I have a fretless $$ Corvette. A lovely bass. Has the standard ebony fingerboard. But I also have a MIM Fender Jazz fretless with a rosewood fingerboard, which, I think, 'sings' better. Both are set with low action to give mwah. Does anybody have experience with other Warwick fretless basses with non-ebony fingerboards, for comparison? Thanks. PS Apologies if this has been already discussed and if so pointers to that discussion welcome.
Fingerboard wood for fretless Corvette $$
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Florin
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Hi Adam,
All Warwick basses are made with Ebony fb. I don't think there is a better wood than ebony for fretless actually, and I think rosewood is a pretty bad choice, since it is not a very hard wood. It is probably covered with epoxy to have a hard surface, which is a good compromise.
Please judge the way how a bass "sings" in a band context
Use the bridge pickup only, in parallel mode, and it will sing like a bird!
All Warwick basses are made with Ebony fb. I don't think there is a better wood than ebony for fretless actually, and I think rosewood is a pretty bad choice, since it is not a very hard wood. It is probably covered with epoxy to have a hard surface, which is a good compromise.
Please judge the way how a bass "sings" in a band context
Use the bridge pickup only, in parallel mode, and it will sing like a bird!- Thread starter
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Indeed
I have, believe it or not, used both basses in band contexts, including jazz and blues. It is the hardness of ebony that is the issue. It reduces aspects of what can be done with the left hand. And of course bridge pickup.
Adam
I have, believe it or not, used both basses in band contexts, including jazz and blues. It is the hardness of ebony that is the issue. It reduces aspects of what can be done with the left hand. And of course bridge pickup.
Adam
Florin
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I am curious about that too, because all the "unfretted instruments" modern or classical have ebony fb. At least the best of them. I can understand why someone may prefer this, or that, but usually, an rosewood fretless fb, is seen as unprofessional... Are you sure it is rosewood, not a similar looking wood? Ebony can be pretty light sometimes...
lasteffect
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There's alot of different types of Ebony, Some looks brown and some looks black. Thesseling uses a a strange type of Ebony, it's warm like Wenge or Rosewood, but still tough as nails. I forget the word for the wood type, but I believe it began with a "C".
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@ Flo
i'm pretty sure cocobolo is it's own type of wood, a damn sexy one as well.
@Adam
I say stick with ebony. After all the original fretless bass, the double bass, has used ebony for a few hundred years and probably will stick with using them for a long time.
check out this coco fretless ->
i'm pretty sure cocobolo is it's own type of wood, a damn sexy one as well.
@Adam
I say stick with ebony. After all the original fretless bass, the double bass, has used ebony for a few hundred years and probably will stick with using them for a long time.
check out this coco fretless ->
Florin
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You are right
It was Coromandel, and that is an ebony specie. Cocobollo is some kind of rosewood I guess.
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@ Flo: Coromandel (aka Macassar ebony) isn't a ebony species, but it's closely related to it as they are from the same genus.
And yes, cocobolo is in the same genus of palisander and also in the same species of some varieties of rosewood.
And yes, cocobolo is in the same genus of palisander and also in the same species of some varieties of rosewood.
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Yes, but ...
Thanks. I still wonder how to discuss the different effects of may I say 'softer' woods, of which I have experience of rosewood, and 'harder' ones, such as ebony, one what sounds one can get out of the instrument. I will keep looking. My guess is that hard woods are used partly to simply reduce wear and also, as we see with the Pedulla 'glassing' to give certain mwah effects. But, my sense (and that is all it is) is that the softer woods allow for certain sorts of left hand work that the harder woods perhaps do ot. I was in a jazz gig last night, first time for a couple of years with a singer I used to back a lot, with the Fender, and played a fretted bass. After a half a set I realised that I could not get the right notes (i.e. which seventh in this dominant seventh chord) as I was not playing a fretless. But as I had the Warwick fretless also with me, not the Fender, I stuck with the fretted. Interesting for me to ponder just what is happening here, technically. BTW she tends to 'find' her blue notes by coming in from a slight flat entry ...
Thanks. I still wonder how to discuss the different effects of may I say 'softer' woods, of which I have experience of rosewood, and 'harder' ones, such as ebony, one what sounds one can get out of the instrument. I will keep looking. My guess is that hard woods are used partly to simply reduce wear and also, as we see with the Pedulla 'glassing' to give certain mwah effects. But, my sense (and that is all it is) is that the softer woods allow for certain sorts of left hand work that the harder woods perhaps do ot. I was in a jazz gig last night, first time for a couple of years with a singer I used to back a lot, with the Fender, and played a fretted bass. After a half a set I realised that I could not get the right notes (i.e. which seventh in this dominant seventh chord) as I was not playing a fretless. But as I had the Warwick fretless also with me, not the Fender, I stuck with the fretted. Interesting for me to ponder just what is happening here, technically. BTW she tends to 'find' her blue notes by coming in from a slight flat entry ...
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Hi Adam, I hear what you're saying - there is no doubt that softer fingerboard timbers such as Rosewood will definitely give a different tone to ebony. Most likey this will be a softer tone, and a little flatter. It probably would have the tendency to choke the mwah a little, and give off slightly muted highs.
Personally, I like ebony boards on fretless - it can sing like a bird, or I can mute the highs for a lovely smooth Jazz tone (this is where I prefer the smoother and deeper Ash to Bubinga in a Corvette). There's a lot in technique here, but also EQ, and the setup/action of your bass too.
However, I can see that if Rosewood gives you the tone you like it could easily be your preference.
I guess there are other variables too of course - it's difficult to compare a Corvette $$ to a Fender Jazz on fingerboard timber alone, as they're such different basses as well.
:d
Personally, I like ebony boards on fretless - it can sing like a bird, or I can mute the highs for a lovely smooth Jazz tone (this is where I prefer the smoother and deeper Ash to Bubinga in a Corvette). There's a lot in technique here, but also EQ, and the setup/action of your bass too.
However, I can see that if Rosewood gives you the tone you like it could easily be your preference.
I guess there are other variables too of course - it's difficult to compare a Corvette $$ to a Fender Jazz on fingerboard timber alone, as they're such different basses as well.
:d
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Try harder
Thanks, that makes sense. Try. There is a good page on the Alembic site. Persevere with the ebony, therefore. Lowering the action a tad, a little pan to the bridge, bridge on parallel and neck on single coil and it starts to work. Lighter touch with the left hand, also. Good.
Thanks, that makes sense. Try. There is a good page on the Alembic site. Persevere with the ebony, therefore. Lowering the action a tad, a little pan to the bridge, bridge on parallel and neck on single coil and it starts to work. Lighter touch with the left hand, also. Good.
I'd have to agree on the Ebony, I think it's the way to go. Though I don't play jazz (I play Celtic/Zydeco/Rock) 95% of the shows I play are on my fretless Thumb; I need a fairly agressive fretless tone to cut through a nasty accordion sound. All 3 of my fretless basses have ebony and there all a bit different in colour (and tone obviously), I have experimented a bit with different strings and brands, flatwound/round/half round and they all have their unique sound and characteristics. I prefer a nickle roundwound for the type of music I play but I do like the nice mellow mwa of a flatwound string. The beauty of the corvette is the pickup placement, you can really experiment with the different sounds by rolling between the neck and bridge pickups. Sure enough, set the action low and roll over to the bridge and let the singing begin but if you play with different strings and balance you'll get some great sounds. I did a full CD session (over several days) for an artist this past year and the producer didn't want much of my Thumb fretless at all, he wanted my Fortress fretless which is a much more organic earthy sound, and since they were paying the bills, I kept my opinions to myself, shut up and played. If you really aren't getting what you want or you want to take it even further, throw a different pre-amp in your bass. You've got some great basses to start with, go do some exploring. cheers!
Lorne
Lorne
