full_lg.jpg
http://www.sadowsky.com/stock/stock_images/nyc/lg/5973_full_lg.jpg
http://www.sadowsky.com/stock/stock_images/nyc/lg/5327_full_lg.jpg
http://www.sadowsky.com/stock/stock_images/nyc/lg/5968_full_lg.jpg
Bob Taylor Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anCGvfsBoFY
MORADO (also known as Caviuna, Bolivian Rosewood or Pau Ferro): Morado is not a true rosewood, but I have been a fan of this wood for fingerboards for 30 years. Also used a lot by Stu Spector. Grain is very tight and smooth. More warmth than maple or ebony, but tighter than East Indian Rosewood. Excellent wear resistance, even on a fretless. For fretless, produces a somewhat more acoustic/upright tone than ebony.

MADAGASCAR ROSEWOOD: A less expensive alternative to Brazilian Rosewood. Many boards have the spider-web like grain of Brazilian. Rich reddish brown colors. Can be more open grained that some others. Tone is in the same ballpark as Morado and Brazilian. New supplies are limited.

AMAZON ROSEWOOD (Dalbergia Spruciana): A new alternative to Brazilian Rosewood. A true cousin to Dalbergia Nigra, Amazon Rosewood is more similar to Brazilian than any other wood.

BRAZILIAN ROSEWOOD (Dalbergia Nigra): For me, the King of tonewoods for fingerboards and acoustic guitar sides and backs. Beautiful browns and blacks. Wood has very high oil content. Banned from export out of Brazil in log form since 1969. Currently protected by the CITES treaty which prevents shipment between countries without intensive permits. Same treaty that protects tortoise shell and ivory. We can only ship instruments with Brazilian Rosewood to a US address. No longer recommended to musicians who travel internationally.'