Fretless neck...Pau Ferro or Wenge? Need a little more help...

[Dolando]

I think I've settled on a mahogany body for a fretless deluxe jazz, I've heard some great fretless basses with a mahogany body, but I'm undecided on a neck. My current deluxe jazz has a Wenge/ebony neck, but not sure if I'd need something with a little more top end to go with mahogany. I'm after that nice mwah everyone wants from a fretless.

I thought about Pau Ferro neck with either an ebony or Pau Ferro fingerboard...of course any other suggestions are welcome.

Cheers.

 

[Cagey]

I go through a lot of necks here, and by far my favorite combinations have been Ebony over Pau Ferro or Ebony over Satine (Bloodwood). Just pure sex on a stick, especially once they've been burnished. The Bloodwood is a bit heavy, so on a Jazz bass with a Mahogany body, your shoulder might suffer and the possibility exists that you could suffer some neck dive due to the length/weight. Plus, you need the right body finish to match up with it because it's called Bloodwood for a reason. Still... what a lovely thing!

The Pau Ferro is somewhat lighter, although it's still heavier than Maple. Easier to match up to a finish than Bloodwood, though.

 

[Dolando]

I prefer the look of Pau Ferro over the bloodwood, and I think it would match the mahogany and walnut top I'd like to get that I've attached. Might go for a white accent line as well. Should round it off nicely.

Is pau ferro lighter than Wenge? My deluxe jazz with a swamp ash body and Wenge neck doesn't dive but you can feel the weight of the neck on your shoulders.

 

[Cagey]

Wenge and Pau Ferro both average 54 lbs/ft3, so no weight advantage one way or the other. If you're going to put a Walnut top on the body, Wenge might match up better than Pau Ferro, color-wise.

 

[Dolando]

Yea I see what you're saying. I thought pau ferro might be a nice change from the Wenge I already have. But Wenge would also match nicely. Not sure if the Wenge/ebony would give me enough clarity with the mahogany though...

 

[Dolando]

So am I better off with a brighter neck like maple with ebony or pao ferro fretboard with a mahogany body?

Or would Wenge be ok?

 

[Cagey]

Personally, I'm of the opinion that you can always filter and smooth out frequencies and dynamics you don't want electronically, but you can't create them if they aren't there in first place. So, if most of the time you're booming along the low end while smiling at the sky, but every once in a blue moon you wanna get your Geddy Lee on, you need an instrument that is capable of it. You can only turn on the high end if it's there in the first place. Doesn't mean you have to use it, but you're better off having it and not needing it than needing it and not having it.

But, that's just me.

 

[stubhead]

I have a fretless P-bass with pau ferro over padouk, 34" scale, 4 strings, one P-bass pickup. I wanted it to sound and play like a P-bass, and it does. But when I built the 5-string high-C 30.5" scale fretless, I figured I'd need wood to give me back some of the bite that's lost with shorter scale (and fretless) - maple with an ebony board is really hard to beat - except for padouk/ebony, bloodwood/ebony, or... walnut/ebony. Walnut is sort of like the plain, unexotic little sister in the family, sounds great though. Around here, anything other than Fender is subject to squinty scrutiny anyway.

I do try to play bass like a bassist for the most part, but if you're playing with an acoustic-y singer/songwriter type, it's fun to at least have the capacity to get a little spanky. If you're running as an independent contractor, amplification is really important. Hate to say it, but if I had to choose based solely on employability, I'd rather play a $200 bass through a $1000 amp than a $1000 bass through a $200 amp. (thank goodness for Warmoth!)

 

[Dolando]

Cheers guys, that's very true...probably why I never liked a yamaha fretless 5 I had. It was an alder body with maple/rosewood neck. Just sounded very flat and lifeless. I want a fretless with warmth and plenty of mwah.

And stubhead I've got the nice amp sorted, ampeg 4x10 with a mark bass little mark II.