Can anyone tell me the exact differences between a rosewood and a maple neck. Obviously they're different woods, and I've played with both!
But in terms of the fingerboard, what kind of impact does each have on sound, resonance etc?

hmmm leave it with me. I have a maple boarded neck sitting around at the moment and a guitar with a rosewood fingerboard. I'm 100% convinced that maple is brighter and provides more snap. Alas a lot of people will argue the point that 1/4" of wood does nothing. So if i can get my webcam/mike to record ok i'll see about posting a vid later.

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No no and no

I think you will like the maple BigJay!!

It's refreshing to hear someone say that! Thanks! All that other, mine is the best, is useless information.

June last year Forum user Ed Mardell did a nice YouTube demo on maple v rosewood. It confirmed my firm belief that my ears hear a real though tiny difference - but others found Ed's test unscientific and and unpersuasive. ZZDoc chastised me on that very point on that thread - in Latin!

And I'll tell you, ladies and gentlemen, when you go up against the Doc in any language, let alone Latin, you ain't gonna win!

Anyhow: here's the thread with Ed's YouTube vid:

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/ ... ght=#86275

Cheers - C

A noticable difference. Although i do have a couple of issues with the vid. Theres reverb added and undoubtedly some outboard eq;ing aswell.
I was simply going to set my amp clean and as flat as possible, may even use 2 amps. Play a rosewood boarded guitar the quickly slap a maple boarded neck on it and have another stab at it. No eq, no mike's no nothing. Even the same hardware except the tuners and nut. Its a bone nut with staggered height tuners on the rosewood and a earvana with wilkinson locking on the maple. Playing a barre chord should eliminate any difference the nut adds though.

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No no and no

There is probably a small difference in brightness, but I feel that's irrelevant. Nothing that a slightly different setting on your tone control wouldn't compensate for. The main difference is the way they look and also the way they feel. You will have to try both and see which one is right for you. Me, I like rosewood.

The only way you would get a true test of differences in the fretboard woods is to put the necks on the same body.


I have owned both neck types in the past and had always gone with the Rosewood. Until recently. My newest guitar has a Maple fretboard and I really like it.

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Chet Feathers

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

User EdMardell postet a video regarding this question some time ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcWqheA-gZg

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It's a mix between Jazz and Funk, it's called "Junk"

Are you familiar with using graghic EQ's? if so this is how i would compare them. the maple neck would be like taking the 800Hz slider down say 3-5 Db and the sliders on either side of it 1/2 that much, then raising the 8k slider a few DB and raising the ones on either side 1/2 as much. The rosewood would be like leaving it flat. In other words, maple has a high end that is boosted way up high in the presence range (lots of very high harmonics too) but it attenuated (cut) in the hi mid/low treble area. This makes people hear maple as brighter, but in actuality it is lass bright in the main area where mids and treble meet. So in other words if you cut the EQ at around 8k, and by the way these ranges i mention are a guesstimate, then you end up with a NOT as bright neck as rosewood and it will be downright muddy. In short, rosewood is better balanced sonically. the other difference is that maple's tone is tighter where rosewood is looser making for a looser low and. So maple tends to make for a great metal/shred tone and rosewood a more versatile all around tone. I prefer RW myself, but i have a maple strat too and would not want to be w/o that as my #2.

Excellent! That's the closest we're seriously going to get to a "scientific" test.

Though there'll still be those that want you to take off the rosewood fingerboard and swap in a maple one - on the same neck!

Feelings get bizarrely heated on this topic and stalwarts on either side will clutch at any straw to prove or disprove the case...

Good luck! - C

For the record, my '67 Tele originally came with a maple fingerboard. About 12 years ago I got a replacement neck with a rosewood board. I did not perceive a major difference in the sound after the swap. Admittedly, it's not the same as being able to instantly A/B between the two configurations, but the point is that if there is a difference it is pretty small.