Both will sit nicely in any mix and both are great sounding Basses with just subtle differences but for me Rosewood with Alder is my all time fav. More pronounced low mids and more warmer and fuller growl over the whole board. This bass will cut through any mix without effort and sits perfect. But both are Ps - Cant go wrong with either but this would be my choice
For a more traditional sound the Alder/rosewood combo is nice. I prefer the growl of ash sound as is it more aggressive and would cut through nicely for the right band. Thanks for sharing this
A slab rosewood board has an even greater tonal effect in that direction, if that's what you're looking for. I have a '78 Greco P bass copy with ash body and slab fingerboard that sound pretty bassy even with the tone all the way up. And I also have an 1980 ash body/maple board Yamaha P bass copy that sounds way brighter and snappier (also put in a .1 uf. Orange Drop capacitor). So yeah, I do think there is significant effect of board wood and its thickness in shaping the tone of a P style bass. Nice demo and axes, sir.
The ash body imparts a nice character; a wet, woody burst of sorts. Ash has a nice midrange. Alder is direct and punchy. Ash is complex and a little sweet.
Very good demo. To be as transparent as possible I'd be happy with either wood type but for my dream p bass I'd say ash. It's more pronounced, hotter, fatter sound which will cut better in the mix. Also by itself I prefer the sound as well.
Confronto interessante! Mi piace di più, come risposta timbrica, il frassino-acero sempre, tranne nello slap! Sarei curioso di sapere se nel mix il frassino-acero è' altrettanto efficace quanto l'ontano-palissandro :)
Both are excellent, although the '71 has a lower sound while the '78 is much higher. I prefer the '71 because I believe that from the amp you can achieve a more varied sound. Greetings from Argentina and sorry for the google translator.
Ash + maple is too clangy for my taste (high mids & treble emphasized). Alder + rosewood is warm and round (low mids & bass emphasized). I highly prefer alder + rosewood with round wounds. If I had to play ash + maple, I would install flat wounds.
The line you used for the pick demonstration is fucking sick. As soon as I heard it I stopped caring about whatever minor differences there may or may not be and immediately started learning that line. (sounds extra cool on my 5 string if I drop the part where it goes from Dm7/F to E down an octave, along with the descending A Locrian scale that follows (which is sick btw))
The tonal differences are subtle. I definitely heard a difference in attack when you were playing with a pick and slapping. The maple neck produces a quicker, brighter attack compared to the maple/rosewood neck.
Subtle, right. They are difference, but subtle, as you mention. The most part of the tone comes right from the strings. People forget that we play the string, not the wood.
Defo maple for p bass. Rosewood sounds nice and round in high register but totally loses it in low register. Imo maple is more balanced with similar tone across the board
Interesting, I found the complete opposite. I thought the maple had more of a zing but slightly scooped while the rosewood sounded a bit more even and almost compressed. I like both.
I still hear the difference, although it's more subtle. The alder + rosewood has what I'd call a tighter sound, less growly than the ash and maple... you can also call it "shorter decay" (on the alder-rosewood), the overtones don't vibrate as much after the attack, on the ash-maple they're more audible.
You could blind fold someone and they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference (assuming they don’t know the stereotypes). Just pick what looks nicer for you
Not really a valid test unless you swapped the pickguard from one to the other between test. Otherwise, the difference can come down to tolerances of the components in the circuit: pickups, caps, pots, and even the wiring. So unless you swapped the loaded pickguard over between tests, it's not really useful. The fact that one is markedly louder than the other also skews the tests. People almost always view louder and sounding better. It's been proven in blind tests of the same audio played at 2 different volumes. The louder one was perceived as sounding better.
Both will sit nicely in any mix and both are great sounding Basses with just subtle differences but for me Rosewood with Alder is my all time fav. More pronounced low mids and more warmer and fuller growl over the whole board.
This bass will cut through any mix without effort and sits perfect.
But both are Ps - Cant go wrong with either but this would be my choice
Great sounding basses. My choice would be ash body with rosewood fingerboard.
Great demo. They both sound fantastic. I sold my 1978 around 20 years. What a mistake
For a more traditional sound the Alder/rosewood combo is nice. I prefer the growl of ash sound as is it more aggressive and would cut through nicely for the right band. Thanks for sharing this
ALDER BODY AND ROSEWOOD FOR ME !
Extremely helpful as I prepare to place an order for a mod-shop Fender P ... thanks, man!
That maple board 👌
thanks a lot for sharing this, as Im considering change the body of my ash/maple precision to a get a bit less harsh mids
A slab rosewood board has an even greater tonal effect in that direction, if that's what you're looking for. I have a '78 Greco P bass copy with ash body and slab fingerboard that sound pretty bassy even with the tone all the way up. And I also have an 1980 ash body/maple board Yamaha P bass copy that sounds way brighter and snappier (also put in a .1 uf. Orange Drop capacitor). So yeah, I do think there is significant effect of board wood and its thickness in shaping the tone of a P style bass. Nice demo and axes, sir.
i love ash body great tone too
The ash body imparts a nice character; a wet, woody burst of sorts. Ash has a nice midrange. Alder is direct and punchy. Ash is complex and a little sweet.
Maple for me
Very good demo. To be as transparent as possible I'd be happy with either wood type but for my dream p bass I'd say ash. It's more pronounced, hotter, fatter sound which will cut better in the mix. Also by itself I prefer the sound as well.
Confronto interessante! Mi piace di più, come risposta timbrica, il frassino-acero sempre, tranne nello slap! Sarei curioso di sapere se nel mix il frassino-acero è' altrettanto efficace quanto l'ontano-palissandro :)
Both are excellent, although the '71 has a lower sound while the '78 is much higher. I prefer the '71 because I believe that from the amp you can achieve a more varied sound. Greetings from Argentina and sorry for the google translator.
Great comparison. Excellent playing - same each time. Thanks.
Bea seba! Preferisco il secondo tranne nello slap in cui preferisco il primo 👍👍
Ash + maple is too clangy for my taste (high mids & treble emphasized). Alder + rosewood is warm and round (low mids & bass emphasized). I highly prefer alder + rosewood with round wounds. If I had to play ash + maple, I would install flat wounds.
100% right - Alder & Rosewood always sits perfect and can easily cut if wanted because
LowMids are key
The line you used for the pick demonstration is fucking sick. As soon as I heard it I stopped caring about whatever minor differences there may or may not be and immediately started learning that line.
(sounds extra cool on my 5 string if I drop the part where it goes from Dm7/F to E down an octave, along with the descending A Locrian scale that follows (which is sick btw))
The tonal differences are subtle. I definitely heard a difference in attack when you were playing with a pick and slapping. The maple neck produces a quicker, brighter attack compared to the maple/rosewood neck.
Subtle, right. They are difference, but subtle, as you mention. The most part of the tone comes right from the strings. People forget that we play the string, not the wood.
I think I preferred the alder guitar with fingers, and the ash guitar by far with the pick
Rosewood all day
Are they too heavy? Which is the heaviest?
Hi Henrique! The '78 with ash is pretty heavy, it's like 5.1 kg, instead the '71 in alder it's 1 kg less!
Both are great, but I prefer ash+maple.
thank you
maple rock growly piercing sound, rosewood is more modern sounding, mellower, rounder, thumpier
Defo maple for p bass. Rosewood sounds nice and round in high register but totally loses it in low register. Imo maple is more balanced with similar tone across the board
Interesting, I found the complete opposite.
I thought the maple had more of a zing but slightly scooped while the rosewood sounded a bit more even and almost compressed.
I like both.
nice job although I am a rosewood player I think the maple neck sounded better, do they make p basses with the rosewood fretboards on ash bodies?
Thom Costa yes! Check out this video, it's a '78 p-bass with rosewood - ash!
ruclips.net/video/-Z81B0DdezM/видео.html
The fender nate Mendel P .... RW board with ash body :)
IF YOU DON´T SEE YOU DON´T KNOW WHICH IS WICH
What is the weight of each of them ?
Hi, the '71 weighs 3,9 kg and the '78 around 5 kg if I remember correctly.
I might "see" the difference, but as soon as I do a blind test - the differences disappear. Try it yourself. Don't fool yourself though
I still hear the difference, although it's more subtle. The alder + rosewood has what I'd call a tighter sound, less growly than the ash and maple... you can also call it "shorter decay" (on the alder-rosewood), the overtones don't vibrate as much after the attack, on the ash-maple they're more audible.
Where did you bought this?
Did they both have the same pickups?
Hi Michael, nope both basses have stock pickups
I have come to one conclusion.
No matter the wood or other differences, a good bass will only sound good when played by a good bass player.
You could blind fold someone and they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference (assuming they don’t know the stereotypes).
Just pick what looks nicer for you
Alder/rosewood
Not really a valid test unless you swapped the pickguard from one to the other between test. Otherwise, the difference can come down to tolerances of the components in the circuit: pickups, caps, pots, and even the wiring. So unless you swapped the loaded pickguard over between tests, it's not really useful.
The fact that one is markedly louder than the other also skews the tests. People almost always view louder and sounding better. It's been proven in blind tests of the same audio played at 2 different volumes. The louder one was perceived as sounding better.
Hello! Just a fun comparison between two great basses, not intended to be a scientific test 🙂 Have a good one!