Rosewood or Maple?

[UnklMickey]

Vote for your favorite, and tell us why you like it best. (looks, feel, tone?, etc.)

[jimplaysguitar]

I voted rosewood, because it's all I've ever had, lol.
I'm going to try maple for my next guitar, simply because I like the look of it.

Jim

[Trey]

I've got a Pau Ferro board on one of my guitars and I love it. It's got the looks of Striped Ebony but isn't as brittle or bright, it's also kind of waxy so it doesn't need lemon oil and feels excellent when bending.

Otherwise I'd go for either Rosewood or Ebony, both are about the same toneally, but Ebony requires just a little bit more maintaince.

[UnklMickey]

to me, maple is visually the most attractive fretboard.

until this past summer, i never knew what i was missing.

my strat is the first guitar i ever owned with a maple fretboard (excluding my custom fretless bass -- but i guess that would be considered a maple fingerboard. besides, i cant play bass worth a $#!+ anyway!).

i'm not sure if it's mainly because of the maple fretboard, or the longer scale, but it plays sooooo different from my Gibbies.

being lighter in color, it's much easier to see what my fingers are doing, and it feels nice too.

i hear that one of the reasons they put rosewood fingerboards on maple necks is to "soften" the tone. i wonder how that would compare to a mahogany neck with a maple fingerboard, all other things being the same?

i've previously dumped on Fender for the ugly aesthetics of the Strat, the limitations of the stock selector switch, stupidity of the overlapping tone controls, and thoughtless placement of the volume control. so i guess i should applaud them for getting it right (IMHO) on the maple fretboard.

[Runewalker]

I don't know if I completely buy the whole, "maple adds brightness" idea. Mass and density do affect tone as does the strength of the bridge to body coupling. Of course if you play exclusively clean you can hear more of those subtleties. But being from and living in Texas, I have little need or inclination toward subtly, meaning, that while I may stay for 5 min in a clean setting, I naturally gravitate to the "turn it to 11" notion. And much of those sonic differences are lost once saturation kicks in. That is not meant to be provocative, only factual.

So, when posed with the question of maple vs rosewood, it is less about the sound than the feel, at least for me. I just did a build with an oddball neck I had around. Medium jumbos, and rosewood. But the rosewood was really tightly grained, and when polished felt a lot like a finish coated maple. Not everyone likes that slick feeling (carefullUnk) but I find it quite satisfying and associate the feeling with a new maple neck, meaning the finish is still on the fretboard and hasn't been worn away. The porosity and graininess of some rosewoods adds an unpleasant friction to playing, esp when bending note. And I am all about bending notes.

So I vote for slick.

[damagedcase]

well im new here but i have to say i like maple its smooth and fast and agian it is eazy to see.
but the rosewood is just as nice if the neck is finished in high gloss or painted,
and like runwalker said tight grain.
it too feels smooth and fast....

tone wise i agree with runwalker..

[johan]

My good ole' 80s MIJ Strat has, what I believe is a ebony fretboard. I really don't know, but it's the darkest fretboard around, it's very soft and has incredible tone, but it's really slow and hard to slide around on.

When I got my tele with maple neck, this was heaven to me. It allows for speed and what I can only describe as virtually controlled rattling and flurry. Is this still English? I play clean most of the time (i.e. no distortion)

I voted maple

[stratovani]

Every time I've tried to play a maple fretboard it's always felt sticky to me. I prefer rosewood for its smoothness.

[UnklMickey]

stratovani said:

Every time I've tried to play a maple fretboard it's always felt sticky to me. ....

strange!

usually the opposite is true.

sounds like

• the finish is worn through on the maple board you've played? OR
  
• maple syrup is not an appropriate conditoner for a maple fretboard? OR
  
• the guy who played that maple board just before you did enjoyed it WAY too much?
  

[bam]

;D;D;D

I liked rosewood because:
1. it looks nice (it's just me.)
2. my playing style is .. well, just read this post thoroughly.
3. a properly conditioned fretboard will feel nice, and IMHO there is only a slight difference between maple/rosewood/etc. in a properly conditioned fretboard.

so, in the end, I always choose rosewood fretboard.

um, and a bit of thought to share :
.. my guitar teacher taught me that, playing guitar is all about control. The control on your picking, fretting, and all others (that includes controlling your body and mind). (as he said and I learned) When you fret a note, there is almost no difference between these :
1. when you push a string forcefully that your fingers hit the fretboard
2. when you push a string lightly that your fingers don't hit the fretboard
Thus, fretboard wood is really not an issue in the 2nd style of playing (plus, it conserves your stamina better). And it also explains why most people will agree that scalloped fretboards are really great for speed playing.

[thenewguy]

I just think maple looks cool. I'm learning Electronics, but I don't know anything about guitar woods and that stuff. Maybe I can learn that kinda stuff here. haha. This is a real cool site. And the people all seem real nice. When I get ready to mod out my Squier, maybe you guys can give me some advice.

[dunkelfalke]

i don't really care about the fretboard wood. just happened that all of my current guitars have rosewood fretboards but my first one had an unlaquered maple fretboard and it was okay too.

[bam]

welcome aboard, newguy

[pollyshero]

I voted "other" because it's not a matter of preference, it's a matter of vibe.

The guitar knows which wood is best for itself. If it looks & feels right, it is. My Hamer & Strat are rosewood, Ibanez EX and Yamaha bass are ebony, and Tele is maple. I love 'em all.

[UnklMickey]

pollyshero said:

...The guitar knows which wood is best for itself. If it looks & feels right, it is...

well even if it don't look and feel right, i doubt you'll convince the guitar that it doesn't have the right wood.


things go well with the texas move?

[wolf]

I chose maple. I like the look and the feel of it.
I suppose it might make a difference in the sound.
Then again, have all factors affecting tone been thoroughly researched?
No doubt volume control knob material, strap buttons and strap fabric all play a critical yet seldom-investigated role in the overall sound of an electric guitar. ;D

[UnklMickey]

wolf said:

...Then again, have all factors affecting tone been thoroughly researched?...

well not ALL.

i don't think we've considered the difference in porosity for the various woods, and what effect the room humidity might have on varying the acoustic coupling coefficient from the wood to the air.

.:lol:.

[pollyshero]

Hmmm... Maybe I should have said "The guitar doesn't care what wood it's made of & neither do I".

Still in prep-mode, getting the old place squared away & stuff packed up. I'm a one-man operation since I sent the kids to school in SA after the hurricane. With luck I'll be outta here & into the double-wide by New Year's.

[erikh]

Maple for me. I like the bite I get out of it. Only had a couple guitars with rosewood and I like it too. Maple is my first choice though.

[mlrpa]

Rosewood for me! Every maple fretboard guitar I've ever owned, I've ended up getting rid of it. (Ibanez EX1500, Ibanez RG770, Squire Strat...) I just find them a bit bright, and not quite right. (Hey, I'm a reformed Gibsonhead. I grew up with Pauls.)