Maple to rosewood neck change......what a difference!

[gjones]

On a random whim I swapped the maple neck from my Geddy Lee Jazz with the rosewood neck from my 1994 Jap Squier Jazz. What an extreme difference in sound. The Geddy Lee now has a much, much deeper tone (which I really like) while the Squier sounds much, much brighter. I had assumed there would be a difference in tone but never expected it to be so extreme. I'd always thought the Geddy's brightness was due to the pickup being nearer the bridge but it looks like it's almost totally due to the maple neck.They both now sound radically different to what they sounded like before the neck change.

You learn something new every day.

Edited July 11, 2010 by gjones

[Cat Burrito]

I swapped the neck on my original bass recently, from maple to rosewood & it really woke up the monster. Better still, I built another great bass around the old neck. Quite literally win-win

[Ou7shined]

Good on you mate. Some people don't hear it and poo-poo the idea that it makes any difference at all.
It may be worth noting too, that the quality of the union between neck and body also affects the tone.... although this again is subjective.

[neilb]

I actually prefer maple boards. My US Jazz has a maple board and thus has a brighter clearer tone, nice when using pick.. My Classic Vibe P has a rosewood board, nice mellow tone for finger work. I think the difference is huge.

[JTUK]

I have a maple neck on my J5 ( not Fender ) and the sound is big and underpins very well. However, when I slap it...it REALLY jumps right out of the mix which is perfect and the right way round for me. For recording, my same make RW5, is the more subtle and cultured sound.
In a quieter mix or gig, this is my preferred bass.

I am glad I have both sounds.

[Davo-London]

Agree with these posts.

For fretted it's a matter of taste.

However, I would always go with rosewood or ebony for fretless. I had a maple fretless P-bass and didn't care for the tone, i.e. it didn't have the range I would expect from a fretless. I've yet to play a maple fretless that suits me. Whereas my Jaco fretless Jazz (rosewood board) is a tone oasis.

I also don't think that rosewood is any less articulate than maple.

Davo

[Wil]

I think the resonance of the neck itself due to the woods used and construction will have more of an impact than the fingerboard wood, but that's just me. The tightness of the neck/body join has a definite impact on sustain though IME.

[henry norton]

I'm sure it's whether the two pieces of wood 'work' together or against each other. Something to do with resonant frequencies and judging by the variations in sound, less to do with the actual species than with the relationship between the specific neck and body. It could be why you can pick up one Fender bass from a rack and it sounds dull and lifeless yet the next (seemingly identical) one you try is full of life.

Edited July 12, 2010 by henry norton

[Golchen]

I can't see the physics of that??? Surely other factors would be more of an issue: Neck wood, quality of neck wood, tuners, nut, neck join, neck/fretboard join. I'd have thought that they would all make more of a difference?

Not that I have a clue about these things!

Edited July 12, 2010 by Golchen

[Wil]

Wood quality is a bit subjective though. How do you quantify the quality of a variable natural resource?

[Mr. Foxen]

A quality such as its dominant resonant frequency would probably cover a lot. Density is another factor, once it is seasoned, moisture checked and gone over for imperfections, as all lumber stock is prior to use. I neck will be made from a fairly consistent piece of wood, otherwise it would curl up pretty fast (as you know some do anyway eventually), so the weight of it will be a fairly indicative factor to its properties when compared with another identically contructed neck.

[johnnylager]

It's all down to the glue used to join the fretboard to the neck innit, just like in Stradivarii. 1-piece maple vs maple fretboard & neck anyone?