Non tone related questions about guitar woods...

wickenspoet

wickenspoet

New member
Which fretboard wood is the easiest to clean? (Someone told me maple is the easiest to clean, then ebony is 2nd easiest to maintain, and that rosewood is hardest to clean)

Which guitar body wood is the most durable, least likely to get beat up, chipped, or dented? Which are easiest to maintain? (mahogany, swamp ash, basswood, alder, etc...)

Thanks.
 
Re: Non tone related questions about guitar woods...

Maple might be the easiest to clean, but I've never had to clean rosewood. Since it doesn't show dirt. I just wipe it with some lemon oil when changing strings. Maple shows finger smudges pretty readily.

Rosewood might dent as easily as maple, but it doesn't show when it's banged up. On a maple board you're going to see every nick.
 
Re: Non tone related questions about guitar woods...

For body woods, poplar, alder, and maple are most resistant to serious damage. I think Swamp Ash is harder than regular Ash as well. Or I might have those two reversed.

At any rate, mahogany, cedro (cedar), and basswood tend to be the easiest to dent since they're so soft. Basic rule of thumb is the tighter the grain, the harder the wood.
 
Re: Non tone related questions about guitar woods...

Which fretboard wood is the easiest to clean? (Someone told me maple is the easiest to clean, then ebony is 2nd easiest to maintain, and that rosewood is hardest to clean)

Assuming these are not lacquered fretboards, I'd say rosewood is pretty easy to maintain. Be advised most people oil their fretboards too much though, which can cause the wood to swell and push out the frets.

Which guitar body wood is the most durable, least likely to get beat up, chipped, or dented? Which are easiest to maintain? (mahogany, swamp ash, basswood, alder, etc...)

Again, assuming these are not lacquered or poly finished, which will protect any soft wood too, northern hard ash, padauk, maple, and alder are very hard and durable. Basswood, swamp ash, mahogany and korina are all softer and will ding easy

Thanks.
 
Re: Non tone related questions about guitar woods...

Maple is only easy to clean because it has a finish on it. Once that finish rubs off it is THE hardest to clean, in fact you CAN'T clean the smudges off..

Ebony would be my pick. Hard like maple, but needing no finish so the ease of cleaning remains throughout its lifetime.
 
Re: Non tone related questions about guitar woods...

If you live in dry climate ebony can get too dry and crack. It needs a shot of lemon oil about once a month.
 
Re: Non tone related questions about guitar woods...

I love when the finish on a Fender maple neck finally starts to give and the fingerboard starts to show "finger stain". My '95 AmStd maple-necked strat, which I bought brand new almost 20 years ago, is finally reaching this stage, and it's getting prettier and prettier.
 
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