Single coil or humbucker? Did you know that the human eye has a blind spot that your brain fills in for you? Likely the most widespread fingerboard tone wood in circulation, Rosewood is the preferred option for the majority of guitar players. It makes no difference to the sound or playability of an electric guitar whether you have rosewood or maple for the fingerboard. I need to play on more maple fretboards to see if I can really tell the difference. In terms of overall feel and playability, rosewood tends to feel coarse, and not as slick compared to maple and ebony. I take a finger of my glove and take a little dab of epoxy and wipe it into the grain of the fingerboard smooth. There are several types of wood used for making a guitar, with maple and rosewood being two of the most popular for fretboards. There is more than just rosewood and maple! I don't know whether to upvote this for having some good information about fingerboard woods or flag it for unnecessary unkindness in the last two sentences. It will make a bit of difference to the sound - one ond of the string is resting on the bridge, and the vibration goes through that into the body. The owners of a guitar with this type of rosewood can be considered lucky and should be proud of their instruments. Rosewood is an open-grained wood, which can make it feel less smooth and fast to play on. However, I was still kind of turned off by the looks of these blond necks on my good lookin' gits. But what I do is take the board and clean it, then wearing gloves, I mix a small amount of clear 5 minute set epoxy. It’s a dark brown type of wood with beautiful reddish accents and nice grain patterns. However, the benefit is that it rosewood fingerboards tend to give better control over the strings, allowing for easier bends. You will almost certainly plot a different frequency response for different instruments, but you cannot even begin to claim that the difference is the result of fretboard material. That’s why protective layers of various coating are added. What is the Difference between Maple and Rosewood Fretboards, guitarcenter.com/search?Ns=r&Ntt=humidifier. -The maple sounded more nasally. Does it bother you that the pickup is sensing a relatively small portion of the string length? The 1950s set the tone for the foreseeable future of guitar building. Maple boards are typically placed on Swamp Ash or brighter wood bodies and it lends a snap to the tone of the guitar. There are plenty of guitars out there that don't follow these traditional approaches so your mileage may vary. Rosewood is known to be much mellower, and usually makes it's way on mahogany bodies and necks. The sure do feel & look different tho. The maple family of woods offers a wide range of responses, influenced by where in the world the tree grew. A fellow guitar player Kenny Blue Ray gave me a maple neck with maple fingerboard to try out. Its concentric geometry also helps to stabilize the neck, reducing the effect of changes in temperature and humidity. It has a lighter brown hue, close to the caramel nuance. (Some sources also call this "gunstock" oil.). When they sent the maple one I did the same with the same exact settings I saved to my digital setup. In fact maple sounds tighter overall while rosewood has a looseness in the tone. In this article we’re going to analyze the most popular types of necks in today’s guitar world: maple and rosewood. Hard, straight-grained maple is more abundant than similar rosewood, so the odds are slightly with you with a maple neck/rosewood board combo, I think. Maple with tung oil provides a finish that polishes wonderfully over time, yielding a slick neck. Unlike rosewood, the maple board will damage and far more easily. Both neck shapes were designed by researching vintage instruments and Mayer test-driving guitars on stage to find what felt right. Although maple is a hard wood, ebony is harder and will wear better. Hey guys, everybody talks about this, and when they do, they talk about the sound. Your strings touch the frets, and your fingers touch the strings. I think rosewood fretboards on Strats feel better, but I prefer the look and sound of maple. I bend notes a lot and it seems with a rosewood fret board that sometimes I have a hard time controlling the bent note, where as with maple I can control it a little better. This makes the playing experience warm, organic and natural to the hand and fingers. Volume changes what we hear and fatigue can set in as well. I'd still go with maple. Some guitarists enjoy this process, as an indicator of experience, while it also makes the instrument look more vintage and aged. Maple, they feel, sounds crisper and snappier, while rosewood can sound more “woody” and round. If you don't, your guitar may be ruined. - Guitar Space Although I'm a bit skeptical of the claim that the fretboard makes much of a sonic difference, especially on an electric, since it makes up such a small percentage of the wood used. In my universe (meaning: guitars that I have), it's vice versa tone wise. Most guitarists characterize this as being reflective and neutral. They differ. Depending on the tree where it’s cut from, its nuance can turn almost white, making a beautiful contrast with a dark body and inlays. Same guitar, different fretboards, and the Custom has a bit of a snappier, more articulate attack. I typically use a Fender Stratocaster, which I thought should be mentioned. The maple fretboard option comes with the original 635JM neck shape, while the rosewood fretboard option has been subtly modified in the shoulders to feel more “rounded” in your hand. One of the very common questions is how different types of necks and fretboard materials affect the sound and the playing of the guitars. Since you’ll be stuck with it for a while, choose carefully based on sound playability and your personal playing preferences and the music you like. (again-same model different fretboard). Tone wise comparing old wood P-Basses it's sort of like the difference between a Maple Neck Tele and a Rosewood neck Tele or Strat. Following the precisely shaped top surface of the maple neck, the result is an ideal playing surface, harder and more durable than ebony or rosewood. I never noticed before how much "work" I actually having to put into playing certain types of things. For what it's worth, setup is much more of a key to playability than fretboard wood or finish. The fret dividers vibrate differently on each type of wood, but anybody who is pro will tell you that each instrument becomes a personal choice based off the sound, looks, and overall playability. Try it, fret a string, or have someone else fret a string, and watch it from the side. Good luck to all out there, keep playing and find what works for you! I tried the neck out and man was it back to like butter! https://music.stackexchange.com/questions/2636/what-is-the-difference-between-maple-and-rosewood-fretboards/31326#31326. I tried the rosewood and recorded a track digitally then sent it back. So I did the next best thing, I started finishing my rosewood fingerboards like maple boards. Finished fingerboards and big frets are key if have the same issued as I do. The only thing to be concerned about is caring for the wood and the way it looks when considering maple or rosewood. The sound is supremely influenced by pickups, amps, speakers, the room and volume. Cleaning a rosewood fretboard without damaging it can be done using wood oil soap, steel wool, lemon oil, and a towel. Don't forget Ebony, which is used in a huge number of high-end guitars. I'd love to see you in a blindfold test of different fretboard sounds. There are two types of rose wood, the Indian (most commonly used) and the Brazilian (very limited and rare today). Comparing Les Pauls with rosewood necks to Stratocasters with maple necks is simply bad science. After curing I then spray down some coats of lacquer sanding sealer. The Brazilian type doesn’t feature on guitars after the 60’s, since it’s been banned for cutting, exploitation and commercial use. Go with what you know you'd be comfortable with. Dec 6, 2006, 10:15 PM View attachment 184976 View attachment 184977 I am not sure how to say this but I think I hear the difference. your fingers touch it, the strings touch it, the strings touch the frets that are IMBEDDED in the board..... of course to wood imparts something to the tone. The other end is on a fret, so the sound there goes through the metal of the fret, through the wood it's mounted in (maple/rosewood), and down the neck and into the body. Here's the neck site. I have both a maple and a rosewood with two different fret sizes and two different radius (radi?) I just never was a fan of that bright looking fingerboard on guitars. My only issue with lacquering rosewood would be natural oils in the wood unseating the lacquer over time. The rosewood is very durable. Great note definition/clarity, especially with distortion, bright, sharp highs, punchy and snappy tone. Usually if the air is very dry, you always keep the guitar inside its case when it is not being played, and you only humidify the inside of the guitar case, and measure and monitor the humidity inside the case. Could you? Hope we can all get along! Thus they are sealed. Once I ordered an LP style guitar. I have a Les Paul that sounds big, fat and warm through my tube amp/1x12 cab and thin and bright through a Yamaha practice amp with tiny speakers. With this in mind it is impossible to isolate the influence of fretboard material in the overall tone of the instrument. You'll never be able to identify a fingerboard wood just by listening. A decent deep conditioner, followed by a little conditioning oil a week or so later, is enough to keep rosewood in top condition for 9+ months. Also to add, To me Maple vs. Rosewood is an esthetic choice. Visit a store that sells expensive acoustic guitars in the USA or Europe, and I guarantee you will find humidifiers running to keep the moisture level in the air higher so the guitars do not crack. the fingerboard - the fingerboard does matter, but on a Tele not as much as the body wood and the bridge style/material. And surely that's not a law. Sound frequencies can add up or cancel out and this can be heard differently depending on where you are in a room. But the rosewood boards I've finished and sealed, they bend like butter and my fingertips glide across I have no problems playing anything anymore, even on a bad day of arthritis! The Maple neck is generally brighter, a bit more percussive. Guitar Fretboard: Maple vs Rosewood. Lots of people (some quite prominent) say it makes a difference though. It is hard to tell when a Rosewood fretboard is filthy, making it harder to tell when You Have to wash your fretboard thoroughly. For one thing Leo Fender didn't move from Maple to Rosewood fretboards for any tonal reason. Rumor has it that this characteristic also increases the value and prestige of the instrument on today’s market. I have 2 guitars with the "alternative woods ". Adding humidity to the environment does not seem like a good idea. You can clearly see that string and finger float above the fingerboard. https://music.stackexchange.com/questions/2636/what-is-the-difference-between-maple-and-rosewood-fretboards/34014#34014. I can only speak from personal experience on what I think is better, and in the end, its all subjective and a matter of preference. Your hearing can be influenced by a number of factors. I'd love that guitar so much I might actually get GOOD at playing guitar from all the hours I'd spend practicing on it. You don’t have to purchase an instrument right on the spot you can wait a few days or a week while you go through various music shops ask around and collect information, thus educating yourself in the matter and making an informed choice. However, in time you should be able to tell which is which, so based on our description, consider which type of sound you would like to have in the long run. WiredGuitarist. Rosewood Vs. In my younger days, I hated maple fingerboards purely out of looks. I am sure I could not hear the difference between two fingerboards, and I think most guitarplayers can not hear it either. When replacing the strings, the rosewood seems to adjust easier. If these wear out, it can tarnish, get dirty and get an old, overplayed look. As for sound and tone, maple will offer tight bass notes, great sustain, brighter sound and sharp highs. I think maple is a softer colour, it luks great, and i find it easyer to play than rosewood. When I split the neck pickup to a single coil the sound gets thinner and snappier even through the tube amp. It looks like the sun travels across the sky but it doesn't. Once I feel its filled enough the way I want it, I let it cure. So simple is it. Looks. If you bought a guitar, chances were that it would be outfitted with one of these three, as their density, strength, hardness, and pore shape made them ideal to withstand the rigors of guitar playing. I've seen old Rickenbackers with delaminating lacquer on the neck, possibly as a result of this. I ordered the maple to try but they sent the wrong guitar. I wouldn't worry too much one way or the other re. See if you can get it right without watching. Your 30+ years of owning two Stratocasters equates to exactly nothing in this debate. For me a 60's style 3 saddle bridge (steel saddles) is more important than maple or rosewood (or alder vs. swamp ash), many prefer 50's style brass saddles. The string doesn't make enough contact w/ the FB for it to have a dramatic difference. In between coats I use fine steel wool and smooth out each coat. Enough fretting. The soft, warm sound and rich balanced tones, plus the natural feel of this neck when played is the preference of guitarists that look for balanced tone and sweet highs. Maple. Guitarists also tend to think all maple sounds the same when it actually varies quite a bit in hardness. Maple seems to grab the strings a little more where rosewood seems to be a little slicker IMO. Rosewood and maple look different, but when guitarists state that rosewood sounds 'darker' they are hearing with their eyes in the main. 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I know some are going to cringe and some going to say I've ruined a Fender or something, I don't give a Rat's Bass what you think Lol I got arthritis and just want to play, not worry what the wine cork sniffers think. I own maple, rosewood, and ebony fingerboards on different guitars, and I can't even begin to agree that it "makes no difference to the sound or playability". It'll affect sustain and tone quality, although to be honest other factors like the type of string, pickup and body make much more difference. If you want to see the main differences between the two, and how these types of wood affect your playing, sound, aspect and maintenance, you will find below the most essential facts and important features of the two categories compared. Which one is the true sound of that guitar? I would tend to agree with you Alex. 2021 Stack Exchange, Inc. user contributions under cc by-sa. Doing this gives me a level board with filled in grain. He has some tendon problems in his hand and had surgery, since then he's been playing more maple boards and dropped down to a set of 9's when he plays now. Fast forward 20 years later, I'm older now and have arthritis in my hands now. In fact my two favorite necks, as far as the “feel” of the fretboard goes, are not rosewood or maple. Maple is a thick and hard cloth, providing that more glowing and snappier tone. But it's pretty minimal really. As stated above, the components should make a unitary whole on a guitar, so be aware that the fretboard is not the only part responsible for the sound and playability. I find with these type of things, and often with speakers also, it takes a night of playing to figure it out. Ebony vs Rosewood Fretboard: The Playability In terms of grain characteristics, ebony is more open-grained than rosewood. The funny thing is; when you play the guitar, your fingers don't touch the fingerboard, and the strings don't touch it either. I did own a few guitars with maple fingerboards, but I never played them much really to give them good break ins. Maple necks are popular in iconic guitars such as the popular Stratocaster and Telecaster from Fender. For live playing the rosewood will absorb some sweat also. Yeah +1 for Warmoth too! It is a naturally oily wood which results in a richer fundamental tone than maple due to the unwanted overtones being absorbed into the oily pores. These are commonly finished with a high-gloss lacquer. Smart guitarists use a hygrometer to measure humidity and a humidifier to keep the humidity at at a constant level inside the case. The color is a much lighter yellow-brown hue. Now you can either shoot some gloss lacquer over it all if you want that shine on it. Consider factors such as aspect, the long run aging and transformation, and maintenance requirements explained above. I agree w/ Alex as well. Good point. -The rosewood had more bottom end It depends on the Guitar. Maple and Rosewood. As for tone or feel, I don't notice any difference. ALL THESE ARE EASY TO MANIPULATE IN MIXING BUT IT IS TRUE. I work the whole length of the board until its just got a thin layer over it. It has a very dark brown color similar to chocolate or coffee. in this case, the maple has the snap. A maple neck is harder and feels very smooth under your fingers, while rosewood has some sponginess to it due to the porous properties of the wood. You can adjust the tone of a Strat by tightening or slackening off the neck bolts (and if they are '70s Strats with that micro-tilt garbage, or a folded up bus ticket acting as a crude shim, then all bets are off). I live in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, where it is rarely necessary to use a humidifier, but to people in most other parts of the USA it is essential. Don’t rush if you’re undecided, especially if you want to make a big investment. I have been playing guitar since 1964. Also, having two woods bonded is likely to counteract any warping that a single piece would have. Rosewood is known to be much mellower, and usually makes it's way on mahogany bodies and necks. I just leave the sanding sealer as is, it leaves a natural sheen I think that looks more close to a new natural polished up rosewood fingerboard. It is however well known that woods lend specific tones to an instrument, so possibly years of experience and use by high quality luthiers have lent to the reputation of maple and rosewood. There are plenty of other fingerboard woods out there to choose from, but these two seem to be industry standards. Articles, Uncategorized. Overall the tones are rich and spacious. Maple boards are typically placed on Swamp Ash or brighter wood bodies and it lends a snap to the tone of the guitar. One difference is how you treat and care for one or the other as a guitar owner. When it comes to guitars, whether electric or acoustic, the components that make the instrument, the design, and the type of materials used for its construction directly affect the way it sounds, feels and plays. It's all preference and your ability to enforce it. Rickenbacker have used rosewood on occasion, though they favour Bubinga for fretboards. Unlike rosewood, the maple board will damage and far more easily. https://music.stackexchange.com/questions/2636/what-is-the-difference-between-maple-and-rosewood-fretboards/2637#2637. What I do to mine so they seal properly, most argue the porous grain on rosewood is too difficult to try and fill before sealing.

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