Can you hear a distinct difference between rosewood and maple?

[HolyDirt]

i cant really tell, i just liek the look of rosewood more

 

[MDS]

In my experience maple sounds a little brighter. I definitely like how it feels better. Rosewood's grain feels scratchy under the strings. I do like how it looks, though...Ebony is my favorite, bright, smooth, and dark(colored).

Mike

 

[59paul]

I agree, I think the Maple is a little brighter, a little punchier.

 

[loudriver23]

I also find Maple brighter, and a bit more percussive.
I have a Strat with Maple and a tele with Rosewood.
I must say I love my Frankenstrat's neck!

 

[Gary S.]

Yep, I prefer maple over rosewood.

 

[CsaRvoX]

I also prefer maple board to rosewood but rosewood over maple neck also sounds good...but I think ebony is the best...

 

[Hoss]

they both have thier place......

rosewood=smoothness

maple=more snap

 

[xerxes]

i like rosewood. i find that its faster....

no i cant really tell the difference, but from what i here there is, and im sure there is a slight difference and nothing to drastic.

 

[TheProphet]

Maple to my ears is brighter and has more snap

 

[orbiter]

maple has more spank .. is a lil thiner and brighter sounding to me.

rosewood is smoother and warmer.

 

[Zerberus]

As has been said, Maple is brighter with more "Twang" or "Snap" to the tone. The response also seems to be faster, the most articulate fretboards I´ve used regularly.

Maple is a very hard, dry wood, the dryness is also the reason maple fretboards are almost always finished in some way, if nothing else Tung Oil. There are probably guys out there that prefer the feel of an unfinished maple fretboard, but it gets dirty real quick

Rosewood is softer and has more natural oils, for those reasons its tone is warmer and more "rounded".

Ebony is harder than maple but also has a high natural oil content, its sound is pretty much the perfect balance in my ears. quick response time, pretty bright with good thump. But with a "sweetness" to the high end that Maple doesn´t have, and a low end definition that rosewood lacks. And being able to polish it to a near mirror finish is an added plus, most playable fretboard surface to my fingers

 

[jeremy]

ive always loved maple but i have a few guitars that have rosewood and ebony as well. they sound and feel different and all have their uses. zerb has some gooddescriptions

 

[StrangeDay]

Even if I liked Rosewood better, it just doesn't look right on a Strat or Tele with a Maple colored headstock, IMO.

 

[Pandemonium]

Rosewood for single coils, ebony for humbuckers.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

My thoughts change on this issue often..Sometimes I really feel that my rosewood strats are warmer than maple..Other times I feel maple has more snap...Sometimes I feel things like strings,and what pickups,and picks I use influence the tone more?People seem to think rosewood is warmer so I guess I'll agree with that..I use both and I don't prefer either fingerboard over the other...On a dark stage,I do find the maple is easier to see and get around on but both play the same if the frets and neck radius is the same...

John

 

[Jonny R]

My fretboards are on such different guitars that it's really difficult to separate that factor out in a sound comparison between any of them. My G&L Legacy with Maple sounds brighter and snappier than my rosewood tele, but they are such different sounding guitars anyway.

 

[take2]

rosewood=smoothness

maple=more snap

If the above is true, and it seems to be the consensus, than that explains why I like rosewood better - I am always trying to find ways to round of the shrillness of the high end - I like a smooth and probably somewhat darker high end - I have always migrated to a rosewood fingerboard, my personal fav - that being said, I do have a USA Schecter Tele with a very flat maple fingerboard that I love.

 

[Tweed]

Unless you're talking about bolt-on necks, I don't think it's possible to really say. Even then, I'd bet that in a blindfold test, with someone swapping necks on a strat or tele, 99% of us wouldn't know that neck we were listening to.

 

[That90'sGuy]

If you compared them back to back blindfolded, I think you'd definitely hear the crisp and snappy response of maple over the warmer rosewood.

 

[korovamilkdud]

Totally can hear a difference. Comparing a Fender Strat maple vs. rosewood, maple sounds a lot more articulate and snappy to me, I definately prefer it over Rosewood.:dance: