Differences between maple and rosewood fingerboard???

jlander · #1 01-19-2006, 09:53 PM

wich ar the differences?? in playing?? speed??? maybe the time, marks, spots on maple?? or only looks???

i think a readed something long time ago about maple and rosewood feeling different.. i had a maple fingerboard guitar Ibanez EX270 in the year 1993, but i dont remember, it was my second electric guitar, but the first one real!!! (the other one was a Music`s Brand, no idea chinese i guess)... but didnt had the experience to notice any difference...

thnxs

thebigugly · #2 01-19-2006, 10:09 PM

Maple and ebony are slighty faster and more comfortable to play. Mainly because of their denser grain. With a denser grain also comes a tone that is slightly more prone to the treble sounds. Rosewood has been traditionally associated with warmer sound. But yes maple is slightly faster but not so much so that rosewood should inhibit your speed. So don't let the speed of the fretboard influence you too much. Remember that a good characteristic tone and comfort in playing should be tops in your choices. Hope this helps. Joshua

ElectriK · #3 01-19-2006, 11:09 PM

The sonic differences are so slight that you are pretty much able to choose based on what looks better or feels better to you.

Gex · #4 01-20-2006, 12:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebigugly

Maple and ebony are slighty faster and more comfortable to play. Mainly because of their denser grain. With a denser grain also comes a tone that is slightly more prone to the treble sounds. Rosewood has been traditionally associated with warmer sound. But yes maple is slightly faster but not so much so that rosewood should inhibit your speed. So don't let the speed of the fretboard influence you too much. Remember that a good characteristic tone and comfort in playing should be tops in your choices. Hope this helps. Joshua

Faster?

Bull****.

Your fingers will move as fast as your fingers will move.

The only thing that would inhibit speed would be MAYBE be fretboard friction. But there are too many exceptions on both sides of the table that there is no clear "faster" wood, and its certainly not enough to make any sort of difference, the results are certainly neglegable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElectriK

The sonic differences are so slight that you are pretty much able to choose based on what looks better or feels better to you.

Now, the differences in tone are NOT slight at all.

I almost returned an amp to the store because of the differences between Maple and rosewood.

I bought a JSX after playing one at the store with a rosewood-boarded, basswood body Ibanez JEM77FP. Sounded great. I bought the XXX cab they're JSX was sitting on, and I took home a different JSX that was still in the box.

Now, I got home, and I plug in my RG550, which has the same PAF pros, the same Edge tremolo, the same basswood body, same everything as the JEM, except for the fretboard: Maple.

I set my JSX on the XXX cab (the same exact cab I used at the store) and started wailing away.

Hmm, its not nearly as warm and lush as it was at the store. It was alot brighter, and I couldn't dial out the bright tone.

I thought my amp was messed up, or not biased right, or something like that, because the guitars should sound identical right? WRONG.

Sometime shortly afterward, I stubled across a black 1987 RG550 with a ROSEWOOD fretboard at a Pawn Shop for $100, so I couldn't resist and I bought it. It still had the stock pickups, but I plugged it in anyway. . . . THERE. . .that warm, lush tone was back. I was floored. I couldnt believe that the fretboard made that much of a difference, even with the stock cheap pickups.

Fretboards really DO make a difference. Its almost impossible to tell a difference at the store. But when you know what your own equipment sounds like, and your at your house, you will notice it makes a DRAMATIC difference.

I used to be an all-maple fan, but . . .I must confess I like the rosewood tone better.

lyconxero · #5 01-20-2006, 01:23 AM

I totally agree that the fretboard makes a BIG difference. Of course, if you can't tell the tonal differences between say basswood and mahogany then you probably won't be able to notice. Having played several guitars with rosewood and maple fretboards, I can absolutely say that it changes the sound. Personally, I would LOVE to own a guitar with a maple fretboard but I would still keep all of my others with rosewood.

btangel · #6 01-20-2006, 04:19 AM

I'll backup the claim that the fretboard makes a huge diff. But contrary to what someone else said, I personally believe the maple boards to make the tone of the guitar warmer. However, I don't agree with the faster part...I don't see how that'd make a significant difference in playability, even to the slightest degree. My $.02

note: I own 3 guitars with ebony, rosewood, and maple necks.

Fabio · #7 01-20-2006, 04:50 AM

I have to say that just comparing a 550 with a JEM thinking it should sound alike is kinda bull**** as well. I don't want to be rude or anything, that's not what i mean, BUT! No guitars sound exactly the same, because the wood in the guitars is never exactly the same = different tone in each guitar. I don't say that the fingerboard doesn't make a difference, i just say that you can't really compare the tone unless you compare the same guitar with a rosewood board, then change the board to a maple, and compare it to a recording or something.

My two cents

Have a good day

ChopTart · #8 01-20-2006, 08:05 AM

I'm not sure about tonal changes (The maple and rosewood i have are such different guitars, there's going to be a huge difference in sound anyway), but i definetally notice a feel change when i go back and forth.

Maple has a dense grain, so the board feels...well, denser. Theres a more solid feel and i guess that would contribute to slightly more highs. I do notice slightly more clarity out of maple, but it may just be the guitars.

The rosewood has a looser grain, so the wood feels like it has more "give" and tends to have an oily feeling, which i kind of like - years of playing on it made me get used to it, and i kind of like the slick feeling to it, so i kind of prefer rosewood to maple, but i like 'em both

hope this helped

AirGuitarHero · #9 01-20-2006, 09:01 AM

To me, maple does sound brighter and feels better, but of course that's just preference. I also find it easier to play fast.

It's denser and harder, I find it easier to control how the strings vibrate, very responsive. Rosewood feels more 'muffled', if that makes sense.

red5 · #10 01-20-2006, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gex

Faster?

Bull****.

Your fingers will move as fast as your fingers will move.

I think he means the sound is faster - more punch!

red5 · #11 01-20-2006, 02:09 PM

I don't have a preferance for any fretboard woods over another per say.

I greatly prefer maple on strats, rosewood on Les Pauls, and ebony or rosewood on alder bodied shred guitars.

Maple is bright, rosewood is warm and ebony is real punchy and makes notes scream well.

jlander · #12 01-22-2006, 12:27 AM

i just got a guitar with maple fretboard... i have to say it more confortable because the thicker grain... also the setup its really good (its a used guitar, an RG270 1995 as a backup guitar)... i say it plays nice... the finish are not really good, a have an RG470 from the same year it has a better finish (specially inside the trem cavity and the pickups cavity as well...

it came with INF`s pickups, i think this are not the factory ones... because its the same p`ups that my RG470 has...

if you check the 1995 catalog (www.ibanezrules.com) you will see my 2 guitars, the 470 and the 270 in the same picture and in the same colors, and i bought them with 11 years of difference, weird coincidence...

thnxs to all...

Gex · #13 01-22-2006, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fabio

I have to say that just comparing a 550 with a JEM thinking it should sound alike is kinda bull**** as well. I don't want to be rude or anything, that's not what i mean, BUT! No guitars sound exactly the same, because the wood in the guitars is never exactly the same = different tone in each guitar. I don't say that the fingerboard doesn't make a difference, i just say that you can't really compare the tone unless you compare the same guitar with a rosewood board, then change the board to a maple, and compare it to a recording or something.

My two cents

Have a good day

The only difference between a JEM77FP and a rosewood-necked 1987 RG550 with PAF pros is a slightly thicker neck and a different inlay. The wood and hardware are all the same. Basswood bodies, maple necks, rosewood boards, Edge tremolos, gotoh tuners, standard neck joint. Tonally, they should sound indestinguishably close.

I was just making a point about how much the fretboard affects the tone, the drastic changes from my maple necked RG550 to my rosewood necked RG550. (which, like you said, are the same guitar. . just different boards)

ReWolf · #14 01-22-2006, 02:27 AM

I had seen different opinions on maple and rosewood fretboard. Some said maple wood doesnt not produce a brighter sound, but its just that maple fretboard are normally laquered and thus resulting in lesser wood dense which actually contribute to the brightness of the sound. Whereas some says the other way round. As for me, I didnt really have the chance to try out maple fretboard or even ebony fretboard. As for my question, is all maple fretboard laquered? Or there are some that is unfinished? I heard that maple fretboard is alot more nastier to mantain than rosewood, maple fretboard tends to turn darker and vulernable to stain.

Anyway could someone tell me the tonal differences between rosewood and ebony?

lloop9 · #15 01-22-2006, 04:17 AM

Between a rosewood fretboard & a maple one, rosewood wld be warmer due to its oil content that has a damping effect.

Between a one-piece maple vs maple cap/maple neck, the one-piece wld be warmer.

I love maple fretboards, but once you wear thru' the coatings, be it satin poly, gloss nitro or watever it gets dirty and urgly fast.

One of the best compromise is pau ferro, its between maple and rosewood in tone, looks great wif its red-brownish and dark stripes and requires no finish. Hard as hell too.

cheers