The old rosewood v maple debate...

richardhomer

impmann said:

What about Rory G? His Strat sound was biting, cutting and bright... yet a rosewood boarded guitar (mainly).

AC30 and a Rangemaster treble booster, perhaps?

I don't perceive maple as brighter - it's more 'band-width limited' than rosewood. Less 'very' high end and a tighter low end. With a 'clear' midrange.

I think once you add significant levels of gain, any difference tends to be obscured by distortion. At the cleaner end of the spectrum, I think it can often be heard.

Sassafras

I think the thickness of the neck contributes more to the sound than the type of fretboard wood.
Could the fact that maple is usually lacquered also have some small effect on the sound?
I haven't watched the clip so I apologise if this has been covered.

Gassage

impmann said:

My fave feeling Strats tend to have rosewood boards, but most of my fave Strat tones have come from maple boarded guitars. But that is nowhere near an exclusive thing...

This is a great vid, imho and yes I can hear a minute difference - whether or not that would make a difference to a recorded track or a live performance is a bit moot. However, as we've discussed before if the feel of a guitar fits the player,  then they will play differently and this will translate into a different sound. Therefore, whether one sounds better or not may depend on your playing disposition.

Further- once I've run it through 7 different effects and the rack switcher does it make a jot of difference?

No.

impmann

Gassage said:

impmann said:

My fave feeling Strats tend to have rosewood boards, but most of my fave Strat tones have come from maple boarded guitars. But that is nowhere near an exclusive thing...

This is a great vid, imho and yes I can hear a minute difference - whether or not that would make a difference to a recorded track or a live performance is a bit moot. However, as we've discussed before if the feel of a guitar fits the player,  then they will play differently and this will translate into a different sound. Therefore, whether one sounds better or not may depend on your playing disposition.

Further- once I've run it through 7 different effects and the rack switcher does it make a jot of difference?

No.

Yep - I'm with you there.

WezV

Sassafras said:

I think the thickness of the neck contributes more to the sound than the type of fretboard wood.
.

I would agree with that. 

 

Yeah, maple and ebony fretboards can be a bit snappier than rosewood. We are mainly talking about the first part of the note - the attack. 

Lots more factors will affect that first bit of the note, and even more can affect how the note develops and sustains after it

Gassage

WezV said:

Sassafras said:

I think the thickness of the neck contributes more to the sound than the type of fretboard wood.
.

I would agree with that. 

Me too.

Simple physics.

earwighoney

Not having a guitar with a maple/RW fretboard is an excuse to get one (vice versa)

Plectrum

Jalapeno said:

The correct answer is of course that Ebony trounces both !

Correct

fretfinder

I think the only way to compare fairly would be to get a one piece maple neck Strat and record it. Then shave the board and fit a round lam maple board and record it with all the same settings. Then remove the maple board and fit a round lam rosewood board and record it. Then shave the board and fit a slab board maple, record it, and then remove the board and fit a slab board rosewood and record it. Then the variables would be pretty much the same. I can't see that ever happening though!

I guess that that would only tell you about that particular guitar and the wood used, and the same exercise on another guitar with fingerboard wood from different trees to the first test might give different results! 

Neil

I can't see how you can compare just one pair of examples and make definite conclusions.

For example, the player may have used slightly different finger pressure on the two different necks.

Unless you get a robot playing  with a soundwave comparison when wood is involved most normal comparisons are fairly meaningless IMO.

Personally I go by which colour fingerboard matches the body colour best.

HAL9000

It's all academic once the drums kick in...

paul_c2

fretfinder said:

I think the only way to compare fairly would be to get a one piece maple neck Strat and record it. Then shave the board and fit a round lam maple board and record it with all the same settings. Then remove the maple board and fit a round lam rosewood board and record it. Then shave the board and fit a slab board maple, record it, and then remove the board and fit a slab board rosewood and record it. Then the variables would be pretty much the same. I can't see that ever happening though!

I guess that that would only tell you about that particular guitar and the wood used, and the same exercise on another guitar with fingerboard wood from different trees to the first test might give different results! 

Someone did a comparison on YouTube where he used the same guitar body (, pickups, strings, etc) and swapped the necks over.

shaunm

I have never owned a maple neck, it's a feel thing. I have yet to play a maple neck that I liked. 

I always thought that a maple neck was snappier and brighter than a R/W board.

guitarfishbay

I find Rosewood to have more top end. I think people see brightness in maple, but I usually find it to have less treble if you compare enough similar models. I prefer maple on bass, really low notes seem to come out a tiny bit more growly.

carlos

Gassage said:

WezV said:

Sassafras said:

I think the thickness of the neck contributes more to the sound than the type of fretboard wood.
.

I would agree with that. 

Me too.

Simple physics.

Please don't say physics when the experiment is a mess like this. 

Voxman

My 69 strat has a maple capped neck. The tone is warmer than my 2010 rosewood board strat but the latter is brighter and twangier.  Of course the guitars are very different re pups and fittings, and my 69 is hardtail, so this probably makes more difference than the neck/ board material. 

paulmapp8306

Rosewood on mahogany guitars, maple on alder or ash.

Simple.

axisus

I think that comparing the sound of maple vs rosewood fretboards is a pretty daft thing to be honest. It's a bit like a girl saying "do you prefer my hair 300mm long or 302mm long?" Yes, they are different lengths, but they for all intents and purposes they are the same. 

richardhomer

axisus said:

I think that comparing the sound of maple vs rosewood fretboards is a pretty daft thing to be honest. It's a bit like a girl saying "do you prefer my hair 300mm long or 302mm long?" Yes, they are different lengths, but they for all intents and purposes they are the same. 

It's more like comparing two hair cuts of identical length, one on a brunette and one on a blond....

ICBM

I feel that if there is a real difference, it's usually swamped by other factors. You need to compare a huge number of otherwise nearly identical guitars to get any real picture of whether it's important or not.

The difference between either and ebony is noticeable though, I think - it's at the level where it can still be audible even with other factors present. There's a distinctively harder attack and 'ring' to the notes than there is with either maple or rosewood.

The neck wood also makes a big difference. Generally I prefer maple to mahogany.