As you may already know, I'm close to buy a new guitar...
I wanted to know the difference between a Maple Neck and a Rosewood Neck...
Does it affect:
A) The Sound
B) The Look
C) The Feel
D) All of the above
I already know that it affect the look. I also felt different on a Maple Neck. I have a rosewood one on my Ibanez...
But the sound... I didn't put too attention on this :?
" First time I heard the music
I thought it was my own
I could feel it in my heartbeat
I could feel it in my bones
... Blame it on the love of Rock'n'Roll! "
Two threads should help you -
1. http://forums.guitarnoise.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=37616
2. http://forums.guitarnoise.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=28279
3. http://forums.guitarnoise.com/viewtopic.php?t=20532
I prefer a wood which is smooth and chirps not coming out of it... 8)
I've had a few electric guitars over the last five years or so - but the two I've kept (and will keep, whatever else comes in/ goes out!) both have maple fretboards. They feel better to me, and they also look nicer. Tonally, my ears can't tell much difference - I'd say the maple is less muddy than the rosewood, but not by a huge amount. But the feel is something else - first time I tried a maple fretboard, my fingers felt like they were dancing on ice. Sold as soon as I picked one up!
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
Probably because my Fender Strat and Tele have maple fretboards, and my Gibson LP and SG have rosewood, to me maple sounds brighter. But I've never played a Strat or Tele with rosewood to know if they would sound darker. Maple does feel faster to me, but I feel I have more control on rosewood, can't really say why though. Rosewood feels softer to me than maple.
The look? I dunno, I prefer a Strat or Tele with maple, looks better for some reason. Don't really get a choice with the Gibsons.
Just my 2 cents.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
I have a guitar with maple and the other with rosewood. I prefer the maple of my Strat but I also like the rosewood of my LP. A friend does not like the maple necks, however, he recently bought a Tele with a maple neck.
They are different woods so probably it modifies the sound but I'm not able to distinguish the difference. Probably if you have the same guitar with the same electronics and you play them a long time you could appreciate it. I can not compare the tones because my guitars are very different.
Hi Clau :D
Are you thinking of getting a Fender?
I have two Strats.... One with a maple board, and one with a rosewood.
I also had a 60's Gibbo SG with a rosewood board.
As far as looks go; I'm with the above: I like the look of a maple board on a Fender.
Especially if it has a wore out nitro lac finish!
As far as the feel goes; I like the feel of maple boards better.
They are much smoother and easier on the fingers to me.
And, as Wes said.... for some reason they feel harder.
Probably because of the smooth wood grain.
They also seem to feel 'cooler' to the touch than rosewood to me, which is odd
because they produce a 'cooler' tone than rosewood.
As far as the sound goes; Rosewood on a Fender is my fave.
I didn't really notice the spectacular sonic appeal to rosewood with my Gibbo....
On a Strat is a totally different story.
It warms up the Fender sound nicely.
The thing that really got me was the firework-like pyrotechnic effect of the note bloom and decay.
The notes just softly explode out of a rosewood board and have a bit different (and lingering) hold before the soul
calming, gentle, gradual decay.
On a guitar with great resonant qualities.... It can be a religious experience; On the same level as making a perfect drive
on a perfect day golfing!
My daily player is the maple board Strat.... It has a much faster decay; Snappier as it were.
And I have to 'play it'.... That is; It remains a seperate instrument that I have to wrench every note from - on purpose.
The rosewood board Strat and I usually become more of a unit.... And it actually seems to guide me as to what to play....
or, maybe the cosmos guides the two of us together :D
That's just my experience with it though; For what it's worth :wink:
Ken
"The man who has begun to live more seriously within
begins to live more simply without"
-Ernest Hemingway
"A genuine individual is an outright nuisance in a factory"
-Orson Welles
Ken, I envy you being able to tell those subtle differences - to me, what sound like tiny differences sound like vast gulfs in tone to you. Maybe it's all those years with headphones on in the bedroom and the vol cranked as high as it would go? As I say, those subtle nuances are lost on me. Recognising guitarists is a different matter - I could tell the difference between Angus, Keef and Billy Gibbons (to name but three) blindfolded. That's all down to their individual styles, though. When it comes to recognising guitars....well, I can get an "Angus" or a "Keef" or a BG or even a "Carlos" tone from my Tele by fiddling with amp settings. Playing as well as they do is a whole different matter though....!
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
My honest answer to this question has become: Ebony.
Which kind of bothers me, as ebony is not a very renewable wood source, and harvesting it does great damage. But it is the only wood for fretobards in my book.
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -- HST
My honest answer to this question has become: Ebony.
Which kind of bothers me, as ebony is not a very renewable wood source, and harvesting it does great damage. But it is the only wood for fretobards in my book.
I have an ebony board on my acoustic.
And, oddly enough.... I find it even colder to the touch than maple boards!
And it has a colder sound as well.
I find that ebony boards yield the quickest decay of the three, and....
how can I describe it.... an almost 'mineral like' sound....?
Not sure that I would like it on a Fender.... could be good on a Gibbo though.
Sort of like a maple board is to a Fender.
I really like the look of un-dyed ebony.... Very striking! 8)
As a side note KP.... You mentioned your hollowbody electric; I'd be interested to know more about that.
Ken
"The man who has begun to live more seriously within
begins to live more simply without"
-Ernest Hemingway
"A genuine individual is an outright nuisance in a factory"
-Orson Welles
Ken, I envy you being able to tell those subtle differences - to me, what sound like tiny differences sound like vast gulfs in tone to you. Maybe it's all those years with headphones on in the bedroom and the vol cranked as high as it would go? As I say, those subtle nuances are lost on me. Recognising guitarists is a different matter - I could tell the difference between Angus, Keef and Billy Gibbons (to name but three) blindfolded. That's all down to their individual styles, though. When it comes to recognising guitars....well, I can get an "Angus" or a "Keef" or a BG or even a "Carlos" tone from my Tele by fiddling with amp settings. Playing as well as they do is a whole different matter though....!
:D :D :D
Vic
Well, I can tell quite a bit just from hearing someone else play....
For the most part though, I have to be the one playing to notice a lot of the tone differences in guitars.
It's an odd thing.
From my influences.... You can probably tell that I really like the sound of a Les Paul through a Marshall;
Put one in my hands, and I just CRINGE when I play it :P
Could never get over that :?
LOL!
Sorry.... can't buy the whole headphone excuse.
I'm guilty of the same thing, PLUS working in a VERY noisy metal fab shop thru my 20's with no hearing protection.
PLUS the band days.... OUCH!
In my late 20's, I had to take a hearing test for a job I was looking to get.
Thought I did pretty well.
After I came out of the booth, the tester looked at me and said: You can't hear a darn thing can you!...?
I said: Are you kidding? I thought I did pretty well.
We waited for the results to print up; then he showed me:
Below the legally deaf line for my right ear; Just above it for my left!
If you ever hear any multi-instrument production of mine.... It will usually be heavily weighted to the left side! LOL!
Otherwise, everything to the right sounds a bit off to me :mrgreen:
Oh well.
Ken
"The man who has begun to live more seriously within
begins to live more simply without"
-Ernest Hemingway
"A genuine individual is an outright nuisance in a factory"
-Orson Welles
Thanks for all the answer!
Yes, I'm looking for a Strat. I'm thinking of a Olympic Pearl color OR Amber...
Olympic Pearl seems nicer with a Rosewood fretboard, but I already have one on my Ibanez and I was looking for a different guitar, so I may put a Maple fretboard just to have a different guitar :roll:
" First time I heard the music
I thought it was my own
I could feel it in my heartbeat
I could feel it in my bones
... Blame it on the love of Rock'n'Roll! "
Feel the force pulling you to maple, young Claudine - and take the first step into a bigger universe!
Strange - the music is strong in this one............
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
Yes, I'm looking for a Strat. I'm thinking of a Olympic Pearl color OR Amber...
Olympic Pearl seems nicer with a Rosewood fretboard
I don'know.... I don't think that Olympic White looks too bad with a maple board at all (as I'm sure that Vic would agree :wink: )
Ken
"The man who has begun to live more seriously within
begins to live more simply without"
-Ernest Hemingway
"A genuine individual is an outright nuisance in a factory"
-Orson Welles
I don'know.... I don't think that Olympic White looks too bad with a maple board at all (as I'm sure that Vic would agree
Oh yes - definitely, positively, absolutely a huge YES - there's just SOMETHING about white guitars and maple 'boards that is just SOOOOOO right....
As for the moustache, the hair, and the shirt - well I'm guessing 70's.........but I must admit, very 70's chic - very rock-star. Just missing a blue velvet jacket! That look'll be back soon, mark my words! And I've still got the hair for it.....just need to find the old blue velvet jacket.....
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
As for the moustache, the hair, and the shirt - well I'm guessing 70's.........
:D :D :D
Vic
hehehehe.... :D
I'll take that complement! :mrgreen:
Thankx Vic!
1992 actually :P
The peak of my 'Rock Star' lifestyle!
That was my 'obligatory Syd Barrett hair-doo' LOL!!!!
The 'stache wouldn't last much longer tho.
As for the hair.... Yes, I'm very jealous that you still have yours!
These days, mine's so thin that I look kinda like one of these smilies.... :twisted:
(Yes, so thin that my horns are now showing!)
Ken
"The man who has begun to live more seriously within
begins to live more simply without"
-Ernest Hemingway
"A genuine individual is an outright nuisance in a factory"
-Orson Welles
