BiC Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 Which is the best, and why? Peace "Treat your wife with honor, respect, and understanding as you live together so that you can pray effectively as husband and wife." 1 Peter 3:7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 Well, it's entirely subjective, neither is "best". Overall, I prefer rosewood and ebony 'boards, but it depends on the overall guitar. I like a good Telecaster or '50s-styled Stratocaster to have a maple 'board, while preferring rosewood for a '62-ish-styled Strat. Maple tends to have a bright, crisp sound with an emphasis on the "attack" of the note envelope. Rosewood tends to have a rounder, darker tone than maple, with a slower attack-response that yields that "bloom" and imparts a more "singing" character to notes played high on the fretboard. Maple fretboards are usually finished, whereas rosewood needs no finish, as it has an inherent oiliness. Ebony is crisp and a bit "dry", while Pau Ferro turns in a somewhat rosewood-like tone with a bit more attack and sustain. The best rosewood is still Brazilian rosewood, pricey and rare these days. (Brazilian rw must now be from existing, dwindling stockpiles, since its export has been banned. The laws are so strict, to combat forest poaching and smuggling, that if you were to go to Brazil with a vintage guitar that has some Brazilian rosewood parts, it can and will be confiscated when you try to leave the country with it!) Throw a Warmoth birdseye maple neck with their compound-radius Brazilian rosewood fretboard on a Strat or Strat-styled body, and you'll love it! Well, I like them, anyways. But it all really depends on the tone and feel that you want out of a particular guitar. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Strat Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 I prefer the maple neck and fretboard on Strats and Teles, but a LP would look ridiculus with a maple fretboard. I'm not sure I've ever actually heard the difference between rosewood and maple fretboards. I just play the guitar and I either like it or I don't. BlueStrat a.k.a. "El Guapo" ...Better fuzz through science... http://geocities.com/teleman28056/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlh Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 I've gotta say I love the look of maple fingerboards on Strats and Teles. I do find that rosewood or ebony ones play better for me. The finish on the maple ones makes it more difficult to bend strings accurately because the strings slip against the smooth finish under my fingers. It seems like the unfinished ones have kind of a friction against slipping that makes it easier for me to control the pitch of a bend more accurately. I've heard of some players sanding the finish off of the maple fingerboards to increase the bite, but haven't had anything like the nerve to try it on my '71 Strat. I guess I'll just have to do it the hard way and wear it off playing But never fear, you're safe with me... Well maybe. - Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webe123 Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 Originally posted by jlh: I've gotta say I love the look of maple fingerboards on Strats and Teles. I do find that rosewood or ebony ones play better for me. The finish on the maple ones makes it more difficult to bend strings accurately because the strings slip against the smooth finish under my fingers. It seems like the unfinished ones have kind of a friction against slipping that makes it easier for me to control the pitch of a bend more accurately. I've heard of some players sanding the finish off of the maple fingerboards to increase the bite, but haven't had anything like the nerve to try it on my '71 Strat. I guess I'll just have to do it the hard way and wear it off playing WOW .....my view is the exact opposite! I can bend on my 57 reissue maple fretboard BETTER than my Roland ready strat which has a rosewood fretboard! For some reason, I have always preffered a maple fretboard. But I do agree that it would look silly to put a maple fretboard on something like a les paul! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 Here's a link that has some info on (and pics of) a variety of tonewoods used for necks and fretboards. From there, go to "Neck Woods" under Custom Options: http://www.Warmoth.com/common/frames/guitarneck.htm Hope it's useful! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revolead Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 I agree with everyone here that maple is best for Strats, rosewood for Les Pauls. Personally, if I was going to build my own custom guitar, I would make the freboard ebony. Smooth as butter and looks very sharp. Shut up and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyote Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 I get 'stuck' on the highly laquered (or whatever finish they used) maple neck/fretboard on my Ibanez Silver Series Strat. I justt can't move around as fast as I can on my Squier Standard Stratocaster, which has a rosewood fingerboard and less finish on the maple neck. I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist. This ain't no track meet; this is football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chedrob Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 the best guitar i ever had was a gibson les paul custom with a maple fingerboard - i put a switch in it to change the pickups to single coil and it was great for deep purple strat sounds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demarc Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 quote from revolead: I agree with everyone here that maple is best for Strats, rosewood for Les Pauls. Personally, if I was going to build my own custom guitar, I would make the freboard ebony. Smooth as butter and looks very sharp.My sentiments exactly! Check out some handcrafted guitars: http://home.mindspring.com/~grus/guitars.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiC Posted October 25, 2003 Author Share Posted October 25, 2003 Originally posted by jlh: I've gotta say I love the look of maple fingerboards on Strats and Teles. I do find that rosewood or ebony ones play better for me. The finish on the maple ones makes it more difficult to bend strings accurately because the strings slip against the smooth finish under my fingers. It seems like the unfinished ones have kind of a friction against slipping that makes it easier for me to control the pitch of a bend more accurately. I've heard of some players sanding the finish off of the maple fingerboards to increase the bite, but haven't had anything like the nerve to try it on my '71 Strat. I guess I'll just have to do it the hard way and wear it off playing I gotta say... I LOVE your sig!!! "Treat your wife with honor, respect, and understanding as you live together so that you can pray effectively as husband and wife." 1 Peter 3:7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHAN Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 Originally posted by revolead: I agree with everyone here that maple is best for Strats, .Except me of course. I have 2 Am Std Strats with rosewood fretboards. I've never found a maple one I liked. I guess I'll just have to keep trying. So Many Drummers. So Little Time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Strat Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 Originally posted by coyote: I get 'stuck' on the highly laquered (or whatever finish they used) maple neck/fretboard on my Ibanez Silver Series Strat. I justt can't move around as fast as I can on my Squier Standard Stratocaster, which has a rosewood fingerboard and less finish on the maple neck.Well, the idea is to use a touch light enough for the strings to slide on top of the frets and not the surface of the neck, yet hard enough for the strings to make firm contact with the frets and not buzz. Have you tried a slightly scalloped fretboard or jumbo frets? BlueStrat a.k.a. "El Guapo" ...Better fuzz through science... http://geocities.com/teleman28056/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alguit Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 I like them both. A maple fretboard does tend to impart more of an initial attack to notes, and that can be great for cutting through a dense mix; this is also helped by maple being a "bright" sounding tone wood. However, rosewood has such a nice warmth to it, and as fretboard material it really sweetens the sound of strats and teles. With each type of Fender, I have both types of fingerboards, and they all have their applications. As for the sticky lacquer issue, I have never had a problem with this. I play with a fairly light touch, and when bending, I've developed my technique so that on Maple fingerboards my fingers don't touch the lacquer very much. Also, taking time to wipe everything down after playing should help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 I like the feel of the maple because of the lacquer but the sound of Rosewood, so on my main guitar for example, I took my solid rosewood neck, sealed it with epoxy and then sprayed about ten coats of nitro lacquer on it. Loverly! I've done this with ebony as well, although it doesn't really need the epoxy sealing step. -David http://www.garageband.com/artist/MichaelangelosMuse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 DC- what guitar is that, one that you built? If so, did you make that rosewood neck from scratch, or did you buy a pre-made neck from someone like Warmoth? Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wow Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 Throw a Warmoth birdseye maple neck with their compound-radius Brazilian rosewood fretboard on a Strat or Strat-styled body, and you'll love it! I did this and love it. I had to try several different bodies. I ended up with a Kramer Pacer body from the early 80's(nice and heavy). One of my favorite guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 I've yet to find a maple neck that didn't feel sticky. I love how they looked when they are all worn, but I prefer playing on Rosewood and Ebony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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