Telecasters - Finger Boards

ennspek

I have a telecaster with a rosewood board. Would a maple board be a significant enough difference to warrant having one as well?

Jota

ennspek said:

I have a telecaster with a rosewood board. Would a maple board be a significant enough difference to warrant having one as well?

I don't think it will. It's just a different feel.

poopot

Yes...

chris78

Yes. Maple has a different sound, brighter. 

I remember playing 2 late 60s teles one after another, one maple cap, the other rosewood. The rosewood was noticeable more mellow.

Of course, you can never have too many teles

dazzajl

Yes! They look totally different;)

HAL9000

ennspek said:

I have a telecaster with a rosewood board. Would a maple board be a significant enough difference to warrant having one as well?

Even a different serial number is enough to warrant buying another Tele...

Jota

ICBM

In my opinion there isn't a huge difference in *tone* between the two, but there is something in the note attack which is, which can make quite a difference to how you hear it when you're playing - maple is 'snappier' and 'faster', rosewood is 'softer' and 'slower'. I apologise for the completely incorrect physical 'speed' terms, but that's how it sort-of sounds, to me.

I'm not convinced it's a big enough difference to warrant having both though.

gazrichards

Real teles have maple boards and 3 saddles 

poopot

ICBM said:

I'm not convinced it's a big enough difference to warrant having both though.

Normally I’d listen to your advice but c’mon... there’s a big enough difference between noon and one minute past to warrant two teles

hyperben

A lot of people say maple is brighter and rosewood is mellower, but this doesn’t match my experience. When I used to mess around with Warmoth partscasters I noticed a bigger difference between 2 different maple necks than I did between maple vs rosewood with the examples I had. I think ultimately the fingerboard wood probably does make a difference, but so do all the other parts so it’s impossible to narrow down any difference just to the fingerboard. Definitely not enough to warrant having both IMO. Having an ash/maple/brass saddle Tele and an alder/rosewood/steel saddle Tele is worth it though in my opinion. This video below is great and largely matches my own experience with these two Tele “recipes”.

https://youtu.be/T9EyAq4gtFg

Whitecat

In my experience with Teles, neck size has a bigger influence on tone than neck material... if you want a fatter tone, find a fatter neck. The fingerboard material is a minor thing in comparison. Probably doesn’t amount to nothing exactly but there is not a lot in it. 

ICBM

Whitecat said:

In my experience with Teles, neck size has a bigger influence on tone than neck material... if you want a fatter tone, find a fatter neck.

I actually find the opposite quite often - fatter necks are stiffer, which produces less open, resonant tone. But hating fat necks from a feel point of view may make my playing 'stiffer' and produce some confirmation bias, I admit.

I agree that the fingerboard material difference is fairly minor in comparison with several other factors including the two specific pieces of wood the necks and bodies are made from though.

chris78

gazrichards said:

Real teles have maple boards and 3 saddles 

I’ll agree with you about the 3 saddles, but tell Robben Ford his isn’t a real tele

Roland

There's a difference between rosewood and maple. There's a difference between one piece and laminated. There are differences resulting from thickness and profile. Whether you notice, and whether they are important to you, depend on what you play and how you play it. If you play cleanish with a lot of attack then you'll notice. If you are playing something from a Led Zeppelin album then you probably won't

ICBM

I disagree about the three saddles. Six-saddle Teles still sound like Teles.

The biggest factor is having the bridge pickup mounted in the bridgeplate, in my opinion.

HAL9000

... and steel saddles have more ‘zing’ than brass ones. (Listens out for sound of can of worms being opened...)

Sassafras

I think the main contributor to the sound of a Tele is the walnut skunk stripe.
Thought everyone knew that.

ICBM

HAL9000 said:

... and steel saddles have more ‘zing’ than brass ones. (Listens out for sound of can of worms being opened...)

I think most would agree on that. The difference is that a lot of deluded people think brass ones sound better .

Rowby1

I’m not convinced there’s that much tonal difference. A lot of other things will have a much greater effect. The feel of it under your fingers is the biggest difference.

marooned

What body wood is your rosewood board tele? You might find more difference with an ash/ maple tele and an alder/rosewood tele.