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Post subject: question about mapple neck and Rosewood
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2019 11:33 am
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hi

does the the mapple or rosewood fingerboard change the tone of the guitar?

i mean does the mapple fingerboard sound different comapred to rosewood , i have noticed more high frequency (more treble)

may i know what do you thinkg?
thanks


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Post subject: Re: question about mapple neck and Rosewood
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2019 3:37 pm
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Hi drugus,

That is a topic of much debate. Some people can’t hear a difference, so they believe there is none. Many others, like myself, can hear a difference, namely the Rosewood will have a broader musical response, while the Maple’s response is narrower, seemingly “brighter’ than Risewood. If the most prominent guitar builders say there is a difference (PRS, Taylor, Gibson, Fender, etc), that should end the debate. :idea:

As those in the know can tell you, often the difference is in the subtleties and nuances.

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Post subject: Re: question about mapple neck and Rosewood
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2019 10:56 pm
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Whether they sound different can be debated (personally, I don't think so...), but they definitely feel and (obviously) look different.

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Post subject: Re: question about mapple neck and Rosewood
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 12:18 am
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01GT eibach wrote:
Whether they sound different can be debated (personally, I don't think so...), but they definitely feel and (obviously) look different.

This.
I have both. I like Rosewood, but I probably play my maple necks more, and when I build a Partscaster, I've always used maple.

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Post subject: Re: question about mapple neck and Rosewood
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 1:00 am
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… And once again, the can of worms is open...
Well, it's been so long that a slight return might be in order.

The fretboard material is not a determining/defining factor in the sound of a guitar.
To use shimmilou's terminology, there are 'broad' maple fb guitars as well as 'narrow/bright' rosewood fb ones.
A side note here, "rosewood" as the commercial name for fretboard material covers a helluvalot of different wood species, varying in density/hardness/rupturing/pores/etc.
On blind tests, different fretboard materials have not been recognized. Another side note; Gibson says the same about Richlite recognizing…

But that's just the technical side of the matter. The feel, looks and mystique of fretboard material (or actually, any feature on a guitar) have a lot to do with how a player feels, and that has a lot to do with how he/she/it plays.
For a beginner, that could mean more or less hours spent practicing. For the best player, it may be the thang that tames & transforms a unicorn to an audible form.


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Post subject: Re: question about mapple neck and Rosewood
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 2:44 am
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Maple sound brighter than rosewood, would you hear it ?


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Post subject: Re: question about mapple neck and Rosewood
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 3:42 am
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jmattis wrote:
… The feel, looks and mystique of fretboard material (or actually, any feature on a guitar) have a lot to do with how a player feels, and that has a lot to do with how he/she/it plays.
For a beginner, that could mean more or less hours spent practicing. For the best player, it may be the thang that tames & transforms a unicorn to an audible form.


I think there is a lot in this.

I have both and my preference is Maple but the dark woods of indefinite origin ;-) feel more mellow to play and, as such, I probably play them in a more mellow way.

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Post subject: Re: question about mapple neck and Rosewood
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 8:02 am
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Put me in the camp that can’t tell the difference tone-wise between rosewood and maple fretboards. I did, however, notice a big difference between play-ability for quite some time.

When I began playing (nine years ago) I started with an acoustic (rosewood) then added an electric (maple). Back then I relied very heavily on sight when forming chords and found that I couldn’t see the GBE strings as well over the light maple fretboard compared to the dark rosewood and therefore experienced some difficulty. I switched my electric to a rosewood fretboard and all subsequent additions had to have rosewood.

Then I fell in love with the thick soft V neck (maple) of the Baja tele, purchased one and found there was no longer any difference to me between the rosewood and maple. Now three of my four electrics have maple.


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Post subject: Re: question about mapple neck and Rosewood
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 9:28 am
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Pudbert wrote:
Put me in the camp that can’t tell the difference tone-wise between rosewood and maple fretboards. I


Just a A/B tests can tell ; exactly same guitar with same pickups on same amp.


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Post subject: Re: question about mapple neck and Rosewood
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 9:46 am
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Quote:
Put me in the camp that can’t tell the difference tone-wise between rosewood and maple fretboards.
Put me in it as well!

For me, it's just a matter of what looks better. I think my sonic blue Strat looks great with rosewood; I wouldn't like it with maple.

Cheers - Peter.


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Post subject: Re: question about mapple neck and Rosewood
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 9:53 am
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I'm with shimmilou, I think there's a subtle difference. not that I prefer one to the other, I just think there's something I do hear that's not the same.


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Post subject: Re: question about mapple neck and Rosewood
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 12:23 pm
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I don't question that any two guitars would sound different; that can happen even between two guitars of the same model series, with exactly the same specs.
But a significant/audible difference between maple and those dark origin fretboards, with that difference being the same/similar with every guitar and/or guitar model, that's hard to believe. Like I said, plenty of mellow mapled Telecasters alongside plenty of ice picky rosewooded ones…

Anyways, I (at least try to...) stop here on this matter. The OP has gotten some pointers, so the question can be considered as answered, on my part that is.
And with further debate this maple/"rosewood" thang (just as the tonewood conversations in general) could develope to a really long and overheated topic.


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Post subject: Re: question about mapple neck and Rosewood
Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2019 3:40 pm
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One element that is often overlooked, is how dry the wood is, as to whether there is a tonal difference between types. If both are not properly dried/cured, I would say that the difference would be negiigable, and if properly dried/cured, the difference more apparent. PRS stated that the aged/cured wood was one of the things that gave the older, vintage guitars their “special” sound. I believe that PRS is the man when it comes to building terrific sounding guitars.

I can’t count how many Strats I’ve encountered with fret sprout, meaning the wood wasn’t completely dried when built. My last trip to GC, every single new Strat in the place that I felt, had terrible fret edges.

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