Fender Precision Bass question: Does the fretboard material make any difference in sound or anything

Sean775

Sean775

Mar 19, 2015
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New Jersey, USA
#1
I'm finally getting around to buying a P Bass, which I'll buy once I get my tax returns back. Should I pay much attention to the fretboard, or just buy what I think looks better?

I didn't have a choice with my Jazz Bass, because the model I wanted only came in one option, and that had a rosewood fretboard.
 
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#6
Really depends who you ask. I mean different woods will CERTAINLY vibrate in different ways. But the extent to which you perceive that difference through the strings/electronics/amplification/etc gets complicated. Can you consistently pick out which is which in a blind test with so many other factors in play? But in terms of PLAYING, I think you absolutely get a tangible response from the fb wood. More about feel than sound (I think).

Maple is hard and has always felt kind of "clacky" and bright to me in a way that I really love for most situations. Rosewood feels softer and more "lush" to me, with less articulation but taking up more space. Haven't played enough pau ferro basses to generate an opinion.

Plenty of people will say that's all bs, but if it's something that feels clear to you, it makes a big difference in preferring one bass over another.
 
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#10
Sean775 said:
Should I pay much attention to the fretboard, or just buy what I think looks better?
Click to expand...

You should pay attention to buy what you like the most! :D

Your bass should look and sound good to you!!!

Sean775 said:
I didn't have a choice with my Jazz Bass, because the model I wanted only came in one option, and that had a rosewood fretboard.
Click to expand...

05042017113.jpg


...poor guy :p:p:p:p:p ;)

greetings

Wise(b)ass
 
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#11
Sean775 said:
I'm finally getting around to buying a P Bass, which I'll buy once I get my tax returns back. Should I pay much attention to the fretboard, or just buy what I think looks better?

I didn't have a choice with my Jazz Bass, because the model I wanted only came in one option, and that had a rosewood fretboard.
Click to expand...

Sean, this is a topic that is questioned and debated perennially and ad nauseam on TalkBass:
 
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#14
The choice of fingerboard woods can make a huge difference psychologically. I would be surprised if anybody could successfully identify fingerboard woods consistently based on listening to sound samples. The possibilities of that fall pretty much to zero once the instrument is heard in a band setting.

I used to believe it made a huge difference, and I insisted on rosewood fingerboards. I still maintain I can hear subtle differences, but strangely, I can only correctly identify those differences if I can see the instrument.
 
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#15
This subject is.............................

Flogging a dead horse (alternatively beating a dead horse, or beating a dead dog in some parts of the Anglophone world) is an idiom that means to continue a particular endeavour is a waste of time as the outcome is already decided.

beat-a-dead-horse.jpg


Fretboard makes no difference at all.

Buy what you think looks best.

The kind of strings that you use has the biggest effect on sound.
 
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