Hey guys, quick question...

Do any of you notice a difference in maple and rosewood fretboard's, smoothness wise?

is the maple fretboard more smooth to play than the rosewood?

Welcome to the forum...try a maple and then a rosewood fretboard and see what you like better. I prefer maple for looks and to me it feels a little smoother, but thats just my opinion. Some will say maple and rosewood have different sounds but the difference is so small it would be hard to tell.

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Absolutely.

Robin

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http://www.youtube.com/robinstrower
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I like em both. I own two strats (the only two musical instruments I own)... One with rosewood and one maple. Neither is better that the other. It's just asthetics.

I play a rosewood that feels absolutely perfect to me. Just the right amount of feel/slipperyness. HOWEVER, probably because I Don't own one and the grass IS always greener, I seem to like the LOOK of maple, (which I have not played enough to compare.)

Crazy huh? I mean, not that my Strat isn't beautiful, as is!

Gridlok

As for the feel, in my experiences, maple requires a hard finish such as poly or lacquer, whereas rosewood is usually treated with an oil finish and feels much more like natural wood.

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

I have two new American Standards, one of each neck. I would say the maple is a little smoother, due to its heavy gloss finish. But I love both, and switch between them easily. As far as sound goes, I cannot tell any difference between them.

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American Standard Strat, Sienna Sunburst
Gibson Les Paul, Desert Burst
Gibson SG '61 Reissue, Heritage Cherry

Leo Fender was a practical guy. His original guitars had maple fretboard to keep down cost. No rosewood, and no labor expense for gluing the rosewood to the maple neck. Genius.

He was watching television and saw someone playing one of his guitars and was appalled to see the discoloration on the neck from the wearing of the finish on the maple. That was his motivation for offering his guitars with a rosewood fingerboard. Feel and tone were not considerations.

So yeah...try them yourself and see what you think. Any difference in tone will be Reeeeaaaal hard to hear. Difference in feel isn't all that much either, as you're mostly playing on the frets, eh?

There's a difference, but it's not big enough for me to care. ^^

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I traded my car in for a microphone.

Maple all the way ! Just my preference...

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Hey, Boy Blue is back!

All three of my guitars are rosewood. Both just have a different sound and i prefer the rosewood sound

I have both Maple and Rosewood. I really don't know if I can notice a difference in tone. I do prefer Maple for feel and astetics. But don't think I will be getting rid of any of my Rosewoods..
ABS

maple and rosewood do have their own feels to them but its just personal preference. I prefer rosewood but i do like a maple neck now and then. To me rosewood just has a feel to it that i like, i think its softer and is more hydrated (i hope that makes some sense) and to me maple seems a little dry (feel not sound wise).

Honestly i dont think there is a sound difference (or its just a subtle difference) rosewood was used as a fretboard option because it did not show the wear from playing like maple did.

I brain damaged because i like the look of Maple but the feel of darker woods...And i think the maple strat i own is brighter and a bit thinner in tone than my Peo Ferro or how ever you spell it, In short a wood like Rosewood.

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I like rosewood on all my guitars - in fact I like the darker look for everything wooden at my place - tables, chairs, cupboards, etc...

But every now and then I see a guitar with a maple fretboard and think maybe one day...

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Steve