Of course, body wood, pickups and hardward all factor into the final sound, so it may be other things that are resulting in a snappier attack. Today I reveal you all the secrets when it comes to choosing the right guitar fretboard, and specifically tell you more details about maple vs rosewood fretboard. Some Teles just look better with one or the other. As always, we recommend going to a guitar shop to test out different fretboard types to get a better understanding of the different relationships that you have with individual wood types. As for look depends on the body color! Where maple fretboards are usually finished and only require some basic cleaning, rosewood fingerboards require occasional conditioning. In many places harvesting the best-quality ebony is now illegal, and the sources have become more and more scarce. Or should you skip them both and go with ebony? I've already found the correct spot for the Disc, so drilling it to fit into the Neck will be okay. The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. God forbid I sell any of my Gibson's or Epiphone's, so I'll more than likely continue to add to my collection. After wiping your fretboard down with steel wool, you will want to use a soft cloth that has been dipped in Tung oil finish to polish the surface of your fretboard. Models that are produced in Indonesia and China typically sport silver maple but dont let that make you think that guitars that have silver maple fretboards are of poorer quality than guitars that use hard maple. As for Ebony, you can always check it out and see what you think, but in my opinion if you like maple you may not feel like there is any improvement with the Ebony. Dont forget that appearances matter too, so make sure that when youre ready to say yes to a guitar, that you think that the guitar youre about to commit to is physically appealing. A great guitar for first-time and early beginning players who want classic tones in an easy-to-play electric guitar that's incredibly affordable. I had one built with ebony so I can claim tonal superiority to those who haven't heard that it's more or less the same. Which I'll say whichever one is easy to do, if there is one. If it's nitro, I'll still prefer rosewood. If youre part of the unfinished maple fingerboard team, youre going to have your clean and condition your fingerboard a lot more often than if you were to have a finished fretboard. Some people claim they can hear the difference, others can only feel it. Sorry if I mischaracterised your playing life, I was struggling to understand why our experiences were so different (I think Ive actually been quite scarred by it lol, Yaala Ballin 'Sings Irving Berlin'. For me feel is the only difference. Win win. If youre someone who is more interested in manipulating your guitar strings with certain playing techniques, you may find that its easier to control what your strings are doing on a Rosewood fretboard. One issue with figuring out switch settings is that you have to know the wiring scheme. The only difficulty that comes with taking care of a Rosewood fretboard is that because the board is a darker color, its more difficult to see when (and where) there is a buildup of dirt and grime that requires a deeper cleaning. I prefer maple, seems to give me a little more "snap" to my tone. It also means the ebony we see today is not as visually perfect as that which was harvested in the past. Don't like maple fretboards on anything. The Full, Epic Epiphone Les Paul Standard Review, The Ultimate Yamaha C40 Classical Guitar Review Youll Love. I guess I just have bad ears. I played it right after my maple 'board MIM at home, though the same amp, and was struck by how much snappier the maple was. He loved them, his number 1 choice. Yeah, the person stripped it as well & sanded it down to bare wood but, I'm not gonna leave this one Natural simply because the Body has been repaired by Fender during the CNC stage of the manufacturing part of this guitars life. I like the Just off a masters in music education, when I checked up on the citations on this or that academic paper (to try and expand my reading) and found that half of the time they either didnt say what the Bob, that is beautiful. By tiny I mean that you change the tone more by turning your tone-knob from 7 to 7.05. What's Best? Maple fretboards also come in a variety of species, and each can impact your sound and playstyle. While the fretboard totally has the ability to influence the tone of your guitar, the tonewoods that are used for the body and the neck of the guitar are what have the biggest influence on a guitars tonal production. But the only rosewood fingerboard teles I've played were American standards with alder bodies and a 62 telecaster that I owned back in the early 80's that also had an alder body. Am i being too picky in regards to a dead spot on a suhr? I think rosewood sounds better than maple in almost every case. The tonal characteristics of each wood make it a bit more suited to different genres. Those mod's: Used a Router & removed the Pickup Cavity dividers & turned that area into a Bathtub. Since I found a Neck that'll work with it & it's already a Maple/Maple Neck, I'm good there. Some players find maple too harsh and prefer the warmth of rosewood. But hey, I have a blank canvas so I have a chance to make it any finish color I want. There were also 4 - 1 1/16'' holes drilled through the Body in each corner of the Tub. I have a slight preference for early-60s, rosewood board Telecasters--feel, look, and sound. We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you. However, having a fretboard that does a grain configuration isnt unheard of; if you look closely, heres an example of a maple fretboard with a Birdseye grain configuration: Maple is a naturally porous wood, which means that the majority of maple fretboards are sealed with nitrocellulose or a lacquer finish. Rosewood is porous and has an open grain, so, if porosity is why maple is finished, then rosewood should be finished. I just dont know! fretboard material matters. So, which is the right choice, maple or rosewood? The oldest one in my opinion has to be either a 1968, 69 or 1970, which was turned into a 1971 with the 3-bolt style Neck [I know they're actually Screws but I'm gonna go with Bolts okay people]. So far they haven't. We are a community of guitar players, and enthusiasts and we want to spread the love for music to anyone with the heart to play. There is no general consensus. One downside to playing on a maple fretboard is that depending on the type and quality of the finish, you may feel that the maple fingerboard is smooth and swift or you may feel that the finish is tacky and lagging. If you choose an instrument that sounds great but doesnt feel comfortable in your hands, youre never going to want to play. Its incredibly important that you do your research and test out different types of fretboards, so you know what works best for you. Honduran Rosewood isnt as endangered as Brazilian Rosewood is, which means that Honduran Rosewood isnt under as a restrictive watch as Brazilian Rosewood is. You can spend a lot of time and money investing in an instrument that has an amazing sound, but youre not going to want to pick it up and play it if the fretboard isnt comfortable to hold or play on. Our contributors use and test each instrument, accessory, or service in their real lives and we never recommend anything we wouldn't use. I leave RW vs. Some say it matter, others say it makes no difference. For example, you may think a mahogany neck would go great with a maple fretboard. It may not display this or other websites correctly. I'll stick to my rosewood for my acoustic guitars. :smile-new: my thoughts with the P90 noise: it all depends on the angle of the guitar towards the amp. I have a rosewood neck tele and strat and 2 maple neck teles at the moment. If electronics were all that mattered, to use an example I used in another post, you could slap a Gibson PAF humbucker on a vintage Martin acoustic and they would sound exactly the same. That doesn't mean you're wrong. I have the book Modern Chords: Advanced Harmony for guitar. Congratulations. I'm no expert but i checked out a rosewood neck before i got my tele. When milling pieces of wood with grain configurations, the processing that a piece of wood has to go through to become a piece that can be used for a fretboard tends to tear out the fibers of the wood, removing signs of grain configurations. As for Gibson/Epiphone, I wouldn't be surprised to see alternative tonewoods in place of rosewood in the future, especially for Epis. To my ears, I vote maple for a Tele, rosewood for a Strat. TDPRI, short for Telecaster Discussion Page Reissue, is the leading online community and marketplace for Telecaster guitars. I prefer them as well. Wesman Todd Shaw from Kaufman, Texas on February 07, 2016: When I was a kiddo buying up those guitar magazines to read about the heroes and find some new ones - i would see pics of someone with a strat or a tele with a maple fretboard and see the sweat or wear stains on the thing - and I thought that was the absolute coolest thing in the world. I used to prefer rosewood simply because I didn't like the way a maple neck stained from playing. Or age. Apart from doing it really sloppy, I bought a short Alder Board at the local Mill & had it Planed to the same depth as the Tub. Joey Ds Johnny Smith now has a younger brother named Legrand. If youre more familiar with the of historical guitars, maple fretboards are commonly used on the Fender Standard Telecaster and the Stratocaster models. The rosewood topped American Deluxe is getting all the love right now mainly because it's new. Maple vs Rosewood Fretboard: What's the difference and which is better? Every once in a while I buy a guitar with a maple fretboard just to make sure my feelings haven't changed. Just like a finished maple fretboard, youre going to want to wipe down your fretboard with a dry cloth after every few hours of playing (or every playing session), but youre also going to want to use steel wool on your fretboard every month to remove any dirt and grime that has built up on the board. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); More garbage: the tonewoods that are used for the body and the neck of the guitar are what have the biggest influence on a guitars tonal production. Besides the player, pickups are overwhelmingly what makes the electric guitar sound the way it does. Monty Daniels from Oakland County, Michigan on August 25, 2019: Guitar Gopher, Hi, ***Let me say this right off the bat first. Remove that consideration from your head. Home Electric Guitars Rosewood vs Maple Fretboards: Which is Better? My fave players usually had rosewood boards. It does not require finishing, so many players who prefer the crisp attack of maple without the finished feel may prefer it. This fretboard needs a little TLC. All wood is naturally porous. Guitar Gopher (author) on October 09, 2015: Linda Robinson from Cicero, New York on October 08, 2015: Hello Guitar Gopher very nice meeting you. Plus the person who owned it plugged the 4-Bolton Neck holes & either turned into a 71, or had the work done, followed with a re-spray of the same color, or finish if you will. Because you will probably end up buying a second guitar one day and that guitar will most likely have a RW fretboard. The author is a guitarist and bassist with over 35 years of experience as a musician. You are using an out of date browser. stella vadakin from 3460NW 50 St Bell, Fl32619 on October 07, 2015: Good article and great advice. Guitar Gopher (author) on August 26, 2019: Hi Monty. Its very important that if youre playing on a Rosewood fretboard to take a close examination of your fretboard every few weeks to ensure that there isnt an excessive buildup of dirt or grease. SRV, Jeff Beck,Jimi all made Leo's finest sing what ever the 'board' was! And thank you for letting me see my old baby once again. It feels fast and slick, and that I like. Honduran Rosewood has a similar grain pattern to Brazilian Rosewood but tends to be lighter in color than Brazilian Rosewood is. With stricter laws governing the import of rosewood over the last few years I am seeing more guitars that probably would have had rosewood fingerboards go to maple. Sound, too. Copyright 2022 - Jazz Guitar Online - All rights reserved - Privacy Policy. I already have the Tuners & the Bridge/Trem, so I'll install both High & Low E strings so I don't guess & end up drilling & finding out the Neck isn't straight. Obviously, one advantage here is that you are not limited to a maple neck. I defy anyone to tell the difference between maple or rosewood or anything other wood while blindfolded. Join millions of music makers all over the world onReverb. Not that it sounded bad. You can learn more About Us here. I won't say there's definitely a difference in sound caused by maple vs. rosewood. A good L4-CES is sweetness machine with a Prog suits a capital letter. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. I've worked on my chording technique to eliminate all finger noise so it's back to rounds for me (another Thomastik set, the BBs, which are great except for the absence of a wound G). It may not display this or other websites correctly. Yes, I listened to a comparison and rosewood was brighter -- higher mids. Have a look around the next time you visit a guitar store - virtually all non-fender-style guitars have RW fretboard. I'll end with that. Practically, you wont see as many options for ebony fretboards, especially on mid-priced guitars. Orangewood Manhattan Review: Why This Guitar is a Steal, Orangewood Sage Review: Why You Need It In Your Life, Shop New, Used, Vintage Musical Instrument | Reverb, Fender Player Telecaster Electric Guitar | Guitar Center, Squier Affinity Series Telecaster Electric Guitar | Reverb, Squier Bullet Stratocaster Limited Edition, Charvel Pro-Mod DK24 HSH 2PT CM Electric Guitar Satin Orange Crush | Guitar Center, PRS SE Floyd Custom 24 Electric Guitar | Reverb, How to Fix That Annoying Fret Buzzing: Best Tips I Can Give You, My Top 7 Best Mandolins for Your Money (That Youll Cherish Forever), Fender Stratocaster: One of the top Intermediate Guitars, The Best Single Coil Pickups Youll Want to Pickup. Related: How to Properly Clean a Guitar Fretboard. I mean, places like Warmoth still sell Fender replacement necks with rosewood boards so it's not like people can't get them, but if I am understanding correctly you have Fender factory-made necks, so I'd think they'd be a little more sought after. Featured on guitars with many different kinds of necks, But it is a bright, tight sound, and in my opinion not suited for everything I play. Those sound like some great project guitars you have there! Abdy. As we talked about earlier, when it comes to choosing your guitar, the tonal production that the fretboard assists in shouldnt be your only focus when looking to buy a new guitar. Every couple of weeks, you should wipe down your fretboard with a slightly damp rag that has some dish soap on it to get rid of any residual oil or residue left by your fingertips; make sure that the neck and fretboard are completely dry before you store your guitar away again. It is also important to realize that you may come to prefer different fretboards for different styles of music. The fingerboard is literally integrated into the same piece of wood that makes up the neck, with the truss rod inserted through a channel in the back of the neck. Even Fender has switched from rosewood to pau ferro for their Player-series instruments. I have said it many times, but differences in one guitar part over another is 90% more obvious when it's YOU thats playing it rather than someone else, even more obvious when it's a part added to YOUR guitar with all else being equal. The first is the one-piece maple neck. And the only maple fingerboard teles I've played were ash bodied reissues like my CS Nocaster, 52 hotrod and the 52 reissue that I sold a while back. For heavier metal, shred, jazz, and anything else where I need a warmer, deeper tone, I go with one of my, As for ebony, I can take it or leave it. Why? Of course many guitar companies today feature necks and fretboards built this way too. Maple to cosmetics - if it looks better with RW, I go for it, otherwise, it's maple. Regardless of the species, Rosewood is an open-grained wood, which isnt as smooth-running as Maple in ample boards.
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