Maple vs. Rosewood

[ImmortalSix]

What tangible differences have you experienced?

I have both, but the guitars that they're on are at a serious disparity when it comes to build quality / price range so I cannot compare fairly.

I want to hear that there's something beyond aesthetics!

TIA

 

[Shibby]

Re: Maple vs. Rosewood

i got both too... but its hard to compare only fretboard wood when you have single coil strat(maple) and double-bucker lp dc(rosewood)
I like the feel of maple better. gotta have two strats with maple and rosewood board to compare 1vs1 i think......

 

[JohnnyGuitar]

Re: Maple vs. Rosewood

On Strats I've played a rosewood gives a less focused and a softer tone... warmer might also be a good word for the description.

I like both options.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Maple vs. Rosewood

i mean sound is generally the sum of all parts but most strats i've owned with a rosewood board have generally been warmer... just slight...

I use both.... right now i have 5 Maple neck and 3 Rosewood board strats...

 

[The JEM Ghost]

Re: Maple vs. Rosewood

Purely comparing fretboards, the feel is very different between maple and rosewood, what to like best here completely depends from player to player,you just like best what feels best.
Towards tone, a rosewood fretboard will give you a warmer sound compared to a maple one and puts less treble to your sound.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Maple vs. Rosewood

I find that I prefer rosewood with humbuckers and maple with single coils. I find that maple necked guitars sound a little too bright with a humbucker, and rosewood with single coils looses a little of that spank. That's just me though . . .

 

[big_black]

Re: Maple vs. Rosewood

Purely comparing fretboards, the feel is very different between maple and rosewood, what to like best here completely depends from player to player,you just like best what feels best.
Towards tone, a rosewood fretboard will give you a warmer sound compared to a maple one and puts less treble to your sound.

+1

In my experince the difference is more noticable in feel than what actually is audible. Nnie times out of ten you won't be able to tell a rosewood neck from a stright-up maple, but blindfolded, you'd sure be able to feel the difference.

The feeling of maple/maple is a little more snappy and pointed, rosewood/maple is a little more mellow and warm-sounding. I like ebony and maple on a neck...it's pointed (like maple), but there is a "sweetness" and I think it adds more complexity to the tone.

 

[Donarskjold]

Re: Maple vs. Rosewood

Maple has a defined "snap", it is very crisp and bright, especially on a maple neck. Rosewood is warmer and lets notes fall into each other more easily. It combines well with Maple neck and denser body wood (mahogany, basswood, etc.)

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Maple vs. Rosewood

I use both maple and rosewood and I don't think rosewood is warmer than maple and don't buy into it...I think people associate the darker rosewood cap over the maple board as making the tone warmer...I Like both and it has more to do with the body color as to whether I prefer rosewood cap or maple,as I own several strats and 1 rosewood and 1 maple necked Tele also.

So you guys don't flame me,my highs are a bit gone in my ears from playing through Marshalls and other loud amps over the years!:smack: :laugh2:

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Maple vs. Rosewood

Maple has a defined "snap", it is very crisp and bright, especially on a maple neck. Rosewood is warmer and lets notes fall into each other more easily. It combines well with Maple neck and denser body wood (mahogany, basswood, etc.)

I've been playing strats since the 70s and don't see this but I guess we all hear things alot differently:27: :laugh2: ...I'll have to look again at my strat books,but I remember reading that Fender switched over from maple to rosewood cap in 59 to compete with the nice looks that Gibson had...I don't remember reading that Fender switched over to rosewood cap to soften or warm up their guitars,but I'll check on that...Sometimes I think that rosewood is a prettier look,but again depending on the body color,hardware,etc..I Like both just as much but find I Like maple on a dark stage as it's easier to see where I'm at..

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Maple vs. Rosewood

FWIW, Surh say's that Rosewood gets more "sizzle" than maple. Does's that mean that Surh finds RW brighter than maple? If they are both fairly bright, then there's probably not a big difference in most cases.

I can hear a slab board RW fretboard neck as being warmer than one peice maple. I can hear a diffrence. Many, if not most, post 63 1/2 RW Fender factory strats, have the curved fretboard that is really just a vener. They may have changed from the thick slab boards at that time, so that there would be very little difference between a RW board neck, and their earlier maple necks they were known for?

The 80's and up slab board necks are still thinner than the early 60's slab board necks.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Maple vs. Rosewood

FWIW, Surh say's that Rosewood gets more "sizzle" than maple. Does's that mean that Surh finds RW brighter than maple? If they are both fairly bright, then there's probably not a big difference in most cases.

I can hear a slab board RW fretboard neck as being warmer than one peice maple. I can hear a diffrence. Many, if not most, post 63 1/2 RW Fender factory strats, have the curved fretboard that is really just a vener. They may have changed from the thick slab boards at that time, so that there would be very little difference between a RW board neck, and their earlier maple necks they were known for?

The 80's and up slab board necks are still thinner than the early 60's slab board necks.

I'm going to say that these types of posts are way too subjective and that I can only say or opinion what I think I hear....This is alot like talking about different brand caps in a guitar circuit.:laugh2:

 

[Donarskjold]

Re: Maple vs. Rosewood

Now that I think about it, I play metal that uses too much distortion for me to sense a tangible difference in something as subtle as fretboard wood.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Maple vs. Rosewood

Maple sounds brighter...rosewood sounds warmer, thicker, richer, more complex, pluckier and fatter.

I like them both equally...

 

[doveman]

Re: Maple vs. Rosewood

I find that I prefer rosewood with humbuckers and maple with single coils.

Me too ...

 

[Voxman]

Re: Maple vs. Rosewood

Maple sounds brighter...rosewood sounds warmer, thicker, richer, more complex, pluckier and fatter.

I like them both equally...

+1
I like the feel of maple best,though

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Maple vs. Rosewood

Maple sounds brighter...rosewood sounds warmer, thicker, richer, more complex, pluckier and fatter.

I like them both equally...

This is a grey area for me honestly Lew! :laugh2: I own and use both and so it's not really a factor I guess.:13:

 

[Martian]

Re: Maple vs. Rosewood

To me:

When I play a maple fingerboard, it feels like I'm playing ON it; with a roseboard, I feel like I'm playing WITH it.

I know this is totally unscientific but I feel that the rosewood board gives microscopically to my touch where a maple board is like fingering a brick.

As to the tonality of each, I can get either to sound exactly the same with a tweak of the amp.

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Maple vs. Rosewood

I find the same thing as far as feel. Yes, maple feels more like playing on top of it, rather than in it. This may be why I like taller, relatively freshly dressed, frets on maple. I can tolorate worn frets longer on rosewood.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Maple vs. Rosewood

Good replies, keep em coming!

My high-end Strat is maple, but my Guild (that pays like an electric, damn near) has a rosewood board and I can feel the difference on the fretboard, but again, hard to compare a Strat to a bluegrass box!

I have 2 cheaper guitars (Jackson, Squier '51) that have rw and maple respectively, and I can tell the difference there but they're both so cheap that what I'm noticing may be varying shades of (as Zappa said,) "cheepnis" :laugh2: