Quote:
Originally Posted by superbadj
Some say it's the hardness of maple vs the softer rosewood or ebony.
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The Janka Hardness Scale: The Janka hardness test is a measurement of the force necessary to embed a .444-inch steel ball to half its diameter in wood. It is the industry standard for gauging the ability of various species to tolerate denting and normal wear, as well as being a good indication of the effort required to either nail or saw the particular wood.
According to this test, ebony has a hardness value of 3220, rosewood 1780 and hard maple 1450 - which means that both rosewood and especially ebony, are considerably harder than maple.
However, the often thick finish on a maple fretboard makes it
seem/feel harder, but this is not the case if we look at the wood itself.