Someone came along on Facebook today who had sanded the neck of his bass with waterproof sandpaper until it was dull.
And he claims that the neck is now 10x faster.
I often come across such claims. And I think it's weird people think a matte sanded neck makes you play faster.
You'll see them quickly slide their hand back and forth along the neck a few times (without actually playing). And being surprised at how soft (smooth) it feels, they immediately conclude that it also makes you play faster.
I think that's nonsense.
Nobody plays in such a way that, when you have to slide from first position to -let's say- 19th position at lightning speed, it would make a demonstrable difference.
And, in general, at those extreme intervals, you move your thumb by taking it off the neck and putting it down a bit further.
And even if you would actually slide it, a matte neck would not provide a demonstrable speed gain.
How the neck feels is a matter of taste. Some like the feel of a matte sanded neck. And if you like that, I think a bass plays better for you.
Some people with sweaty fingers may not like a high-gloss neck because the thumb can't slide as quickly. I can actually only notice that effect when I squeeze really hard. And that is not the intention anyway if you want to play nicely.
What would make a difference?
In my opinion the speed of playing happens at the front of the neck, on the fingerboard.
If you want a significantly faster playing neck, you need to drastically lower the height of your frets. The flatter the frets, the faster the neck in my experience.
But you rarely hear anyone about that.
*end of sermon*