Rosewood or Maple fretboards,is there a sound difference?

[Gchord]

I can't tell that much of a difference.I have a Squier Standard Telecaster with a rosewood fretboard. I also have a MIM Fender Stratocaster with a maple fretboard. Both of the guitars have the same gauge and the same brand of strings. I feel that Strat is slightly brighter in the bridge position than the Tele.Namely because the Strat has two more positions than the Tele. I've often heard that rosewood has a warmer tone,but I can't tell on a electric. I've heard maple acoustics and they're bright compared to my cedar and mahogany Takamine.What do think about the two?

[jase36]

I just bought a mim strat and tried both but ended up with maple. I prefered the look of rosewood but ended up buying a maple as it played a little better, nothing to do with the wood just how they were set up. I couldn't tell any difference in sound but that may say more about me than the guitars.

[Nick]

If it does, it's all in your head.

Show me a blind fretboard taste test somewhere....

Maple, ebony, rosewood, aluminum, MoTS, whatever. Does it feel good to you? Does it look good? That's the important thing. Once you fret a note, the string vibrates from the first fret in front of your finger to the saddle and the fretboard is out of play sonically. I wonder, if you are playing with a scalloped fretboard, would you sound better playing in a all nitrogen environment. Given the proper breathing apparatus.....


Fretboard material is almost as important as what your bridge pins are made of.

[gnease]

okay ... except waitaminute, you are comparing a Strat to a Tele and trying to draw conclusions about maple versus rosewood fretboard!? Very different pups, different electronics, different body routing, probably different body woods, probably trem versus no-trem. way too many variable factors too tell what's going on. plus start with this: Teles and Strats do sound quite different.

and on the acoustics, are you referring to fretboards or bodies? as there are not too many acoustics with maple fretboards, I'm guessing the latter. acoustic body materials -- esp the top and also back and rims -- have a great affect on timbre.

if you are going to try to discern a difference, compare two guitars of the same make/model with only the that single difference of interest.

[Dan T.]

I agree. Sound wise I don't think you could tell the difference. Fell wise though it would come down to personal preference.
And like Greg said, you can't compare a Tele to a Strat.

[Gchord]

I agree you can't compare the to guitars. There are people on other guitar forums that say how warm the tone is on a rosewood fretboard and how bright a maple fretboard is. I have tried a Takamine guitar and the body was maple and it was bright sounding,but it was also new and didn't have time to age like my old Tak,so I guess I can chunk that one out.Some people swear that if you have the same guitar,make,strings ,gauge,amp and guitar settings,the guitar with a maple fretboard will sound brighter. I don't agree with that. Maybe I'm too old and deef to hear it.

[CitiZenNoir]

If it does, it's all in your head.

Please Nick.... You're a well respected member of this community;
You should really refrain from making comments like that seem as if they were fact

Because, as a matter of fact - There IS a difference in sound.
Saying that the wood on a fretboard doesn't matter, is like saying that the body wood (or material) doesn't matter.
Just because most of you can't hear it, doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.

I happen to have owned two Strats for the last 21 years.
One has a maple board on an alder body, the other - a 'rosewood' board on an ash body.
If some of you are wondering how I developed my ear for tonewoods - try playing those two guitars for over twenty years

If you want a blind test - there you go.... The 'quacky' sound of the maple board is in sharp contrast to the note bloom and decay of the 'rosewood' board.

If you want to know, yes - 'rosewood' seems warmer than maple.
Actually, 'rosewood' adds more mid-scoop.... maple more midrange.
The oil in the 'rosewood' dampens the notes.... they aren't quite as 'snappy' sounding.
Ash bodies also have a mid-scooped sound, to alders midranginess.

If you all want to know why I think my 71 Strat sounds SO good.... the ash/'rosewood' combo creates an incredible 'natural' mid-scooped tone.... a very desireable sound.

Why do I keep putting rosewood in ' ' ?
Because there are many types of rosewood, all of which have their own tonality.
Then, there's also the veneer vs. slab type fretboard to consider.

Anyway - traditionally, the two most common types of rosewood used in mainstream guitars are Indian and Brazillian.
Indian is way over to the mid-scooped/warm side.
Braz is just over the midway point into the warmth side (a little more than halfway between maple and Indian).

I have a one piece maple neck
an Indian Rosewood veneer on maple
a cross sawn Braz slab board
and an ebony board.

I'm also about to order a Tele neck: Madagascar Rosewood flat sawn slab on birdseye maple.
The Mad Rosewood was essential!
No MR; No sale.

Sorry Nick.

Ken

[gnease]

If it does, it's all in your head.

Please Nick.... You're a well respected member of this community;
You should really refrain from making comments like that seem as if they were fact

<snip>

Sorry Nick.

who had 10 hours? I thought for sure Ken would be all over this a lot sooner.

I'm also about to order a Tele neck: Madagascar Rosewood flat sawn slab on birdseye maple.
The Mad Rosewood was essential!
No MR; No sale.

Ken

because .... you like to "MOVE IT, MOVE IT!" ?

[CitiZenNoir]

Now that's funny!

Thankx Greg

Ken

[Nick]

Show me the money. Get yourself a guitar, apply a fretboard, record, remove and replace the fretboard and record again. If it was possible to discern a difference in tone, I doubt it would be the human ear that could detect it.

Without that comparison, I'd say your fact is wishful thinking, all in your head. Your taste test has much more to do with Ash vs Alder.

Now comparing body wood to fretboard wood is silly. I didn't say that body wood makes no difference. Since the body of an acoustic guitar is the source of the sound, the type of wood makes a huge difference.

Next thing you know you'll be telling me bridge pins make a difference.

[CitiZenNoir]

Bridge pins do make a difference.

Sorry Nick.... maybe you need to have your hearing checked?

Ken

[Scrybe]

Actually Nick, everyone knows that tone is in the choice of neckplate.

[Nick]

'Fraid not. I participated in a blind taste test of acoustic guitars. Three recordings were made, one with ebony, one with brass and one with plastic. Not one of the listeners could tell the difference between the three. I think there is a recording of a similar test out there on the internet with similar results. I'll see if I can find it.

Age of the strings, type of strings, your touch, body wood, bridge wood, bridge plate, nut and saddle materials, fret type, even relative humidity all contribute greatly to the sound of an acoustic.

The rest of it? Not so much.

We'll just have to disagree.

[CitiZenNoir]

No fair using your incredible GN powers to change your post Nick!

Yes, to some extent the alder body is a source of quackiness.
The note bloom and decay of a rosewood board is caused by the oil.... maple has a distinctly snappier sound.

Ash and Indian is extremely mid-scooped;
Ash and Braz is a bit more chimey.

Ken

[CitiZenNoir]

Nick, do you think the ear can be trained to tune a guitar?

I mean, there's close to 18,000 members here on GN.... if we took 4 of them (randomly)
and put them in a room and played a song, then asked them what key the song was in, chances are that NONE
of them would know.

So, should I dispute that you or Noteboat or David COULD tell what key the song was in?
That its all in your head if you say you can tell the key of a song simply by listening....

Maybe I should go so far as to say that since those four people couldn't tell the key, that in fact, musical keys dont actually exist.

Unfortunately, music is also mathematically provable, tonewood tones are not (well, maybe Greg could prove it! )

I know what I hear.... I'm sorry that you cannot.
(except on body wood)

Ken