P bass growl

[AntLockyer]

Still can't stop thinking about that '77

What am I going to do about it? I've got  a mid 2000s P bass, would a neck swap to maple from rosewood give me a chance of getting there? I played a mid 70s one 3 years ago, fat neck, maple fingerboard, growled like a mother.

[Lozz196]

I know a lot of people dispute it but I`m firmly in the camp of both body woods and neck/fretboard woods really contributing to the sound of an instrument. I find maple fretboards to be snappier in the upper mids, and have found this when I`ve had identical basses, same year of manufacture etc, just different fretboard material. I also think that the ash body of that 77 will have a lot to do with it, so whilst a maple neck imo will get you towards that sound, it won`t be quite the same.

[dannybuoy]

I think the 70s pickups are the most contributing factor.

The two most liveliest / growliest Precisions I've had have both had rosewood necks for example. A basswood Squier VM was my first P, and I felt I made a significant downgrade when chopping it in for an ash bodied US Standard which sounded dull by comparison (although I'm very happy with it with flats on). The other is a MIJ 'Jazz' Special (it has a P body and P pup!) which was the growliest P in the shop when I tried a bunch in Wunjos. No idea what the body wood is on that though!

[hooky_lowdown]

When I play my cheapo P acoustically it still produces some growl, so not sure it’s just the pups.

 

A 80s Squier P (stock) with rw fingerboard I once had could growl with the best of them. That’s my bass which got away!