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Your Prefered Fretboard?
Maple 28%  28%  [ 7 ]
Rosewood 32%  32%  [ 8 ]
Other Woods 8%  8%  [ 2 ]
No Preferance 32%  32%  [ 8 ]
Total votes : 25
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Post subject: What is your prefered fretboard and why?
Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 7:22 am
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Straight up Maple? Or Rosewood? Or "other" woods?

We all know Maple and Rosewood are the two most common fretboard surfaces...however I do understand that other woods are used as well...so I gave an option for them.

I'd like to know your preference, and why you choose what you chose.

I prefer a Maple fretboard. It is what I cut my teeth on (electric guitar)...and I guess I just have more of a "feel" for it.
I DO have guitars with Rosewood fretboards...but it just doesn't feel the same, and my creative side seems to suffer some when playing around with new licks and original tunes.

Maple also feels faster and smoother to me.

There is a lot to be said about the 'looks' of a nice grain in a Rosewood (or other wood) fretboard...but Maple can have some beauty and "one of a kind" characteristics as well.


Last edited by White Dog on Thu Nov 27, 2014 8:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: What is your prefered fretboard and why?
Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 7:29 am
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ROSEWOOD.

I just kinda like the looks of it.

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D.

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Post subject: Re: What is your prefered fretboard and why?
Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 7:51 am
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I have to go with "other", namely Ebony.

"Rosewood" isn't specific enough. I'll take Brazilian Rosewood any day, but really dislike the Indian Rosewood used today - it's not as dense and saturated with natural oils. I'd take a stiff birdseye maple over modern rosewood fretboards.
Even worse, some of the so-called "rosewood" today isn't even Indian rosewood, but other woods that just happen to be dark. Especially guitars made in the Far East often have "rosewood" fretboards made from trees not even in the rosewood family.

I'd like to try a Lignum Vitae fretboard, but I don't know which luthiers would make them.


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Post subject: Re: What is your prefered fretboard and why?
Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 8:19 am
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I don't have a *favorite*. :?

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Post subject: Re: What is your prefered fretboard and why?
Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 8:39 am
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Quote:
"Rosewood" isn't specific enough.
"Rosewood" is plenty specific. We don't always have to be so literal all the time.

Edited the poll to add "no preference"...never thought of that. Thanks!


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Post subject: Re: What is your prefered fretboard and why?
Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 8:45 am
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Dang it! I didn't know that adding an option to the existing poll would erase the votes that had already been cast! Sorry guys. :oops:


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Post subject: Re: What is your prefered fretboard and why?
Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 9:08 am
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White Dog wrote:
Quote:
"Rosewood" isn't specific enough.
"Rosewood" is plenty specific. We don't always have to be so literal all the time.

It is not being literal. When I say I prefer Brazilian rosewood to maple, but prefer maple to Indian rosewood, it shows it's not semantics.

Brazilian and Indian rosewoods are very different. They're further apart on the evolutionary tree than a poodle is from a wolf, and don't feel the same, wear the same or age the same. I respect that Fender no longer uses Brazilian rosewood because of deforestation, but Indian rosewood is not in any way the same species from a different place; it's a different species with different characteristics. Some may even like that Indian rosewood is softer and less oily, even though I don't.


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Post subject: Re: What is your prefered fretboard and why?
Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 9:29 am
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I prefer Maple. I like the looks, and the harder feel of the Maple board. I have Rosewood on two basses, because that's the only way they come with the Rosewood.

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Last edited by Mr. Nylon on Thu Nov 27, 2014 9:32 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Post subject: Re: What is your prefered fretboard and why?
Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 9:30 am
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Rosewood... I like the feel of it over Maple... Ebony is nice too :D

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Post subject: Re: What is your prefered fretboard and why?
Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 10:54 am
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Whatever looks best on the particular guitar.

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Post subject: Re: What is your prefered fretboard and why?
Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 1:01 pm
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Mr. Nylon wrote:
I prefer Maple. I like the looks, and the harder feel of the Maple board.

That's the lacquer, not the wood. Maple is considerably softer.

Here's the Janka hardness for the most common rosewoods and maples:

Brazilian Rosewood (Amazon): 2620-2790 lbf
Indian Rosewood: 1780 lbf
Hard Maple (East coast): 1450 lbf
Bigleaf Maple (West coast): 850 lbf

Densely birdseyed maple is harder and can rival Indian rosewood, but it's also more brittle.


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Post subject: Re: What is your prefered fretboard and why?
Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 2:19 pm
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I used to prefer Rosewood, mainly because the maple that I'd tried was heavy with finish that made it feel like plastic.
Now my preferences are:
1. Ebony
2. Maple
3. Rosewood

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Post subject: Re: What is your prefered fretboard and why?
Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 2:55 pm
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I've got maple, I've got rosewood, I've got granadillo.
I don't care what its made of. I'm not Eric Johnson.
As long as it feels good and sounds good, that's all that matters to me.

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Post subject: Re: What is your prefered fretboard and why?
Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 3:04 pm
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I like whatever fits the guitar it's on the best. Plus, I like having both, just to mix things up. I go from one guitar to another for a few months at a time, then cycle back to the first one. I did play a Hagstrum with their Resinator fretboard. It was like a man made ebony or something, I liked it alot. The neck on that guitar was very thin but strong as H@!!. I usually don't like a thin neck, but that one was nice. The material did have a unique feel to it. If I had to pick one, Highly figured Birdseye maple is nice, but dark rosewood with no dots looks killer too! I can't pick just one :oops:

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Post subject: Re: What is your prefered fretboard and why?
Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 5:51 pm
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arth1 wrote:
Mr. Nylon wrote:
I prefer Maple. I like the looks, and the harder feel of the Maple board.

That's the lacquer, not the wood. Maple is considerably softer.

Here's the Janka hardness for the most common rosewoods and maples:

Brazilian Rosewood (Amazon): 2620-2790 lbf
Indian Rosewood: 1780 lbf
Hard Maple (East coast): 1450 lbf
Bigleaf Maple (West coast): 850 lbf

Densely birdseyed maple is harder and can rival Indian rosewood, but it's also more brittle.


Most of the Rosewoods I've seen, show marks in the wood, as compared to a non lacquered Maple.

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