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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Electric → maple or rosewood
Over the yearsI have owned both stratocasters and a telecaster. I have always gone with the maple neck. My question is about the rosewood option. Fender owners what do you like best maple or rosewood and why ?
For their tonal qualities Rosewood for single coil pickups and Ebony for humbucker pickups. Maple will produce alot of highs and I prefer the feel of the unfinished finger board versus the finished Maple finger boards.
Bootlegger.
bootleger I am refering to fender guitars which offer a choice between the maple or the rosewod neck. If you are familiar with what I am talking about please alaborate.
I also speak of Fenders, I have a mahogany body strat with a EMG 81 humbucker. I also have an alder body strat with two GSF overwound humbuckers. So familarity of what I speak, I am. If given a choice between just Rosewood or Maple I choose Rosewood because of the tonal qualities.
Bootlegger.
bootlegger I was never aware that it was sound issue I always thought is was only about action. Just goes to show that you can always learn something new. Thanks
As far as the action goes your right the maple is faster than the Rosewood because the finish on the maple necks. You can still be fast on a Rosewood finger board. Play your runs (lead solo's) on your acoustic until you can play them backwards and forwards then play the same runs on your electric. I garantee that you wil be plenty fast and in the begining over shoot some notes. That's because of the different actions and string gauges. I learn alot every day my problem is remembering what I learned 
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Bootlegger.
Which is Maple and which is rosewood. I prefer the lighter coloured necks which im guessing is rosewood.
the maple neck is the light colored one
Thanks, ive got a rosewood then.
Tell me Altex how do you like that rosewood neck and what made you choose the rosewood
I've had people tell me that they prefer the feel of the maple necks, but having played both myself, I can't feel any difference. It seems only in the looks. I'm not sure if the difference in feel might come from the finish on the neck, more than the wood itself. Either way, I much prefer maple personally.
Am I right when I say that maple is harder?
Both woods are same hardness 06SC500. Alot of electric guitar necks are made of maple but most are faced with a thin strip of rosewood for the fingerboard. Fender took the radical step of simply lacquering the maple face on all their early instruments, hence the distinctive blonde neck look of 50s strats and teles. Later they did introduce rosewood fingerboards but by then the debate was raging. Personally I like rosewood as you can 'feed' and polish it. Once the maple lacquer wears away it looks grubby.
I have a strat with a maple neck. In my opinion I think the sound is a little brighter than rosewood. I just love the look and feel of a maple fretboard when they start to get all dirty and discolored like claptons "blackie"
I was also wondering about the pao ferro fretboards that SRV used on his guitar?
I've played several guitars and my preference is a maple neck (for speed) with a rosewood fingerboard (better feel).
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Electric → maple or rosewood
