Rosewood and Maple necks

Glassheart

What exactly is the difference between the two?
What do people prefer and would it be a factor when buying a new guitar?

Voodu Child

Rosewood is a softer wood. You could probably say it sounds a bit darker compared to maple. To be brutally honest, its more about feel than sound. Try both out and see which you prefer the feel of.

Personally I prefer rosewood fingerboards, most of my guitars are rosewood. Having said that, I like the odd maple board, just for a change, or because it looks pretty cool on some guitars.

It shouldn't really be a factor when deciding, other than (obviously) personal preference.

Dord

More about feel than sound IMO. I've got guitars & basses with Ebony, Rosewood, Maple and Ebonal (synthetic) fingerboards. Out of all these I prefer Rosewood, with Ebony coming in a close second.

Johnny Storm

Maple looks nicer on a Strat. It's kind of iconic IMHO. End of story. :rolleyes:

fasty

I have a maple neck on my Telecaster and it feels harder than any of the rosewood necked guitars I tried. I think the comments about a slightly different tone are fair, but mostly it's which you prefer the feel, and look of.

Demeyes

I've guitars with maple, rosewood and ebony. I like ebony for looks but it can be a pain to take care of. Its a fairly brittle wood and needs to be maintained. Rosewood feels nice but if its not dark then I think it looks horrible. Malpe really depends on the guitar in question for me. A nice piece of maple can really make a guitar stand out and look great.
As for sound. People will say this and that, but to be honest, body wood, pickups, strings and bridge type all make a more noticable difference to my ears, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Voodu Child

Rosewood feels nice but if its not dark then I think it looks horrible.

Actually, most rosewood (and indeed ebony) boards are stained dark. If you find one that is light in colour, its usually because the manufacturer just decided not to artificially darken it...its actually pretty quick to do it yourself if you don't like it.

I had a Taylor once that had a really light fingerboard, actually had streaks of light going across it almost. I thought it looked pretty cool, very rustic and natural looking

Dord

Demeyes wrote: »

I've guitars with maple, rosewood and ebony. I like ebony for looks but it can be a pain to take care of. Its a fairly brittle wood and needs to be maintained. Rosewood feels nice but if its not dark then I think it looks horrible. Malpe really depends on the guitar in question for me. A nice piece of maple can really make a guitar stand out and look great.
As for sound. People will say this and that, but to be honest, body wood, pickups, strings and bridge type all make a more noticable difference to my ears, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Ebony, brittle? I haven't come across this.

Dord

voodoo_child wrote: »

Actually, most rosewood (and indeed ebony) boards are stained dark. If you find one that is light in colour, its usually because the manufacturer just decided not to artificially darken it...its actually pretty quick to do it yourself if you don't like it.

I had a Taylor once that had a really light fingerboard, actually had streaks of light going across it almost. I thought it looked pretty cool, very rustic and natural looking

I think rosewood looks better unstained, my older Aria bass has a lovely rosewood fingerboard. Some nice figuring in it. Also, Ebony is usually stained too. It isn't always completely black. One of my basses has an unstained ebony board which is very nice. It's got a some choclatey coloured streaks in it.

boycey

Maybe Im being a bit Eric Johnson but I find, on strats anyway, the maple neck models always sound a bit more, eh, 'spanky' - a bit more top endy and zingy if that makes any sense. Maybe thats what my ears are expecting to hear though, either way I generally prefer the rosewood fingerboard ones. Having said that I would love a nice maple necked Les Paul custom- they sound lovely.

Demeyes

voodoo_child wrote: »

Actually, most rosewood (and indeed ebony) boards are stained dark. If you find one that is light in colour, its usually because the manufacturer just decided not to artificially darken it...its actually pretty quick to do it yourself if you don't like it.

I had a Taylor once that had a really light fingerboard, actually had streaks of light going across it almost. I thought it looked pretty cool, very rustic and natural looking

I'm talking more about electrics, I wouldn't mind a lighter figured rosewood board on an acoustic. I've seen people 'ebonise' rosewood boards but they fade after time and stain your fingers too, so I would never bother. Funnily enough main player has a rosewood board, so if it plays well enough I don't really mind.

-=al=-

voodoo_child wrote: »

Rosewood is a softer wood. You could probably say it sounds a bit darker compared to maple. To be brutally honest, its more about feel than sound. Try both out and see which you prefer the feel of.

Personally I prefer rosewood fingerboards, most of my guitars are rosewood. Having said that, I like the odd maple board, just for a change, or because it looks pretty cool on some guitars.

It shouldn't really be a factor when deciding, other than (obviously) personal preference.

I ehh, concur