Maple, rosewood, wats the difference?

[Jake_badass_bassist]

title says it all, im thinking bout getting a jazz bass and some have maple necks and others have rosewood, wat is the difference? :thumb:

[irishslappop]

some say that maple makes a brighter tone. personally, i think it doesnt change the tone at all.

[Wintermute]

The main difference is cosmetic, to be honest. Rosewood is a little harder, so it makes for more durable fretless fingerboards - maple fretlesses are pretty rare.

In theory rosewood has a warmer tone, and maple brighter, but the difference is fairly small, and between differences in body woods, pickups, amp settings and so on, it's not really that noticeable.

[edgebass5]

This is purely semantics, but you've really hit on one of my pet peeves when talking about basses. No Fender Jazz bass comes with a rosewood neck. In fact, I've NEVER seen a bass with a rosewood neck.

You're describing the fretboard, which is very different from the neck. Not a big deal, but I'm very anal about semantics.

Now, honestly, I find the difference between maple and rosewood FRETBOARDS to be purely cosmetic and a thing of feel. Mape boards will have a hard finish on them, whereas rosewood will not. I can't hear a tonal difference though.

[Tryxx]

I think I can hear a difference, really.

My guitar player was having a dillema between two Mexi-strats, one with a maple board, the other rosewood. He liked the way the maple looked better, despite me telling him the tone would be to bright for him he got it anyway. He complained that he couldn't get that "pop" out of his tone, we went back to the store and he told me I was right, he should have go the rosewood.

[Deacy]

The main difference is cosmetic, to be honest. Rosewood is a little harder, so it makes for more durable fretless fingerboards - maple fretlesses are pretty rare.

In theory rosewood has a warmer tone, and maple brighter, but the difference is fairly small, and between differences in body woods, pickups, amp settings and so on, it's not really that noticeable.
I've been told Rosewood is softer...

[irishslappop]

nah, rosewood is a harder wood. that is why maple has to be protected by a polyurethane finish and rosewood does not :)

[bass&cookies]

i do actually find maple to be a bit brighter. i also think itr looks alot better.

[British Kid]

meh, i really don't think there is an audible difference in rosewood and maple fretboards. however, i do think that fret material and what the nut if made of does make a sound difference. i'll say that i prefer maple fretboards though. (well, almost all the time) :thumb:

[Deacy]

nah, rosewood is a harder wood. that is why maple has to be protected by a polyurethane finish and rosewood does not :)
Then why don't they make necks out of rosewood instead of maple?

[irishslappop]

well the threadstarter was talking about fretboards not necks. they dont make NECKS out of rose wood because it would be more expensive, the grain isnt very smooth, and rosewood is heavy.

[Wintermute]

well the threadstarter was talking about fretboards not necks. they dont make NECKS out of rose wood because it would be more expensive, the grain isnt very smooth, and rosewood is heavy.

I think maple is a more stable wood than rosewood, so it wouldn't need as many truss adjustments. I may be wrong though.

[NavyBass]

Actually, Maple and Rosewood are about as hard as each other.

The Main reason they put a finish on maple is because it's a lighter color wood and shows dirt more, which would make for a grungy looking fretboard when the dirt soaked in. Not to mention, it would be very hard to clean.

Ebony is actually harder than both Rosewood and Maple.

Also, the main reason Jaco epoxied his rosewood fretboard was because the strings were leaving dents and dings in it.

Some companies use Pao Ferro for their fretless boards because it is harder than rosewood, and about the same price.

[Jake_badass_bassist]

This is purely semantics, but you've really hit on one of my pet peeves when talking about basses. No Fender Jazz bass comes with a rosewood neck. In fact, I've NEVER seen a bass with a rosewood neck.

You're describing the fretboard, which is very different from the neck. Not a big deal, but I'm very anal about semantics.

Now, honestly, I find the difference between maple and rosewood FRETBOARDS to be purely cosmetic and a thing of feel. Mape boards will have a hard finish on them, whereas rosewood will not. I can't hear a tonal difference though.

Ahhh yeah sorry i meant fretboard not neck, my bad

[Radiobass81]

Irish: Maple is a bit harder then rosewood. Ebony beats all, like JP said.

I notice a difference. It isn't amazing, but it's enough to make me prefer a bass with X fretboard more than a bass with Y fretboard by a lot.