Hello Bendsnlicks,

I'm entrenched in the rosewood camp.
I just think it looks better most of the time.

Pretty uncommon on a Stratocaster, ebony's in
the #1 spot for me. I'll need luck to find a nice one.

Sound wise, for me no difference.
Now Eric Johnson, well it goes without saying.

Best of luck on your choice.

Cheers.

I've got two rosewood Strats and they both sound fuller and more rounded with less top end than any maple Strat I've had so far.

Depends on what I am playing I use both but tend to prefer maple.

alainlafrance, I will be happy to pay for shipping of two of your Custom Shop strats, one maple and one rosewood, to do an in depth comparison If you would like them returned you must pay for the postage......I await your instructions!!!

I tend to go through periods when I love maple and periods when I love rosewood... That's why I have a guitar with each. And I have a Les Paul with ebony, which is gorgeous.

In my opinion, there is a HUGE difference between the same models when it comes to board look. You can try two identical models (in terms of specs) and you may find that they have a completely different board colour and grain. I find this is more acute with rosewood than maple and particularly so on Gibsons. I have seen Les Pauls with beautiful body flame, but the board colour / grain has put me off. Other guitars have average body flame but the boards are really impactful.

I am aware this is a personal choice so you may like a specific type that noone else likes - that's fine.

Above all, it should be personal to you. If you ever noticed Frusciante's favourite Strat - it has this dark line in the higher registers of his maple neck. Not sure if it's just a feature of the maple or a man made scratch, but it's really personal. You can look at the guitar from miles and you know it's his Strat.

This is one element which proves the statement that each guitar is unique and different.

You're trying to bring science into this?

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James Burton Upgrade Telecaster
Hot Rodded Am Fat Strat Texas Special (now featuring Kinman Traditional II pickups)
Fender Blues Jr.
SWR California Blonde
Pedals Pedals Pedals

You'd think I would have learned by now, wouldn't you? I mean, I know religion when I see it.

I was going to mention the whole "players hear with their eyes" thing regarding rosewood and maple, but SlapChop beat me to it.

I prefer ebony on most guitars, but maple on Strats, for sure. I like rosewood on semi-hollows.

I have this rosewood 1998 Chinese Squier, and I really like it. If it had a maple fretboard it would look better but perhaps sound a little too shrill to my ears. So rosewood for me as well.

A traditional Strat is BTW a great guitar to learn on, because it is diverse but will not hide your mistakes las much as a Les Paul I think.

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A thousand words tell more than one picture

Slapchop always likes to ruin a good discussion by bringing in facts!!!

I sometimes feel i should make a username of "Graty" just so i can post after him, like his NBA-Star-Style posse at a press conference, echoing the last 3 or 4 words of every statement!!

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

What facts? When I look at the factors that determine a quality onewood, hardness is not a factor, however denseness is.

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Guitars:
1. mid 70's Ventura MIJ Gibson l6-s clone (Pre-lawsuit) in Black with Rosewood FB and EMG 81 BR/ 85 Neck
2. ESP KH2 Neck Thru
3. 2008 Am Std Strat in 3 tone sunburst

OP, try both and see what sounds and feels better to you.

6 months ago I was a 100% rosewood man. I have a strat with rosewood fingerboard. I tried maple strats and didnt like them. I then decided to get a tele. I tried both maple and rosewood and despite liking both, the real sound of a real tele come in part from the maple fret board, at least in my exprience. So I got a squire classic vibe tele with maple fretboard and it sounds awesome.

Play them both , see what suits you. to my ear though a strat sounds more like a strat (jimi sound) with a rosewood fretboard, and a tele sounds more like a tele( real twangy sound) when it has a maple board. its just my opinion though and you need to play both to form your own opinion.