As the other's have said, it's a personal choice thing...some folks like maple, some like rosewood. Personally I -love- the feel of ebony myself...but that's rather difficult to find on a Strat, LOL!!!

Honestly, my two main instruments at the moment are a '96 MIM with maple and an '85 MIJ Squire with rosewood...I love them both. I've always preferred the "look" of maple fretboards on a Strat (well...most Strats at least) just a bit better...but that's purely an aesthetic thing though. When it comes to playing however, there's not really that much of a difference to most people at all. Once you develop those calluses on your fingers, you probably won't be able to feel the subtle nuances anyways! LOL!

Since you're clearly new to this, my advice would be to go in to a music store and take a friend with you. Close your eyes and have your friend (or a sales person if you're like me and don't have any friends, LOL!) hand you a couple of guitars (with different types of fretboards obviously) and play them with your eyes closed...just let your fingers "feel" the fretboard. Don't worry about your playing here...that's not the point of the experiment...you're just trying to determine a preference, NOT show off your chops. -If- you can feel any difference and one feels better to you than the other, then get the one that feels better. If you can't tell any difference (and you probably won't), then just buy the one that looks better to you.

Good Luck,
Jim

excellent replies. I have both maple and rosewood necks, also the modern c shape and u shape type necks.The maple necks are brighter in sound. I personally would go with the guitar that feels best to you and produces tones that you like. Then have someone you trust check the guitar for any problems. The guitar tech can also set-up the guitars action and gauge strings you perfer, which will effect your tone. The most important thing is that you like the guitars feel and tone. The american standard strat is an excellent guitar. My favorite is a sienna burst I bought for $900.00 It's lite in weight and has the rosewood c shape neck. My other main guitar I gig with is an american ash deluxe telecaster butterscotch, blk pickguard with a maple u shape neck.

It is irrelevant, play what feels good to you. None us can tell you what you will prefer

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The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

My personal opinion is maple, I like the look and I like the feel. But it really is totally up to you. Although I immediately liked the look of the maple originally, I tried many different maple and rosewood necks before deciding that the maple felt the best. Try all your options and you should find which works best for you.

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Free & Easy Down the Road I Go

maple... i mean rosewood... i mean maple... i mean... let your ears decide which you like better.

Yup... pretty much.

Personally, i love both & wouldn't be
happy having only one or the other.

For me, it's more about whether i like the feel of a neck &
the overall feel & sound of the guitar itself that determines
whether i buy or not, regardless of which type of neck it has.

And that's my story.