Rosewood vs. Maple Necks

[DeadOrAlive]

Pro's and cons of the Rosewood guitar necks vs. the Maple guitar necks other than the asethetics. Also how do they apply to a bass guitar? Tonal changes? How?

[Nitro Express]

A Maple neck will sound brighter than a neck with a rosewood fingerboard. The pro's of a rosewood fingerboard is it won't get dirty looking like a maple neck. Plus, rosewood doesn't dry out as much because it's an oily wood. It's also easier to refret a rosewood fingerboard.

That being said. I'm a maple neck guy and nothing looks cooler to me than an old Fender Telecaster or Stratocaster with the worn lacquer and darkened wood between the frets. Add some cigarette burns and well worn dings and I get a fucking hard on. LOL!

[Eyes of the Night]

Nice post there Nitro ...

Yeah, I'm a maple guy too ... then again nothing says Wolfgang ...

[Take 'Em]

Unfinished Birdseye Maple is outstaanding.

Keep that lemon oil handy every once in a while and it will wear very well. Looks awesome too!!

[Little Lamont]

Did you know the only reason Fender went to rosewood back in 59 was because maple got dirty?

They figured it would hide the dirt and keep the guitar lookin new.

[DLRdelight!]

Originally posted by Little Lamont
Did you know the only reason Fender went to rosewood back in 59 was because maple got dirty?

They figured it would hide the dirt and keep the guitar lookin new.

i didnt know that

[DLRdelight!]

but i prefer maple also. most gibsons have rosewood dont they?

[DeadMan1984]

And Ebony on some models I think.

[indeedido]

Rosewood will dry out some. I put lemon oil on it to restore when I change the strings. Makes it much easier and faster to play. I used to be a rosewood fan, over the last year I've been a maple guy. I do like the look and feel of it better. Unfinished with tung oil of course.

[BrownSound1]

As a general rule a maple fingerboard is brighter sounding than a rosewood. I prefer maple on strats and other bolt ons, but I do have some rosewood fingerboards too. On Gibson guitars, however, I just can't imagine a maple fingerboard...although it HAS been done in the past. :D

[kentuckyklira]

Originally posted by Nitro Express
A Maple neck will sound brighter than a neck with a rosewood fingerboard. The pro's of a rosewood fingerboard is it won't get dirty looking like a maple neck. Plus, rosewood doesn't dry out as much because it's an oily wood. It's also easier to refret a rosewood fingerboard.

That being said. I'm a maple neck guy and nothing looks cooler to me than an old Fender Telecaster or Stratocaster with the worn lacquer and darkened wood between the frets. Add some cigarette burns and well worn dings and I get a fucking hard on. LOL!

Maple does sound brighter, but it also has a more direct response or attack. The extreme Fender "twang" many love so much is emphasized by this.

Rosewood tends to sound more leveled, the difference between the first attack and the decaying tone isn´t as big!