My opinion: We hear more treble content and string & fret & finger noise on the maple. Rosewood absorbs them a bit. So if treble and attack is an important part of your sound, maple is the natural choice. Otherwise, go with rosewood. But you can EQ either choice to sound more like the other.
The true test is in the context of a band mix. Sometimes a bass sounds bland on it's own but great in a mix and sometimes great on it's own but in a mix.
On my Fender american vintage 1963 p-bass I have flat wounds as it is the perfect motown bass and on my Fender american vintage 1958 p-bass I use round wound to help with rocking out ! The rosewood is always more mellow where as the maple has a very crisp attack response over the mellower rosewood !
Rosewood is beefier. Depends on your style of music you play. I play all types, mostly hard rock though. I have both maples and rosewood Fenders, and I have learned over 28 years of playing that I prefer Rosewood on most of my axes. I'm a guitarist but play a P-Bass also since 2003. Rosewood is king.
Great comparison and quite useful to me at the moment, I’m into early 70s precisions and thinking of getting one with a maple fingerboard, to me the differences you showed using headphones are very subtle , whereas lots of people say maple is really bright, I don’t think there’s a major difference, thank you
Excellent video. When I first bought my American Jazz with a maple neck it never seemed to record well although live it was well balanced and articulate. Conversely my Jazz RW neck recorded really well from the onset and cut through live as well. It took about 10-12 years for my maple neck Jazz Bass to mellow out a little to the point where it now sounds fantastic. It still is detailed without the stark high-end when I dig into it. The lows have warmed up as well and sound fatter without any boominess and it retains its composure on the E and A strings. The RW Jazz still sounds the same till this day. Maple necks get better with time.
Wow, thank you Richie. This test provides the most empirical information I ever have seen and heard in the fingerboard wood debate. Until now, I never really thought there was that much of a difference. I own both rosewood and maple FB basses. They are so different in pickup and electronic configurations, though, that I could never properly compare them based on their FB wood alone. Though most audience members at a show probably couldn't to tell the difference between your two P's, this test is very valuable to bassists. The choice of FB wood is a more important starting point than I ever thought to the end goal of achieving that certain sound in my head.
They both sound good and different, you need both. Yea I know but you did it to me first, bastich. Now I need Rosewood as well, I was almost all in on Maple. :P
I'm glad you made this comparison video.if it were a blindfold test the subtleties are so minimal.Im thinking the only differences could be the fret size might be different that would be the only difference you might hear.
It just sounds like you played a little bit harder on the rosewood neck, and maybe the action was slightly lower on that one as well, giving the gritty sound.
You can adjust the sound a bit with eq or settings. You cannot make the rosewood neck “feel” better with eq or settings. So I’d say maple is better for you. You’d get more out of it because of that.
I've been playing RW basses for the beginning, 25 years. A TRB6 and Blade 5er jazzbass. Not much other instruments were in my hands, never thought of too much priority for the wood of fingerboard.... and once I got a maple Stingray for recording and it was lovely! Then I got to use a Cort GB75 maple - not the same league but like its attack sound - and after 2 decades I realized that I like more maple sound that rosewood... and it gave me a decision for a new weapon, a Sadowsky M5-24 with maple - it is killer!!! Since I bought her, the other one hardly ever played ... and the Yamaha 6er have been sold earlier.. Great video, in every aspect of this question - except the mix! The main view that how they sound in a mix!! You hardly hear a bass alone in music, -just few exceptions- the bass tone essence in the mix! Second thing - any plugin/amp/sim/effect significantly removes the differences between woods... and you needn't chose one against the other, almost same sound... it is just feeling for the player, the audience hardly sense any differences.. Thanks for the video, very like it! And nice playing!!
Nicely done, Richie, thank you! My immediate first though during the finger playing - the differences are there but so small that blindfold I would probably guess wrong much of the time. With the pick, I thought the differences were more apparrent and the rosewood is what I hear in my head as the sound of the P bass. But again, the differences are so small, it's really not something that I would lose sleep over. If my sudents ask me hwat they should choose I'll keep to my standard recommendation - buy the one you'd want to pick up the most often, whether that is bvecause of look or feel or anthign else doesn't matter.
Hi Richie, I completely agree with most of what you're hearing... I do think overall the maple sounds more even toned across the entire fretboard, to my ear the rosewood has a different midrange tone in the middle but sounds more similar to the maple in the upper register. I would definitely go with the maple neck if it were my bass since it's even toned throughout the neck, you can always EQ for what you described as a rounder tone! And IMHO, the maple looks much nicer on that body! Best wishes brother, and thanks for sharing this...
It might be placebo effect, but I've always liked the "squeeze" of the rosewood under the fretted string, more so than the maple... Sounds dumb maybe, but that's how it feels. Like I said, probably placebo, maybe why I prefer black sneakers over white when playing basketball. They just "feel" more comfortable. If I'm going for my best, I'll go with what feels best I suppose
The maple looks a lot better with that body and with the block inlays. That being said I think I liked the rosewood just a hair more for the reasons you pointed out in the video. If it were me I'd go maple though cause the tone was so close and the aesthetic is an important part of loving an instrument for me.
I had both and both have a distinct personality! GREAT VIDEO BRO!!!! Old School Players Would Not EVEN CONSIDER Maple Back in the Day, on a Percision. Old School Always Had Rosewood. I Have one now with Maple and was considering Rosewood,THANKS FOR SAVING ME $700.00 Dollars.🤗🤑
The tone difference is so minimal, and not obvious. It is really comes down to how one looks good to you, your preference. Adjust the tone knob will give you more of dramatic effect.
I've always been a die-hard maple guy for whatever arbitrary reason, but recently got an American '95 Fender Jazz Deluxe with a rosewood fingerboard and I've been digging the tone I can get from it. When hearing you compare the two woods side by side, I'd say overall the rosewood sounded fatter and thicker. That's something that's hard to add into the tone (by the way, have you ever played through a Teegarden Fatboy DI? Fantastic tube saturation and beef!), but easy to compress if it's a bit too much. While it did sound like the maple neck sounded better on using a pick, I guess it really depends on how much you'll be using this bass for pick playing, or if one of your existing basses has a great pick tone. Great video bud, keep it up.
I have always been a maple guy. I love the bright attack, hardness of the wood...there are situations when I like Rosewood i.e darker jazz tones. But yeah, maple all the way.
I think that both sound great and most people will not be able to hear the difference. it thing that the color should be choose depending of the color of the body. some body colours are more beautiful with the yellow maple and others with the black rosewood. I personally love more the rosewood color in general.
There's another aspect, or in fact two to consider: refretting ( a long term argument ) is better done on a rosewood neck. And the body with that pick guard needs the color of the rosewood to make the bass look good.
Your really trying to get two p-bass's in one. A funky rock with the Maple plus round wounds and sort of forgetting the Rosewood with flats and tone to bass very Motown with a foam mute. You'll love the way that records! Thud city
I never noticed any difference between rosewood or maple fingerboards persay . I have owned over 50 pbasses with both or all country build and vintages. I dont think its the fingerboard. I think its more the wood and neck construction. You cant think of a 1 piece maple neck as brighter necessarily. Think of it this way. a Rosewood board fender neck is will have a tendency to be stronger/more rigid than a 1 piece maple neck Again it all depends on the wood. 1 of the most resonate and "alive" necks I have ever played was an old 80s MIJ Jazz bass special. You hit a string with no amp and the whole bass felt like electric. Amazing. and I ended up selling it. I have had dead maple necks and brite maple necks and all in between, Same goes for Rosewood. Its all in the neck overall and not the fingerboard I have found. I also have a theory in the trussrod / string tension as well. I had a Dave bunker built USA custom "tension free neck" ATK bass and that thing was like a fuckin Piano. I have had some traditional rod necks which felt close even with flats in both rosewood and maple. With these 2 necks, I hear the rosewood having more drive and snappier. Rosewood is a harder wood mind you. The rosewood sounds more alive overall.
The differences are very subtle. Even less subtle when you add processing. I think in the end let the feel guide you. I think the maple looks much better with the color of the body so I would go with that. Plus I prefer a snappier punchier neck with some fret grind for character which Maple usually provides a little more of.
Would have liked to hear both at the same same, split left and right. That said, I think I'd go with rosewood for studio but maple for live. It seems to have that little extra percussive attack, but maybe that's just my opinion after too many attempts to mix a too-loud band in a too-small room. Hmmm.... on the other hand, dumping either one into the Helix could probably make it sound just like the other. Go with the feel. Or whichever you think is prettiest. Pretty counts.
You can get the maple fretboard to sound more like the rosewood by lowering the tone knob. But a rosewood neck will never have the attack of a maple fretboard.
Very cool. I wanted to like the maple but really liked the rosewood. Would love to hear this in a mix. Of course, you're messing with the results by wearing a Fodera t-shirt :-)
Yep. I wanted to like maple all my life. Rosewood is better. There's a reason Gibson never made maple necks, or did once or twice. I'm a Fender guy all the way. I own zero other brand guitars/basses. But I played a lot of SG's.
I've always been a maple guy. Were it me, that is how I would go. I like the way the bass cuts through the mix and maple just looks cool to me. However, you play so many different styles of music, I can see times when the woodsier tone and compression of the rosewood fretboard might be an advantage. Since your friend is selling them both and since you have the skills and tools to make the change from time to time, why not get both? Loved the comparison, either way.
I've often said that the difference is subtle and will only be negligible to the player after many gigs. However, judging just by these comparisons (done the proper way by the way), it confirms what I've always felt -- the maple is slightly snappier and the rosewood is slightly warmer. But for me, what make a classic P sound is the vintage pups, the simple bridge and a rosewood neck. The solution? Get an extra body, have two, and then get a J with a maple neck! : )
I liked the rosewood better with the straight through signal, but when you added fx I thought the maple was much cleaner and consistent. I think you could emulate the rosewood using the maple with fx, but not the other way around.
Rosewood ive found on fender basses usually have a rounder more bottom end sound as you mentioned,but i agree that the maples are easier to play compared to rosewood.always think blocks on a pa bass look odd though.great video thanks for posting.
Hey I know this is an older video but here's my two cents. There is no better or worse one IMO. Yes there's a small difference but both are good. So it all comes down to what your personal preference is. Last year I bought two P basses for my birthday. One with a maple on maple neck and one with a rosewood on maple neck. Otherwise all exactly the same specs. I had them both for a while and tested them thoroughly. Sometimes the maple sounded better and sometimes the rosewood. In the end my conclusion was that the difference was close to zero. In some songs I preferred the maple fretboard, in others the rosewood. So the tone in relation to the song made a difference but it was tiny. In the end I kept the rosewood one because it felt better in my fretting hand, and I sold the other one. But if the buyer had given me 10 bucks more for the rosewood one I would have happily sold that and kept the maple.
Very slight difference, but I prefer Rosewood, it helps create a rounded bottom end, but so do many other of the parts (most of them probably have more effect), I also prefer the look and feel of Rosewood by a lot.
The maple neck fretboard looks like it has a finish on it and and the rosewood neck fretboard does not. That being the case, the maple neck is completely sealed and can’t breathe while the rosewood fretboard is open and can breathe. The sealed neck reacts different because there isn’t any wood breathing and not effecting the vibration at the frets while the unsealed neck is breathing during fretting and influences the vibration at the frets. Also, the maple neck has plastic block inlays where the rosewood neck has standard size plastic dots ... with that being said, all of the amplified sounds can be manipulated to your preferences ... in the end, which one do you think looks better with the overall aesthetics of the bass ... They both look great ... the maple neck is more of a custom look where the rosewood neck is standard look ... which ever one you pick, you’ll end up thinking you should’ve bought the other one ... ciao
I think that it’s just more of a feel thing. Personal preference. Maple seems to have more life. Dunno. You can just eq both to make them sound almost the same. Plus, will you prefer one over the other playing with a live band?
It's all about the feel. You have plenty of rosewood boards, mix it up and go with the awesome maple! Also, maple with block inlays scream "Brothers Johnson" to me. Band Geek should do Strawberry Letter #23 (the double lead kills).
I don’t really pay attention about the sound differences with the fingerboard. I assumed that the maple would have a brighter tone compare to the rosewood, which would be darker than the maple. I usually go with rosewood or the dark fingerboards.
The rosewood sounds as though it has a more “fullness” to it. In all of the string aspects it sounds like it breathes better. You said that the maple feels better and I think you can get the sound of the rosewood from the maple with some effects or whatever. I sure like how the maple looks. But, we aren’t going by that. I say maple and tweak it to get the rosewood out of it where you need it. I think it comes down to “feel” at the end of the day. That’s my layman’s opinion.
I'm trying to decide between these 2 necks as well, so thanks for this great video. Just wondering if you've ever compared the Standard Fender Precision bass to the Players version...
Richie, Curious, were both bases stored under the same conditions? Personally I have never liked the low tones on rosewood when using picks. Better for pizzicato or slap than maple. An old timer once told me “son, there ain’t no one bass to cover all tones. Find your groove thing and love it don’t fight it.” Cool vid and interesting topic. 😎
@@altmaxv Yes, I was referring to the necks. Danny might have had the maple set up for his play, while the rosewood sat on a shelf in the garage for example. Not a big deal for his comparison, just a curiosity. Mostly, preferences are subjective in frequency and resonance with subtle differences having devotees for material. For me, the feel was key and then how I could get the sound desired. It’s funny how the different instruments even not Frankensteined together from parts always have their own unique character from one to the next. 👍🏻
I will say this-- my sound guy puts a bypass on my amp and has my P-Bass with rosewood fretboard direct into the system. He says it is perferct as it is, and need no EQ or amp to modify it's sound. And, I agree.
My opinion isn't popular, but I generally rank sound as the least important factor when enjoying bass. 1st is looks, 2nd is feel, 3rd is looks. All good kit (bass, amps, strings) sounds excellent these days. If you pay enough, you can get whatever sound you want from any kit. I've enjoyed virtually every possible sound from every possible bass I've ever played. Every company, every model, every everything. It's why I plays Ricks: the look and feel great, but I can't tell the difference in sound when compared to Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, Jackson, etc. To me, these necks have no difference in sound. The only differences are looks and feel. I prefer the maple neck because its colour is lighter, but Richie how do they feel?
I mean, honestly, how sure are you that the differences you're hearing (and I will definitely admit that there are slight differences) are really a result of the fretboard? After all, you did not exchange only the fretboard... You removed all strings, replaced the whole neck and put (the same?) strings back on. At the least, I wish you had put the maple back on and made a third round of recordings, see if those even sound the same as the first. Call me ignorant, but I don't believe fretboard wood really makes enough of a (predictable/reproducable) difference so that an effort like this is worth one's time. I would be much more interested if the data set was larger and some basses were rosewood first, then maple, while others were maple first, then rosewood.
I think the Maple has a more "funk" sound and like you, I think the Rosewood seems more "round" or dare I say "full". This is really obvious (to me) when you slap. I don't think one is "better" than the other, just different. e.g. Shooting Shark = Maple, DFTR = Rosewood.
I think you played the rosewood differently. You definitely played with more attack with the rosewood. Even your body language changed. Your brain probably took over since you already like the rosewood more. Very interesting. More head bob and facial expressions. Go back and watch it
99% of what your hearing is your right hand... get two identical basses (diff necks) and then blindfold yourself and have a friend hand you the guitars randomly (ergo.. take it away and then randomly hand you one back ) for 30 minutes and you will never tell (or hear) the difference..
So, ok, great comparison but something is missing... The hand and the fingers ARE NOT THE SAME in two samples... This decline a bit of "scientificity" but ok, I think too rosewood is a bit warmer and growly...
The best video of maple-rosew comp
dude.. thanks a lot for doing this. Fascinating and helpful.
Long-time '65 Precision player pleased to see/hear the comparison and confirm, once again, that rosewood rocks.
Yessir
Best comparison I’ve seen. Great job. I think the rosewood wins on all counts. But you have to br comfortable with the feel.
Coated Rosewood - ftw
Definitely Rosewood for the win on a P Bass - contrary to popular opinion.
My opinion: We hear more treble content and string & fret & finger noise on the maple. Rosewood absorbs them a bit. So if treble and attack is an important part of your sound, maple is the natural choice. Otherwise, go with rosewood. But you can EQ either choice to sound more like the other.
Great comparing!
The true test is in the context of a band mix. Sometimes a bass sounds bland on it's own but great in a mix and sometimes great on it's own but in a mix.
On my Fender american vintage 1963 p-bass I have flat wounds as it is the perfect motown bass and on my Fender american vintage 1958 p-bass I use round wound to help with rocking out ! The rosewood is always more mellow where as the maple has a very crisp attack response over the mellower rosewood !
Rosewood is beefier. Depends on your style of music you play. I play all types, mostly hard rock though. I have both maples and rosewood Fenders, and I have learned over 28 years of playing that I prefer Rosewood on most of my axes. I'm a guitarist but play a P-Bass also since 2003. Rosewood is king.
Hello Richie .
Congratulations from Brazil !
The rosewood sounded crisper to me. Maybe you were just warmed up when you played the different neck.
I say get another body and have 2 fender p basses.
Great comparison and quite useful to me at the moment, I’m into early 70s precisions and thinking of getting one with a maple fingerboard, to me the differences you showed using headphones are very subtle , whereas lots of people say maple is really bright, I don’t think there’s a major difference, thank you
Excellent video. When I first bought my American Jazz with a maple neck it never seemed to record well although live it was well balanced and articulate. Conversely my Jazz RW neck recorded really well from the onset and cut through live as well.
It took about 10-12 years for my maple neck Jazz Bass to mellow out a little to the point where it now sounds fantastic. It still is detailed without the stark high-end when I dig into it. The lows have warmed up as well and sound fatter without any boominess and it retains its composure on the E and A strings.
The RW Jazz still sounds the same till this day. Maple necks get better with time.
Wow, thank you Richie. This test provides the most empirical information I ever have seen and heard in the fingerboard wood debate. Until now, I never really thought there was that much of a difference.
I own both rosewood and maple FB basses. They are so different in pickup and electronic configurations, though, that I could never properly compare them based on their FB wood alone. Though most audience members at a show probably couldn't to tell the difference between your two P's, this test is very valuable to bassists. The choice of FB wood is a more important starting point than I ever thought to the end goal of achieving that certain sound in my head.
They both sound good and different, you need both. Yea I know but you did it to me first, bastich. Now I need Rosewood as well, I was almost all in on Maple. :P
I was thinking both. Each of them have their own greatness.
I'm glad you made this comparison video.if it were a blindfold test the subtleties are so minimal.Im thinking the only differences could be the fret size might be different that would be the only difference you might hear.
It just sounds like you played a little bit harder on the rosewood neck, and maybe the action was slightly lower on that one as well, giving the gritty sound.
You can adjust the sound a bit with eq or settings. You cannot make the rosewood neck “feel” better with eq or settings.
So I’d say maple is better for you. You’d get more out of it because of that.
Great point
I didn’t think I’d be able to hear the difference, but it’s very distinct to me, but I am into the R&B sound
Great video! I'm a maple fretboard guy!
Looks great. Interesting video. Would say it all comes down to feel of the overall bass rather than maple or rosewood.
I've been playing RW basses for the beginning, 25 years. A TRB6 and Blade 5er jazzbass. Not much other instruments were in my hands, never thought of too much priority for the wood of fingerboard.... and once I got a maple Stingray for recording and it was lovely! Then I got to use a Cort GB75 maple - not the same league but like its attack sound - and after 2 decades I realized that I like more maple sound that rosewood... and it gave me a decision for a new weapon, a Sadowsky M5-24 with maple - it is killer!!! Since I bought her, the other one hardly ever played ... and the Yamaha 6er have been sold earlier..
Great video, in every aspect of this question - except the mix! The main view that how they sound in a mix!! You hardly hear a bass alone in music, -just few exceptions- the bass tone essence in the mix!
Second thing - any plugin/amp/sim/effect significantly removes the differences between woods... and you needn't chose one against the other, almost same sound... it is just feeling for the player, the audience hardly sense any differences..
Thanks for the video, very like it! And nice playing!!
Nicely done, Richie, thank you!
My immediate first though during the finger playing - the differences are there but so small that blindfold I would probably guess wrong much of the time. With the pick, I thought the differences were more apparrent and the rosewood is what I hear in my head as the sound of the P bass.
But again, the differences are so small, it's really not something that I would lose sleep over. If my sudents ask me hwat they should choose I'll keep to my standard recommendation - buy the one you'd want to pick up the most often, whether that is bvecause of look or feel or anthign else doesn't matter.
Hi Richie, I completely agree with most of what you're hearing... I do think overall the maple sounds more even toned across the entire fretboard, to my ear the rosewood has a different midrange tone in the middle but sounds more similar to the maple in the upper register. I would definitely go with the maple neck if it were my bass since it's even toned throughout the neck, you can always EQ for what you described as a rounder tone! And IMHO, the maple looks much nicer on that body! Best wishes brother, and thanks for sharing this...
Very useful thanks!
It might be placebo effect, but I've always liked the "squeeze" of the rosewood under the fretted string, more so than the maple... Sounds dumb maybe, but that's how it feels. Like I said, probably placebo, maybe why I prefer black sneakers over white when playing basketball. They just "feel" more comfortable. If I'm going for my best, I'll go with what feels best I suppose
I use Rotosound flats with the maple neck.(The old thick one). I think a bit of adjustments and you would be happy with either. Great video!
The maple looks a lot better with that body and with the block inlays. That being said I think I liked the rosewood just a hair more for the reasons you pointed out in the video. If it were me I'd go maple though cause the tone was so close and the aesthetic is an important part of loving an instrument for me.
I had both and both have a distinct personality! GREAT VIDEO BRO!!!! Old School Players Would Not EVEN CONSIDER Maple Back in the Day, on a Percision. Old School Always Had Rosewood. I Have one now with Maple and was considering Rosewood,THANKS FOR SAVING ME $700.00 Dollars.🤗🤑
The tone difference is so minimal, and not obvious. It is really comes down to how one looks good to you, your preference. Adjust the tone knob will give you more of dramatic effect.
I've always been a die-hard maple guy for whatever arbitrary reason, but recently got an American '95 Fender Jazz Deluxe with a rosewood fingerboard and I've been digging the tone I can get from it. When hearing you compare the two woods side by side, I'd say overall the rosewood sounded fatter and thicker. That's something that's hard to add into the tone (by the way, have you ever played through a Teegarden Fatboy DI? Fantastic tube saturation and beef!), but easy to compress if it's a bit too much. While it did sound like the maple neck sounded better on using a pick, I guess it really depends on how much you'll be using this bass for pick playing, or if one of your existing basses has a great pick tone. Great video bud, keep it up.
I have always been a maple guy. I love the bright attack, hardness of the wood...there are situations when I like Rosewood i.e darker jazz tones. But yeah, maple all the way.
Maple is softer than Rosewood in guitar applications FYI. Here's the Janka hardness scale for proof www.bellforestproducts.com/info/janka-hardness/
Rosewood is much harder than maple.
I think that both sound great and most people will not be able to hear the difference. it thing that the color should be choose depending of the color of the body. some body colours are more beautiful with the yellow maple and others with the black rosewood. I personally love more the rosewood color in general.
maple , for me sound is good on pick and finger
thank you for make this vdo
I'll defer to you on this one. I'm a classical guitar player. Great video! Cheers.
There's another aspect, or in fact two to consider: refretting ( a long term argument ) is better done on a rosewood neck. And the body with that pick guard needs the color of the rosewood to make the bass look good.
Your really trying to get two p-bass's in one. A funky rock with the Maple plus round wounds and sort of forgetting the Rosewood with flats and tone to bass very Motown with a foam mute. You'll love the way that records! Thud city
I never noticed any difference between rosewood or maple fingerboards persay
. I have owned over 50 pbasses with both or all country build and vintages. I dont think its the fingerboard. I think its more the wood and neck construction.
You cant think of a 1 piece maple neck as brighter necessarily. Think of it this way. a Rosewood board fender neck is will have a tendency to be stronger/more rigid than a 1 piece maple neck Again it all depends on the wood. 1 of the most resonate and "alive" necks I have ever played was an old 80s MIJ Jazz bass special. You hit a string with no amp and the whole bass felt like electric. Amazing. and I ended up selling it. I have had dead maple necks and brite maple necks and all in between, Same goes for Rosewood. Its all in the neck overall and not the fingerboard I have found.
I also have a theory in the trussrod / string tension as well. I had a Dave bunker built USA custom "tension free neck" ATK bass and that thing was like a fuckin Piano. I have had some traditional rod necks which felt close even with flats in both rosewood and maple.
With these 2 necks, I hear the rosewood having more drive and snappier. Rosewood is a harder wood mind you. The rosewood sounds more alive overall.
The differences are very subtle. Even less subtle when you add processing. I think in the end let the feel guide you. I think the maple looks much better with the color of the body so I would go with that. Plus I prefer a snappier punchier neck with some fret grind for character which Maple usually provides a little more of.
Would have liked to hear both at the same same, split left and right. That said, I think I'd go with rosewood for studio but maple for live. It seems to have that little extra percussive attack, but maybe that's just my opinion after too many attempts to mix a too-loud band in a too-small room. Hmmm.... on the other hand, dumping either one into the Helix could probably make it sound just like the other. Go with the feel. Or whichever you think is prettiest. Pretty counts.
"Pretty" works for me also. You're right, both necks can be made to sound the same with a few sound tweeks.
You can get the maple fretboard to sound more like the rosewood by lowering the tone knob. But a rosewood neck will never have the attack of a maple fretboard.
Very cool. I wanted to like the maple but really liked the rosewood. Would love to hear this in a mix.
Of course, you're messing with the results by wearing a Fodera t-shirt :-)
Yep. I wanted to like maple all my life. Rosewood is better. There's a reason Gibson never made maple necks, or did once or twice. I'm a Fender guy all the way. I own zero other brand guitars/basses. But I played a lot of SG's.
@@brettsommer Gibson loves Ebony fretboards, nop?
Maple all the way!
I've always been a maple guy. Were it me, that is how I would go. I like the way the bass cuts through the mix and maple just looks cool to me. However, you play so many different styles of music, I can see times when the woodsier tone and compression of the rosewood fretboard might be an advantage. Since your friend is selling them both and since you have the skills and tools to make the change from time to time, why not get both? Loved the comparison, either way.
I have to give one back
I've often said that the difference is subtle and will only be negligible to the player after many gigs. However, judging just by these comparisons (done the proper way by the way), it confirms what I've always felt -- the maple is slightly snappier and the rosewood is slightly warmer. But for me, what make a classic P sound is the vintage pups, the simple bridge and a rosewood neck. The solution? Get an extra body, have two, and then get a J with a maple neck! : )
Flat vs round maple vs rose would be sick
Please consider doing more studio covers. I know they take some work but they were really good and entertaining.
I liked the rosewood better with the straight through signal, but when you added fx I thought the maple was much cleaner and consistent. I think you could emulate the rosewood using the maple with fx, but not the other way around.
Rosewood ive found on fender basses usually have a rounder more bottom end sound as you mentioned,but i agree that the maples are easier to play compared to rosewood.always think blocks on a pa bass look odd though.great video thanks for posting.
Hey I know this is an older video but here's my two cents. There is no better or worse one IMO. Yes there's a small difference but both are good. So it all comes down to what your personal preference is. Last year I bought two P basses for my birthday. One with a maple on maple neck and one with a rosewood on maple neck. Otherwise all exactly the same specs. I had them both for a while and tested them thoroughly. Sometimes the maple sounded better and sometimes the rosewood. In the end my conclusion was that the difference was close to zero. In some songs I preferred the maple fretboard, in others the rosewood. So the tone in relation to the song made a difference but it was tiny. In the end I kept the rosewood one because it felt better in my fretting hand, and I sold the other one. But if the buyer had given me 10 bucks more for the rosewood one I would have happily sold that and kept the maple.
Very slight difference, but I prefer Rosewood, it helps create a rounded bottom end, but so do many other of the parts (most of them probably have more effect), I also prefer the look and feel of Rosewood by a lot.
The maple neck fretboard looks like it has a finish on it and and the rosewood neck fretboard does not. That being the case, the maple neck is completely sealed and can’t breathe while the rosewood fretboard is open and can breathe. The sealed neck reacts different because there isn’t any wood breathing and not effecting the vibration at the frets while the unsealed neck is breathing during fretting and influences the vibration at the frets. Also, the maple neck has plastic block inlays where the rosewood neck has standard size plastic dots ... with that being said, all of the amplified sounds can be manipulated to your preferences ... in the end, which one do you think looks better with the overall aesthetics of the bass ... They both look great ... the maple neck is more of a custom look where the rosewood neck is standard look ... which ever one you pick, you’ll end up thinking you should’ve bought the other one ... ciao
That difference is negligible and will be absolutely impossible to hear in any kind of mix. Just keep the one you think looks the best!
I think that it’s just more of a feel thing. Personal preference. Maple seems to have more life. Dunno. You can just eq both to make them sound almost the same. Plus, will you prefer one over the other playing with a live band?
Its more about the feeling when you play. Plugins almost "erases" the difference!
Is the body made out of Alder? With both necks, sounds fuckin good man!!!
Rosewood for me.
would not be a good idea to make a fretboard in maple from the 12 fret and above and from rosewood before the 12 fret?
Nice bass and great comparison. Tough call. Don’t forget to try some flatwounds on it at some point.
Rosewood sound better to me..it provides more worm bass tone even in slap
the wavs look slightly larger on the rosewood example
I always preferred rosewood.
It's all about the feel. You have plenty of rosewood boards, mix it up and go with the awesome maple! Also, maple with block inlays scream "Brothers Johnson" to me. Band Geek should do Strawberry Letter #23 (the double lead kills).
I don’t really pay attention about the sound differences with the fingerboard. I assumed that the maple would have a brighter tone compare to the rosewood, which would be darker than the maple. I usually go with rosewood or the dark fingerboards.
ebony fingerboard?
Rosewood!
The rosewood sounds as though it has a more “fullness” to it. In all of the string aspects it sounds like it breathes better.
You said that the maple feels better and I think you can get the sound of the rosewood from the maple with some effects or whatever. I sure like how the maple looks. But, we aren’t going by that.
I say maple and tweak it to get the rosewood out of it where you need it. I think it comes down to “feel” at the end of the day. That’s my layman’s opinion.
I'm trying to decide between these 2 necks as well, so thanks for this great video. Just wondering if you've ever compared the Standard Fender Precision bass to the Players version...
The maple sounded brighter to me which is what I like in a bass. I suppose is a matter of taste...
I think the higher harmonics sound better on maple and the low to mid growl sounds better on rosewood.
Richie,
Curious, were both bases stored under the same conditions? Personally I have never liked the low tones on rosewood when using picks. Better for pizzicato or slap than maple. An old timer once told me “son, there ain’t no one bass to cover all tones. Find your groove thing and love it don’t fight it.” Cool vid and interesting topic. 😎
There was 1 bass body in the video)
@@altmaxv Yes, I was referring to the necks. Danny might have had the maple set up for his play, while the rosewood sat on a shelf in the garage for example. Not a big deal for his comparison, just a curiosity. Mostly, preferences are subjective in frequency and resonance with subtle differences having devotees for material. For me, the feel was key and then how I could get the sound desired. It’s funny how the different instruments even not Frankensteined together from parts always have their own unique character from one to the next. 👍🏻
I will say this-- my sound guy puts a bypass on my amp and has my P-Bass with rosewood fretboard direct into the system. He says it is perferct as it is, and need no EQ or amp to modify it's sound. And, I agree.
Richie, would you consider doing a cover of "A Venture" by Yes? Such a great song.
They all some Br00tal when you slap some distortion, overdrive and darkglass pedals on them
My opinion isn't popular, but I generally rank sound as the least important factor when enjoying bass. 1st is looks, 2nd is feel, 3rd is looks. All good kit (bass, amps, strings) sounds excellent these days. If you pay enough, you can get whatever sound you want from any kit. I've enjoyed virtually every possible sound from every possible bass I've ever played. Every company, every model, every everything. It's why I plays Ricks: the look and feel great, but I can't tell the difference in sound when compared to Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, Jackson, etc.
To me, these necks have no difference in sound. The only differences are looks and feel. I prefer the maple neck because its colour is lighter, but Richie how do they feel?
Q: Maple or Rosewood?
A: Yes
Maple sounded better and looks great with that body..IMO
Maple
Rithie, you smile few times with Rosewood...
Maple is snappier fingerstyle. Has a bit of a Stingray vibe.
I mean, honestly, how sure are you that the differences you're hearing (and I will definitely admit that there are slight differences) are really a result of the fretboard? After all, you did not exchange only the fretboard... You removed all strings, replaced the whole neck and put (the same?) strings back on.
At the least, I wish you had put the maple back on and made a third round of recordings, see if those even sound the same as the first. Call me ignorant, but I don't believe fretboard wood really makes enough of a (predictable/reproducable) difference so that an effort like this is worth one's time. I would be much more interested if the data set was larger and some basses were rosewood first, then maple, while others were maple first, then rosewood.
Something is telling me Fodera......
virtually no difference . . . maple neck looks MUCH better on that bass - I'd go with that.
Rosewood to my ears. Better low end in MHOP.
Rosewood sounds more compressed.
I preffer rosewood :3
Wow. The rosewood sounds so much better to me. Maple bothers my ears
Purely a cosmetic difference. Oh - and maple feels nicer on the figures . thats it
If maple is good enough for Geddy Lee...
and Steve... :D
I think the Maple has a more "funk" sound and like you, I think the Rosewood seems more "round" or dare I say "full". This is really obvious (to me) when you slap. I don't think one is "better" than the other, just different. e.g. Shooting Shark = Maple, DFTR = Rosewood.
I think you played the rosewood differently. You definitely played with more attack with the rosewood. Even your body language changed. Your brain probably took over since you already like the rosewood more. Very interesting. More head bob and facial expressions. Go back and watch it
99% of what your hearing is your right hand... get two identical basses (diff necks) and then blindfold yourself and have a friend hand you the guitars randomly (ergo.. take it away and then randomly hand you one back ) for 30 minutes and you will never tell (or hear) the difference..
So, ok, great comparison but something is missing...
The hand and the fingers ARE NOT THE SAME in two samples...
This decline a bit of "scientificity" but ok, I think too rosewood is a bit warmer and growly...
To me...maple sounded warmer overall.
bridge is a hipshot not a badass ii bridge
I still prefer maple, rosewood sounds like the bass is farting
there is no more pleasing thing in the world than farthing 🙂
You’re playing is too different to tell for sure. Not saying I could have done it better. You might need a soulless robot.