My 'Neck' of the 'Woods'!

[Rainer Bastian]

Hi all,

What about the difference between THE fretted and THE fretless neck wood ?

After 30 years of bass playing I am totally enthusiastic about my tone and feel with Smith basses. My favourite body wood combo is a) mahogany core with maple t&b and b) walnut core with walnut t&b. a) is punchy aggression and b) is warmer growl But only for fretted basses, and as far as I understand there are not so much options to choose a neck wood...;-)

I tried those combos out with fretless Smiths and I found out, that I'm again impressed by the attack and tonal response, but I missed the tonal complexity of an old Tobias fretless I own. So my favourite fretless neck is ... walnut with purpleheart stringers. By the way - I own several Tobias' and the walnut neck is not only good for fretless... but for fretted I would prefer Maple with Laminates...

Ken, did you check walnut for fretless necks ? What is your favourite wood for fretless necks ? Do you think that there is a difference between tonal woods for fretted and fretless basses ?