Is a maple fretboard really brighter?

[jar546]

I am in the market for a jazz bass and would like to have one geared toward slap/pop which I was always told was better on a maple fretboard.

 

Any thoughts on this or recommendations for a bass for this application would be appreciated. I was leaning towards a Fender Jazz with a thinner neck than my P and certainly thinner than my SR5.

 

Thanks!

[b5pilot]

I would think the Fender Marcus Miller jazz bass would be a top contender if you are looking for a slapin' bass. By the way, they are pretty nice.

[Nicklab]

Either a Jazz bass or a Musicman Stingray would fit the bill fine. Just put on some stainless steel roundwounds like DR Hi-Beams or Dean Markley Blue Steels and you're in the ball park pretty fast.

[jeremy c]

The Geddy Lee bass would be good, as well.

 

Maple is a little brighter than rosewood.

[rizzo9247]

Maple is a little brighter than rosewood.

In color as well...

[Chad Thorne]

I also feel that maple yields a brighter tone than rosewood.

[jar546]

I tried out the Marcus Miller and could not get use to the pickup guard and thought that removing it would take away from its look. A bridge guard I could deal with.

 

I have been looking at the Geddy bass for some time. I like the fact that it is passive.

[SuStudio]

I own several jazz basses with both maple and rosewood and I find the maple to be brighter and stronger in the midrange frequencies producing more "bark" for slapping/popping. Of course you need to consider the other variables like P/Us, type and age of strings and EQ settings but, all things being equal, I prefer the maple fretboard for this sound.

 

Regarding the MM bass, you can always remove those covers but you're still paying a premium for the signature model. Check out the new Standard Jazz bass with the re-designed features: lighter tuning pegs, high-mass bridge and thinner finishes for tone transparency. I just picked one up and it's awesome.

[lug]

The tonal characteristics of the maple fretboard would somehow have to be averaged in with the bodywood to get an answer. When you fret your bass, the strings don't touch the fretboard wood (unless you dig in like a gorilla), they only touch the fret in front and behind your contact point so the tone difference could only be from how the overall structure resonates, not anything to do with the wood physically touching string.

[picker]

The answer is YES.

[Nicklab]

The Geddy Lee bass would be good, as well.

 

Maple is a little brighter than rosewood.

 

I saw a Geddy Lee a few days ago that was around $850. And it was in the new sunburst finish. It definitely seems like it would be a good slapping bass...provided you're cool with the string spacing.

[itu]

I own several jazz basses with both maple and rosewood and I find the maple to be brighter and stronger in the midrange frequencies producing more "bark" for slapping/popping. Of course you need to consider the other variables like P/Us, type and age of strings and EQ settings but, all things being equal, I prefer the maple fretboard for this sound.

Years back I had the chance to try different basses (Modulus (cocobolo top), Tobias Signature (LOTS of different woods), Sadowsky (all maple), Wal (do not remember the wood of the body but fretboard was rosewood)) in a quiet place. The result was that the bodies with (exotic) tops gave more high frequencies unamplified compared to the ones that were made of one wood (say, alder) and no laminates (tops). The differencies were audible but still subtle.

 

However, the group (we were four of us) that tested the basses did NOT pay attention to the necks (carbon, laminate, plain maple, rosewood on top of maple). Because of this, SuStudios comment is more accurate - I suppose that Fenders have the same body wood and not exotic tops?

[57pbass]

A polished maple fingerboard will be much brighter than a Rosewood fingerboard. A maple board w/o a polished finish will be as warm as a rosewood fingerboard..

[plankspanker13]

J-style bass w/rosewood fb = my plucker & slapper

P-bass w/ maple fb = my picker

 

Both may be played in all of the aforementioned fashions. The J-style (G&L JB2) is very bright due to the electronics, and I just dime the knobs for a great slap sound. The P is a Squier Classic Vibe 50's with a single-coil pickup, and is great for rockin' with a pick. I can still slap it decently, but it does not nearly nail that classic 70's funk sound as well as the JB2 does. The P-bass has its utility for certain gigs that I do, but the JB2 is the better all-around instrument for gigs requiring maximum versatility and minimum gear.

 

The best advice: If you can have 2 or 3 basses, then you can have some versatility with specialization. If you must only have 1 instrument, I would go for something that does what you do the most to the best degree.

[SteveC]

I saw a Geddy Lee a few days ago that was around $850. And it was in the new sunburst finish.

 

I didn't like that finish at first, but now I think I'd rather have that than the basic black. I wish I needed a 4 string jazz. That would be what I'd get.