The old maple/rosewood topic - but with results from the Herts Bass Bash

[Lozz196]

Ok, cutting it short, at the Herts Bass Bash today we did a maple/rosewood test, and below are the findings. There is a dedicated post in the Events area for this, but for those who don`t visit that area, I thought it might be interesting to create a new post, so you could see how it went:

To do this test I simply presented a pair of basses, played them both, then asked which one people preferred, the one with maple fretboard, or rosewood fretboard.

The basses were a pair of Precisions, a pair of Jazzes, and a pair of Stingrays. For the the Jazzes I selected both pickups on full, and for the Stingrays, all eqs centered. I should also point out that each bass had a brand new set of strings on it, provided for the day by Andrew from D`Addario - many thanks for this, and your own presentation Andrew. The Precisions got Chome flatwounds, the Jazzes got nickel rounds and the Stingrays got steel rounds. The results were quite surprising:

Precisions - Maple 2, Rosewood 15, undecided 1
Jazzes - Maple 7, Rosewood 20, indecided 2
Stingrays - Maple 10, Rosewood 16, undecided 1

So maple was a poor loser to rosewood today. Now I know many say that fretboard material has no bearing on the sound, but to me, in all cases, the maple was brigher, and seemd to coax more gain from the sound, making it less clear/defined, whereas the rosewood sounded more balanced throughout and somewhat clearer. I don`t know if they were the thoughts of those listening/watching, but for the votes to be overwhelmingly in favour of one type has to say something.

Just my luck to have bought two maple fretboard basses last week eh?

[Happy Jack]

Now me, I'm a complete rosewood fan, really don't much like maple.

But when you played the Stingray, the maple just sounded "right" for the tone of the bass whereas the rosewood made the Ray sound pretty generic.

That's about the only time I've preferred maple to rosewood.

Shame about the ebony, mind.

[HowieBass]

So nobody tried arguing that wood makes no difference and it's all in the fingers eh?

[such]

For me the difference between the precisions was the most subtle, with the maple boarded one being slightly more aggressive. So, Lozz, I don't think you made a mistake buying that bass although I voted rosewood in that case, as it sounded more like a sound I'd try to coax out of a P in my applications. About the Stingrays, I totally agree with Jack, same sentiments. I wasn't impartial about the jazzes, as the maple one was mine, still being as honest as I could possibly be, I thought it sounded better. Brighter, sure, but also growlier. I still hesitated voting for it as the competitor was a dot&binding '66, my lifelong dream. Felt like a blasphemy Maybe playing behind the curtain wouldn't have been such a bad idea after all. The camera could be there as well for the videos not to be boring. Anyways, awesome to have that experiment, thanks guys!

[EssentialTension]

I couldn't tell any difference ... but I also wasn't there.

[Beer of the Bass]

Could the listeners see the basses during the test, or was there some sort of screen involved?

[Lozz196]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1434311615' post='2798612']
Could the listeners see the basses during the test, or was there some sort of screen involved?
[/quote]

Yes they could see the basses. originally it was going to be behind a curtain but as it was being videod, and the mics were positioned at the front of the stage for the best place to catch the sound I thought it would be a bit daft doing the playing behind the curtain then walking out after each pair to ask for the results.

Edited June 14, 2015 by Lozz196

[Happy Jack]

We close our eyes ...

[Schnozzalee]

I always thought Ebony was the happy medium on bass...not that I've owned one for a while now. I think people that claim there's no difference between Maple and Rosewood are in denial; Rosewood is darker sounding and Maple is brighter, but I wouldn't say I prefer one over the other.

[discreet]

I always imagine I get more heft from a maple neck compared to a rosewood. But this may have something to do with the fact that my basses not only have maple fingerboards (one is also a one-piece) and maple necks, but are pretty chunky and wide at the nut, and thus comprise a LOT of wood. Fnarr. So it could be that. PLUS, I'm almost certainly mentally ill, so it could be that too. Wibble. *Cuddles goat*

Edited June 14, 2015 by discreet

[lojo]

Where people voting without watching ?

I've got bass types and gig both types , I really don't think it makes any difference and if there are any , it's less than the minutest 1/16 of a turn on a knob

Nice experiment , but no noble prize for this one my friend


On second thoughts , I think we need to honor you with some sort of award, something like "scientific services to bass" ?

Edited June 15, 2015 by lojo

[Grangur]

[quote name='Schnozzalee' timestamp='1434314571' post='2798633']
I always thought Ebony was the happy medium on bass...not that I've owned one for a while now. I think people that claim there's no difference between Maple and Rosewood are in denial; Rosewood is darker sounding and Maple is brighter, but I wouldn't say I prefer one over the other.
[/quote]

I thought that too. I was there and was surprised to find its the other way round.

[Oopsdabassist]

I've recently sold my Jazz purely on the basis that I'd gone off the maple neck and I couldn't get the damn thing to sound right. All my other basses are rosewood, so I'm happy to see that you lot agree with me. Wish I could have been there

[neepheid]

I have no strong opinions either way, it's a purely aesthetic choice as far as I'm concerned. Wood's wood to me and as long as the wood is of sufficient structural integrity to stay in the right shape whilst counteracting string tension then I'm as happy as a pig in the proverbial.

I don't expect to end the cyclical debate with this revelation

[such]

yeah, should have been a blind test; but then the entertainment value of the event and, later, the videos, could suffer. Next year, let's do this (or whatever test/comparison/presentation we come up with) behind the curtain, with the camera there as well, and the audio signal recorded via DI to audio interface - the subtleties might not be picked up by a distant microphone.

The blind test would have prevented the cognitive dissonance that some guys might have had: "ok, that clearly sounded better, but this is a worn sunburst from the sixties, how can I not vote for it?", or "...but this is a pre-EB" etc

[Jazzneck]

I was there, voted and was as surprised by the results, much like Lozz was.
But then again, my ears are absolutely shot.......

Edited June 15, 2015 by Jazzneck

[gary mac]

[quote name='such' timestamp='1434366921' post='2798899']

but this is a worn sunburst from the sixties, how can I not vote for it?",
[/quote]

Exactly what I thought plus it was mine.

[Annoying Twit]

What's needed is a fully blind test, with the basses played by robots. Then we'd get a robust answer.

No good having blinded players playing the basses, they'd be able to feel the different textures of the wood.

However, if the purpose of this is more entertainment than answering the question, a test like this is fine.

[Grangur]

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1434382886' post='2799075']
What's needed is a fully blind test, with the basses played by robots. Then we'd get a robust answer.

No good having blinded players playing the basses, they'd be able to feel the different textures of the wood.

However, if the purpose of this is more entertainment than answering the question, a test like this is fine.
[/quote]

Come to that is a judging panel of 30 a big enough market sample?
Also, as we're all bass players are we representative of the listening public?

It was fun and most of us were surprised at what we heard and found ourselves voting for; me included. I owned the Rosewood P bass and voted for the Maple neck P. But like Lozz, what do I know?

[Annoying Twit]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1434384636' post='2799100']
Come to that is a judging panel of 30 a big enough market sample?
Also, as we're all bass players are we representative of the listening public?

It was fun and most of us were surprised at what we heard and found ourselves voting for; me included. I owned the Rosewood P bass and voted for the Maple neck P. But like Lozz, what do I know?
[/quote]

We'd have to do a statistical power analysis to see if 30 people is enough. I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader as to whether someone saying 'hey guys, we've got to stop and do a statistical power analysis' would go down well at a bass bash :-o

[Chiliwailer]

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1434309101' post='2798570']
So nobody tried arguing that wood makes no difference and it's all in the fingers eh?
[/quote]

Because my fingers have such a natural dub and bass heavy tone to them, I need maple on a Precision or Stingray to balance it out!!!

[such]

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1434381467' post='2799055']
Exactly what I thought plus it was mine.
[/quote]

I cannot get over how gorgeous it is, Gary. A dot&bound 66 is my lifelong dream.

[gary mac]

[quote name='such' timestamp='1434399947' post='2799285']


I cannot get over how gorgeous it is, Gary. A dot&bound 66 is my lifelong dream.
[/quote]

Well I'm always chopping and changing my basses, so will keep you in mind if I decide to sell.

[such]

please do! not this month though