I just read an interesting statement by a guy on the Fender Facebook site.I had written that the whole fretboard wood -maple bright-rosewood dark -statement was an urban myth as there were way too many variables to put down any difference to the fretboard wood.I stated that it was perpetuated by people who more or less wanted people to think they new a lot about guitars.
.Anyway I defied anyone to be able to tell the difference blindfolded as it would be impossibleAnyway one guy actually claims that owning 8 Strats and after playing over one hundred over 30 yrs he can pass the blindfold test.I guess the difference is that I only have four and have played hundreds that weren't mine over a 45 year period.
So folks do you think this guy is full of it or have I had an encounter with another Eric Johnson type tone Aficionado?

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I would tell that guy "Frankie says RELAX".

I mean there are wood aficionados that claim all kinds of stuff and being the truth or not it doesn't matter at least not to me. I am believer that it is a sum of all parts (including the player) that make the difference. Last summer I visited open jams regularly and there some dudes that borrowed my fiddle for a song or two that sounded completely different than me on my own rig.

Maple or rosewood mah pure "whimsiness" (if that is the term).

What about ebony necks??? What about roasted necks? I would also believe that Tone is a mix of many things. Some guitarists seem to be able to make the most of that mix.
Claude.

I take the BB King stance to anyone who comments about the sound of my guitar (it happened recently)

Wait till it's on the stand and tell em, "it don't sound too good now does it?".

Claude.

I can hear the differences in mine but I ain't blindfolded.

When doing the blindfold test does he play different guitars blindfolded? Or does he only hear the guitar? Recorded or live? I can throw a football over the mountains.

Ive never bought into the fretboard wood tone debate. I think this guy is full of himself.

Maybe the guy can pass the blindfold test because his rosewood strat smells like lemon oil.
Claude.

There's a lot of stuff I can't really make heads or tails out of.

Recently I went through a pickup swapping process that was pretty crazy. Had some single coils that I love. I started out putting them in an alder bodied guitar, sounded good.

Found a great looking guitar where I like the finish and overall feel better (MAPLE BODY). Stuck the pickups in there.. Sounded like crap!! WHY?!?!?!

So I took them out, put them in a Basswood bodied guitar.. Best they've ever sounded.

I tried a different set of singles in the maple bodied guitar... Sounded like CRAP again!!!!

So I decided that the maple bodied guitar just wasn't made for single coils. Stuck some Duncan humbuckers in it... Sounds great!!

My head hurts when I ask why. So I just do something until I get what I want out of it.

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HaleAmano- House Of Sharks (Now On iTunes)
http://www.reverbnation.com/haleamano
http://www.haleamano.com

I always felt that the fretboard wood was more a "Feel" then a "Tone" thing.

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Marriage is like playing cards...

At first all you want are Hearts and Diamonds.

But in the end, all you really want is a Club and a Spade.

^same here... therefor.. ebony for the win
I kinda hate maple... rosewood is nice.

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2010 Gibson Les Paul Studio (Silverburst)
2007 Fender CD-60 (Sunburst)
G.A.S-ing for a Fender Stratocaster HSS with floyd rose

For me it's more of a sight thing than it is feel. I can't imagine ebony feeling much different than maple. I just generally like seeing a dark fret-board over a light one. No other real explanation than that.

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HaleAmano- House Of Sharks (Now On iTunes)
http://www.reverbnation.com/haleamano
http://www.haleamano.com

Hi guitslinger: I visited the Plymouth Gin factory and took their tour. At the end they give you a glass of neat Plymouth gin and a glass of Gordons and ask you to notice the difference. And whadayaknow, side by side I could indeed taste the genuine difference between those gins! For real.

But. Pour me a gin and tonic, ice and a slice - and I'm damned if I could tell you which maker's gin is in it.

See what I'm getting at here?

Something I've long noticed: people who actually make guitars seldom if ever talk about supposed tonal differences in the woods. They simply say: if the customer thinks he can hear an important difference, that's his choice to take...

Cheers - C

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if you read the Bill Kirchen spread in the dec issue of Premier Guitar, he too believes thers a big difference in tonal qualities in necks.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."